In a world with near limitless entertainment options as well as screens in our home to display that entertainment, there are products that are designed to take a bit of that comfort with us on the road. WEMAX is attempting to do just that with the compact, 1080p DICE projector; a device that can be used without a power source (after fully charged) in any remote location.

Imagine going camping, throwing up a sheet over a couple trees and streaming your favorite movie (up to 120 inches in size) simply by connecting the projector to your phone (when setup as a mobile hotspot). Or perhaps you want to show old home movies at a relative’s house that has older televisions and video tech. At less than 5 pounds, this projector is easy to pack in a suitcase and take with you on the go.

It also feels like a great option in the business space as well. I could imagine that someone like an event planner would love to have a bright, compact projector to display video / photos at a wedding or similar event. Flipping back to consumers, it also feels great for anyone that wants to game with friends and needs a huge screen to display their PS5 / Series X games.

Build / Design

In the box, you will find the projector itself (measuring roughly 6″ by 6″ by 5″), the power cord w/ power brick, the remote control (the two required AAA batteries are not included), a quick start guide and a cloth to wipe down the lens. On the back of the projector, you will find the DC in for power, a 3.5mm headphones jack (or to connect an external speaker), a USB 2.0 port and a HDMI input.

One additional feature that I liked, there’s a threaded screw hole on the bottom designed for mounting on a tripod; a great idea for gaining height when projecting. There’s also a brown strap on the top that lets you easily relocate the projector without having to pick up the hardware (which is ideal when running for hours due to heat).

I love the industrial, metal design of the projector. It’s just plain solid. There’s tons of heat dissipation areas in the form of miniature holes along the sides and back. There are four rubber feet on the bottom to provide a nice cushion when you set it down. The strap on the top is attached via large, metal rivets on the sides. It’s a sleek looking machine and, amazingly, not much larger than a smart speaker like the Amazon Echo.

Setup

If you have ever been through the setup process for an Android (version 9) device, you are going to be right at home setting up the Dice. The actual initial setup process took about 10 minutes, much of that related to downloading and installing the initial software update.

I was impressed with the auto focus function at start, an ideal feature for a projector that’s intended to go mobile and travel with you. You can also project from an angle up to 45 degrees off center, using the 4-point keystone correction tool (automatic correction). I tested it a few times and never had an issue getting a clear, focused image that displayed natural images.

You will have to pair the remote with the projector, but it’s a quick process that had me up and running in 30 seconds. Beyond that, you will need to install common entertainment apps within the Google interface like HBO Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ etc…

Fair warning, Netflix is not included as an option (nor can it be cast via Chromecast), but nothing is stopping you from plugging a $25 Roku or Fire TV stick into the HDMI port to gain access to Netflix. That’s also a great solution if you simply dislike the Android interface (or are more comfortable on another platform).

I did have a minor issue with Android not bring able to connect to my home Wi-Fi network during the initial setup process, but once I entered the login details and skipped past the “Can’t connect” screen, Android auto-logged me into the network. I haven’t had a problem since. Again, you won’t have this problem if using a separate streaming stick.

Performance

The DICE is rated 700 ANSI lumens. If you are unfamiliar with the term, ANSI is a measurement of the overall amount of light output from a projector. The higher the value, the brighter the picture. For the size of this projector and the price point, it’s extremely competitive compared to alternatives like the Nebula. Lots of compact, travel projectors are in the 200 to 500 ANSI range.

For real world applications, this means you have more flexibility in when you can use the projector. For instance, if you are showing a movie outside, you could start the film as the sun was setting rather than having to wait for complete darkness. That being said, 700 ANSI lumens still isn’t enough for medium light, so you will still have to close the blinds / curtains if using in a home or wait for dusk.

On picture quality, I was thoroughly impressed with the DLP tech. It’s not 4K, but 1080p looks sharp and clear. The color is excellent, likely due to the brightness levels; extremely accurate compared to my Samsung Q80. I did a few tests on some of my favorite colorful films (Grand Budapest Hotel, La La Land, Coraline) and the color accuracy was absolutely there. Of course, you have to make sure you are projecting on a white background. A projector screen is ideal, but a white wall certainly works in a pinch.

While I think the auto-keystone function and auto-focusing function is perfect for the average user, anyone that wanted a deep level of manual control will be disappointed. I don’t think that will be a huge complaint from most users, but folks that like to get into slight, technical corrections will be disappointed.

The speaker quality is certainly better than listening to audio via your smartphone speakers, but it’s not ideal if you have a large group. It’s fine for dialogue, but sweeping musical numbers or loud action scenes are going push the built-in speaker to it’s limits. You are much better off connecting an external speaker via the 3.5mm jack or using Bluetooth.

Testing

I tested the 16,000 mAh battery from a full charge to losing power completely and the manufacturer’s estimate was dead on. It lasted roughly 3 hours and 7 minutes of constant video projection before turning off the 1st time and 3 hours and 13 minutes the 2nd time; plenty of time for most movies (outside of a Lord of the Rings marathon)

Be aware that running off the battery defaults to eco mode over performance mode, thus you are going to see a decrease in the overall brightness level. Turning it up will impact the length of time the battery charge will last. When the DICE is plugged in, it defaults to performance mode.

I tested the device charging feature, via the USB port. It just works, plug and play. Granted, you will drain the battery and lose video projection time, but it’s an awesome feature if you are desperate for a quick charge (or are perhaps need juice while streaming a TV show or movie from your device). No USB-C here charging, of course.

I tested loading up a bunch of movies on a 64GB thumb drive, popped that into the USB port, and queued those up using VLC (available on the Google Play store). No issues at all. I’d also recommend that option for anyone that’s going to a truly remote location where Wi-Fi or cellular service will be spotty.

I tested Chromecast streaming using multiple apps. It works well, but be aware it’s going to take slightly longer to get going when starting a video. I was noticing roughly an additional 15-20 seconds waiting for videos to start compared to streaming to a separate Chromecast device or streaming to a Sony TV using Android. After it gets going, it’s an identical experience to the those other devices.

Personally, I found the Android 9.0 interface to be hit or miss. YouTube worked perfectly, for instance. Loading up other apps was a bit of a chore. Disney+ was solid, Hulu was lagging, Peacock was super slow. Google Voice Assistant works just fine (there’s a button on the remote for it).

As mentioned previously, you certainly aren’t locked into Android. I tried both a Roku stick and a Fire TV stick via the HDMI port, each worked like a charm. You will have to remember to bring that extra remote control when traveling though.

If I had to add anything the hardware, a S/PDIF optical out would have been nice for more advanced speaker systems or perhaps a USB-C port for charging newer devices. Maybe a 2nd HMDI port. If I had to add anything to the software, it would be a more stable Android interface & Netflix support within Android.

Should You Buy It?

If you are looking for a compact, bright projector for travel, the WEMAX DICE should be at the top of your shopping list. It’s a user friendly projector that’s easy to get up and running, plays pretty much anything you can throw at it, gives you maximum flexibility in where you can use it and provides a greater level of brightness than competitors at this price point.

If you are going to take this device on the go, you may want to consider investing in a small, hard-shell case, like Pelican cases with foam inserts to project the projector lens. There are cheaper options from Amazon Basics as well.

You can read more reviews of the WEMAX DICE projector here on Amazon. The MSRP for the DICE is $700, but you can normally find sales in the $500 – $600 range. The last deal post on the DICE projector on Ben’s Bargains was $403.

WEMAX DICE 1080P Portable Projector Review

If any of you have visited your local eye doctor as of late, you are aware of the cost on a new set of frames. If I recall correctly, my last visit was in the $500 to $600 range, most of which was paying for two new sets of glasses with all the fancy upgrades. That’s certainly one reason that the new crop of online-only, direct-to-consumer glasses companies, like GlassesShop, are an attractive option to the frugal glasses buyer.

Be aware that you will need your current prescription in order to order a new set of frames. If you don’t have one, just check your smartphone’s app store for a number of free apps that will scan your current glasses and provide you with the data you need. While I did have my current prescription, I tried 3 of these apps and each was exactly correct (compared to my last prescription).

My GlassesShop order for a set of Lyndon frames was placed on September 5th, the glasses shipped on September 9th and the frames landed on my doorstep on September 15th. My glasses originated in Danyang, China and were UPS-routed to Korea, Alaska, Kentucky, then finally Phoenix. If you are in a rush, a 10-day wait time may be too long. Obviously, wait times will vary based on location. Take a look at the GlassesShop manufacturing and shipping time estimate page for more info.

Comparatively, the cost was significantly cheaper than my local eye doctor’s office. The frames & case were under $25 & the prescription lens with anti-scratch, anti-reflective and UV coating totaled up just over $90. You can see the full breakdown of the cost below (and all options for add-ons here):

What Comes in the Package?

My glasses came wrapped in a standard, plastic UPS envelope. However, that wasn’t an issue since the outer black GlassesShop case holding the frames is very rigid. The folding top is magnetically locked into place, thus you don’t have to worry about the case popping open during travel.

Inside, you will find your frames in a stylish, GlassesShop-branded bag, similar to the material of a soft, glasses cleaning cloth. There’s also a microfiber cleaning cloth provided for lens smudges and a handy instruction booklet for making adjustments. The postmodern glasses case (as seen below) was packaged separately and survived the 6,803 mile trip without taking any damage.

Fit / Design / Extended Use

I’ve been wearing the Lyndon frames for about a week now. The initial fit was a little tight, but after I adjusted the nose pads near the bridge, I didn’t notice the tightness anymore. Tip: You will want to pay attention to the size guide on the GlassesShop site. Each set of frames is recommended for a specific size of face.

The Lyndon frames passed my simple head shake test, both side-to-side and up-down. I feel comfortable wearing these frames when I’m going an activity, like working out in the yard. I simply don’t have to adjust the position of the frames during the course of the day.

Of course, you can’t try these on in person until you purchase a set. If you want to know how a set of frames looks on your face, GlassesShop does have an upload photo option (up to 10MB) or a Tour Webcam option to see what a virtual set of glasses would look like on your face.

Regarding the design, you can tell the frames are relatively inexpensive. For instance, the hinges on my current pair (made by Harley Davidson) have a reverse flex option that allows the temple arms to bend in the opposite direction of folding inward, ideal for larger heads / changing hairstyles. The Lyndon frames don’t have that option.

While the nose pad arms were bendable, I got the feeling that if I pushed too hard, the plastic would snap. That being said, the lens placement was secure and the design provides access to all the screws is you want to swap out new lens in the future. I also liked the silver rings on the temple arms & hinges; a nice, stylish touch on what would normally be ordinary black frames.

As I mentioned, I’ve been putting these frames through a week of testing. I’ve really enjoyed them during my dog walks in the morning as both my pups enjoy chasing after jackrabbits, thus my glasses need to stay put when a 112-pound dog is ready to bolt. I’ve also found these glasses comfortable at my desk, staring at a computer monitor for 8 hours a day.

Should I Buy This?

While I didn’t love the look of the Lyndon frames as much as my primary frames, I certainly liked the significantly cheaper cost, the accuracy of the lens prescription, the strong positioning of the frames on my face, and the peace of mind of having a backup option in case my primary frames are damaged.

I’d say this is a great option for primary glasses if you are on a budget or simply are looking for a backup pair of frames that won’t take a big bite out of your bank account. Of course, be aware that manufacturing / shipping times could be a factor if you need glasses right away.

You can take a look at all the frames that GlassesShop offers by clicking the button below:

GlassesShop Prescription Eyeglasses

GlassesShop Lyndon Frames Review

After months and months of Amazon sellers gaming the review system, the online retailer has finally decided to crack down on reviewers that use this disclaimer phrase (or a variation of) “I received this item at a discounted price for my honest and unbiased review.“ These overly positive reviews were recently proven to be biased by ReviewMeta, often increasing the overall score as much as half a star.

That study found that incentivized reviewers were twelve times less likely to assign a 1-star rating than someone that purchased the product on their own. In addition, reviewers were loading up on products for free in exchange for their reviews; a makeshift payment system for anyone that wanted to write reviews for a living.

As detailed by Amazon in a release today, the only incentivized reviews that will remain on the site will be anyone enrolled in the Amazon Vine program. In all likelihood, this will decimate the review scores on the flood of cheap Chinese knockoff products that have taken Amazon by storm over the last couple years. There were even companies that sold Amazon reviews, before Amazon started suing them.

While Vine is a form of incentivized reviews, Amazon limits the number of Vine reviews that can appear on a product listing. Hypothetically, a product may have 10% Vine reviews, 90% non-incentivized reviews. Many third party sellers flipped that percentage in their favor, often listing 90% super-positive paid reviews and only 10% non-incentivized reviews from real customers at a product launch.

Amazon hasn’t weighed in on what they will be doing with the existing incentivized reviews that are currently listed on the site. While they won’t be allowing those reviews to be published moving forward, it’s unclear if they will remove reviews or require third party sellers to remove those reviews by a certain date.

As a consumer on Amazon, you should be wary of any product that lists those types of shady incentivized reviews. You can use products like ReviewMeta or Fakespot to scan for fake reviews or use the tips below to avoid incentivized reviews:

Three tips to identifying shady incentivized reviews:

• Search Amazon reviews for specific keywords like “discount,” “honest,” “unbiased,” or “review.” If you see a rash of reviews with that common disclaimer phrase pop up, you have discovered fake reviews.
• Use the sorting function to look at the timing of the reviews. When most of the 5-star reviews are around the same time period (perhaps within seven to ten days), those are likely fake reviews.
• Fake reviews are typically short, include extremely general details and have an overbearing level of positive superlatives. It’s also likely you will see grammatical errors in phrasing.

Amazon finally bans shady incentivized reviews

For as long as I have been alive, there has been a battle over consumers’ choice of drinks. No, I’m not referring directly to the Pepsi Challenge, but what I am getting to is that where others opt for coffee, tea, or rain water taken directly from the city streets, I’m firmly in the soda camp. My strong preference is for Coke products, but many soda flavors and brands have their occasional appeal and utility.

Once I became old enough to be a little discerning, I realized that the best soda options that were available, shy of going to the factory, were plastic bottles and cans. Those once classic 8 oz. glass bottles have almost entirely been displaced by cheap import stuff. Most modern soda fountains found in restaurants and so forth can’t even do as well as McDonald’s. (And I haven’t been to a McDonald’s in years.) Never mind the horrid soda gun they use in bars.

The practice of bringing home plastic bottles and aluminum cans of soda comes with some pretty obvious drawbacks. Plastic bottles are, in my opinion, notoriously difficult to get to the right temperature. I prefer cans, but I have to admit that the mettle taste is part of the package. Keeping cans cold and ready to drink means having a system, which consists of a small fridge just for cold drinks and a dedicated shelf space in the pantry for 12 packs. These considerations are pretty routine, and we do a good job of staying ahead of running out of cold or cased drinks. What’s more annoying though, is having the less popular stuff around. Our goddaughter came to visit for a few days, and when she left, we wound up with ten strawberry Fanta sodas.

She’ll visit again, but I don’t want those sodas hanging around eating shelf space in the meantime, so we took them to the office and after struggling to find a taker, gave them away.

I should mention that with the old lead pipes in our home, we don’t utilize the ice-maker in the fridge. It’s strictly bottled water for humans and animals. (Cases from Costco, and yes, it all goes in recycling.)

Of course, deep in my memory, I know that trying to have a soda fountain at home is a pretty hopeless endeavor. There’s CO2 cartridges and syrup bottles, and a lot of messy equipment.

Thus, when I met the Keurig KOLD, I took notice. The machine takes water, and a Keurig KOLD pod, and turns out wonderfully chilled and expertly finished soda.

In a way, I’m a good market match for the Keurig KOLD. I don’t do Starbucks, and I never had a pod-based drink prior to the Keurig KOLD. Plus, I often run headfirst into early adoption.

I was pretty sure that the actual drinks that the KOLD made were spot on before I had a machine in my home. (I expect no less from a partnership with Coca-Cola.) When I tasted me first Keurig KOLD Diet Coke at CES 2016, it really hit the spot. Now, after living with the KOLD for a while, I quickly learned of its quirks, but the product has stayed superb. I’ve gotten a kick out of showing off the machine.

We had people over for the AFC & NFC Championship games, and I was able to dish out perfectly cold Cokes, Diet Cokes, Dr. Peppers, Flynn’s Orange Cream and so on. Normally, I almost never manage to have Dr. Pepper around, and when I do, it’s gone flat or it’s not cold or some such. So even without the fun of showing Keurig KOLD do its mixing thing, my measure as a host went up.

And the mixing is a thing to behold. First the machine draws in some water from its 72 ounce reservoir, presumably around 8 ounces. The water goes into the chiller, and gets chilled. At the same time, some water is brought into the top of the pod, where the carbonation beads reside. The carbonation is released and combined with the chilled water to make chilled, carbonated water. This water is then poured into the waiting glass, and at measure the syrup is released to make for a precise mix. This all seems to happen in about a minute, and as I said before, the result in terms of nailing the soda flavors I know so well, is spot on.

One key that might be missed is that the syrup goes directly from the pod to the glass. This is important, because unlike what I understand can happen with coffee pods, there’s no residual flavor left over. Thus, a sugary Orange Cream and a Diet Coke can be made back to back without any troubling overlap.

With that happy little process and end product in mind, it’s time to get into the finicky details that can only come with regular use. While Keurig and coke put a lot of time into developing this product prior to launch, there are nevertheless plenty of early adopter issues to note.

Setting Up the Keurig KOLD

The chilling tech in the Keurig KOLD is unlike anything you’ve ever used… unless you’ve used a fridge. What this means is that right out of the box, or if it’s been disconnected from power, the Keurig KOLD is going to need some serious time to warm up/get cold. I’d recommend setting it up overnight. It can be plugged in from the box quickly (mainly it’s just removing the packing tape), but the machine will need plenty of hours to get cold. During this time, it’s like a loud fridge.

I have an old-fashioned kitchen that is mainly closed off, so a loud fridge-sounding machine on the counter isn’t a huge issue. Even so, I was glad when it reached its normal noise level. That normal level might bug me if it was next to my desk or in my home theater, especially in my dead quiet house, but in the kitchen, it hums along without much bother. I did come home from a road trip as the weather had suddenly changed from cold to warm (maybe 80 degrees inside) to find the Keurig KOLD getting a bit louder temporarily.

My review unit was a Keurig KOLD black, and happily it’s been designed to fit under cabinets, which is a major improvement compared with my wife’s just too tall KitchenAid mixer. The unit included the Keurig KOLD along with two Keurig KOLD Drinkmaker glasses. The glasses are a nice touch as they are perfect for 8 oz. drinks, with some room to spare. Also included with the machine was a primer piece. Basically, after setting up the machine and letting it get cold overnight, I needed to run some water through it. So instead of a KOLD pod, this little purple piece (primer pod) goes in, the water runs through and then, gets thrown out (by me). It’s not too much trouble, but here again is another reason to keep the machine plugged in and in-place.

Making a Drink

Now for actually making the drink. We are talking an 8oz. portion, which is going to throw some people. Another thing that can throw people is the foil seal on the bottom of the pods. It’s just a piece of foil that gets pulled off before the pod goes in the machine.

I’ve heard of people forgetting this and getting frustrated. On the one hand, that seems pretty silly since it’s so easy. On the other hand, I’ll admit that when chatting, I’ve wondered if I forgot it.

You see, when the pod compartment is closed, it punctures the top of the KOLD pod. A big no-no in the documentation is opening the pod compartment back up after closing it and before the drink is ready. (That would be premature.) Once closed and with glass/cup in place, the only button on the machine will flash. Press it, and the KOLD starts its thing.

This seems to take about minute, so it’s best not to stare at it like a toaster. There’s also a bit of noise from the carbonation and filling that might bother someone who is completely out of it. (Perhaps in a kitchen nap.)

Adding Water

I’ve had it happen where I put the pad in (after removing the foil) only to realize that I need to add some water to the machine. I add the water (again I use jug water from Costco), and then the machine is happy to have the water, but isn’t flashing ready. Remember how I said opening the pod compartment early is a big no-no? Well, in these cases, I open it the tiniest fraction, and immediately re-close it. That seems to set the machine right, and next thing you know, the drink is being made.

So yeah, it’s takes some good practice. It’s kind of like putting a disc in a vacuum drive or maybe just using home theater equipment in general. It seems pretty natural to me, and I’ve yet to waste a pod.

Recycling Pods

Speaking of the pods, while I was awaiting the Keurig KOLD, someone mentioned something to me about the how hard it is to recycle the HOT pods. This had me pretty concerned. As it turns out, the KOLD is a different animal. What I do, is I take a spoon, and I scrape some of the little carbonation beads out of the top of the used pod and put them into the trash. Then I can just flip the pod over and dump out rest of the beads. That leaves me with a pod that is marked Plastic #7, which is accepted as part of the local bi-weekly recycling program.

So yeah, instead of crushing aluminum cans, I’m scooping out carbonation beads. One thing I would like is for Keurig to develop a tool specific to this task. (I visualize a flat corkscrew design.)

Other Notes

One thing I noticed about the drinks though is they tend to lack foam. That’s foam and not carbonation. From what I can tell, the ingredients on the Coke products are identical to the can and bottled versions, except the pod-made drinks are meant not to foam. (I can’t say I miss it.) Meanwhile, the first time I made a Flynn’s Soda Shop Orange Cream, I thought it was going to foam over. Instead it stopped exactly in place.

Costs

In an era of 4K TVs and Ultra HD 4K Blu-rays, it’s pretty easy to see how early adoption can feel pricey. As of this writing, a Keurig KOLD is about $280 on Amazon. Meanwhile, I buy the pods from either Bed, Bath and Beyond or Target for about $4.49 for a pack of four pods. These boxes of four are shaped in a way where six of them take up the same space as a twelve pack. So on top of saving crazy space in the fridge, there is space savings to be had on the shelves. The key here, however, is that a Keurig KOLD drink, such as a Coke, works as a special product. I might run around all day listing to streaming music and whatever else, but when I get home, and when I have downtime, then I can be choosy. I can set the lights, and I can sit and enjoy my best audio equipment with the best sources. Maybe I can even enjoy a whole album in either vinyl, flac, or whatever else suits this relaxing but discerning time. This is when having a Keurig KOLD drink, with its perfect temperature and mix, is the most appreciated.

Conclusion

Here I’ve gone on and on about soda, and about the machine, and I’ve left out things like iced tea and mojitos. The truth is these, that stuff is just a bonus. There’s nowhere else I know short of going to somewhere like the Dr. Pepper museum where fresh and expertly made soda is available to drink. The Keurig KOLD has some good and bad traits that early adopters will find familiar. For me, nothing comes close to overshadowing the actual drinks the Keurig KOLD makes

Check Price of Keurig KOLD on Amazon

Keurig KOLD Drinkmaker Review: For the Love of Soda

While Amazon recently made a big show of going after reviewers selling their review services on sites like Fiverr and other employee crowdsourcing sites, Amazon hasn’t made any substantial moves against the rampant growth of overseas sellers flooding the retail site with fake reviews.

This is usually how it works. A reseller will source products from a country that manufacturers items very cheaply, like China for instance. They list those products on Amazon, then distribute a sample of those products to a group of “unbiased” reviewers at a steep discount or completely free.

Those “unbiased” reviewers plaster Amazon with 5-star reviews for the product with a variation on this disclaimer phrase “I received this item at a discounted price for my honest and unbiased review.“These “unbiased” reviews will usually include a smattering of product pictures as well as common phrases that pop up in the description. Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to identify these shills.

Three tips to identifying fake reviews:

• Search Amazon reviews for specific keywords like “discount,” “honest,” “unbiased,” or “review.” If you see a rash of reviews with that common disclaimer phrase pop up, you have discovered fake reviews.
• Use the sorting function to look at the timing of the reviews. When most of the 5-star reviews are around the same time period (perhaps within seven to ten days), those are likely fake reviews.
• Fake reviews are typically short, include extremely general details and have an overbearing level of positive superlatives. It’s also likely you will see grammatical errors in phrasing.

Alternatively, you can also use FakeSpot

Fakespot.com is a new site that popped up within the last few months that uses algorithms to analyze all reviews for a specific product. The site searches for automated reviews (generated by bots), one person writing reviews under several fake profiles, and reviews that were written in exchange for discounted or free products.

You can use the FakeSpot site in order to specifically analyze an Amazon URL or you can download the Google Chrome extension to automatically check an Amazon page

Let’s look at a few examples of super fake reviews:

G-Cord Bluetooth Headset: 93% Fake Reviews

The biggest problem with these G-Cord reviews is short length and poor writing. There are few specifics about the product within the reviews and many appear to have been purchased around later October.

Youna Women’s Leather Handbag: 77% Fake Reviews

These reviews are obviously fake due to common phrases used between different reviews as well as constant mentions of receiving the product at a discount. There’s an identical trend in other Youna reviews.

Seneo Wireless Security Camera: 79% Fake Reviews

The three core problems with this batch include an overwhelming amount of positive reviews, language that utilizes too many positive superlatives, and reviews that exist without the reviewer actually purchasing the product.

On the flip side, let’s look at a legitimate review page.

AUKEY Desktop Charging Station: Only 3.5% Fake Reviews

With such a small amount of fake reviews in the mix, you can easily trust the Amazon reviewers for this particular product.

Why Hasn’t Amazon Removed These Obviously Fake Reviews?

Surely, a retailer with a market value of $250 billion could afford to invest in a little algorithmic learning that spots and removes fake reviews. One issue is that exchanging product for reviews is basically the definition of the Amazon Vine reviewer program. Products are distributed to Amazon Vine reviewers for free in exchange for a detailed review. Amazon is leading by example, to a certain extent.

Another issue is that Amazon makes loads of money facilitating the sale of products through third party sellers. Amazon takes a commission percentage for each product that a third party sells on the site. In addition, third party sales have greater margins, thus many analysts believe Amazon is making more on these sales than selling first party items. Of course, Amazon also makes money on fees when storing items for a third party seller in an Amazon warehouse.

No matter which way you slice it, there’s an obvious conflict of interest for Amazon to move faster on removing obviously fake reviews. Fake, 5-star reviews help products sell more quickly, even if it’s at the expense of the Amazon customer.

How to Spot the Fake Amazon Reviews that Amazon won’t remove

Launched six years ago, Slacker Radio is one of the older names in a now very crowded digital music service arena, which in recent years has seen upstarts like Spotify (review) and Rdio capture music fans’ attention and splashy new arrivals by big-time players like Apple (iTunes Radio) and Google (Play Music All Access). And don’t forget Pandora, which just happens to be the king of all music services with over 65 million users (2.5 million paid).

Many of these services have a lot in common (including content), and it ultimately comes down to personal taste and listening habits when deciding which one is right for you. All of the services have free ad-supported versions or free trials in addition to their paid subscriptions, so it’s easy to “taste test.” Besides user interface, much of what separates the services is the “predictive algorithm” they use—the technology that creates on-the-fly radio playlists based on an artist, song or album choice.

Sizing Up the Competition

Slacker’s free service offers unlimited streaming with ads on any device, which separates it from competitors like Spotify and Rdio whose free services are bound to the desktop. Beyond computers and smartphones, the list of supported devices for the free version is quite extensive: Sony Smart TVs and Blu-ray players, Xbox, Sonos, Roku and Kindle Fire, among others.

Slacker Radio Plus ($3.99 per month) gives you unlimited song skips, playlists, offline listening for mobile stations and ad-free listening while Slacker Premium ($9.99 per month), which I tested, gives you more offline choices like downloadable albums and playlists and highly desirable on-demand listening similar to Spotify Premium. Due to licensing issues, some songs (e.g. some Beatles or Radiohead) in Slacker’s 13-million-plus song library will not be available on-demand.

A brief look at the competitors: Rdio and Spotify have free and paid tiers similar in price points to Slacker but each boasts 20-million-plus song libraries. The new iTunes Radio is free with ads and has a staggering 27 million songs. (iTunes Match at $25 per year will give you access to your personal song library in the cloud.) With only around one million songs, Pandora is also free with (tons of) ads but offers an ad-free version for $3.99 per month.

The Browser Experience

In February of this year, Slacker gave itself a makeover on all platforms. When you first visit its web player, you are greeted with a help overlay that shows you how to use the different play options. In addition to the search field, you are presented with four main tabs under the music player: Slacker Stations, New & Trending (with features like Artist of the Week or Album of the Week such as the newly released Pearl Jam album), My Music (your music history) and My Vibe (picks based on activity).

Slacker is really aiming for a guided user experience with professional DJs—who are brief but informative (and can be switched off)—on featured stations and curated editor picks, as well as original capsule bios and lyrics. There’s a bevy of non-music content like ESPN Radio, ABC News and The Weather Channel under News/Talk/Sports stations. You can even insert hourly ABC News or ESPN updates to your music stations. This kind of content differentiates Slacker from its competitors, and paid subscribers can download these stations for offline listening, which is a cool feature.

There’s a downside to all of this content. Even though the redesigned look is much improved, the browser interface is crowded, and a browser-only experience may not be appealing to all users. One feature lost in the clutter is Fine Tune, a button on the web player that allows you to adjust types of songs on the fly.

Mobile Is Where It’s At

Unless you have unlimited data or or an oversized data plan, offline listening is the most attractive aspect of a paid subscription on Slacker Radio or any of the other competing services. So I tested how easy or difficult it was to listen to offline content on the Slacker mobile app (iPhone in this case). You can select stations (Plus subscriber) and specific albums or playlists (Premium subscriber) for download, but it’s not immediately clear which ones are acceptable to download and how many songs are actually downloaded. Notably, you can only download full albums and not individual songs like you can on Spotify.

The process is not simple. Once you’ve selected a station or album for download by tapping the download symbol, you have to go to My Music on the home page and “refresh” which content to download over Wi-Fi for mobile listening. Just navigating around the mobile app is a frustrating experience at times because it’s not clear which direction you need to swipe or what button to tap. There is no standard slide-out menu that you see on many mobile apps, like Facebook or Spotify, so you end up tapping a lot of back arrows.

In contrast, the iPad app is an easier and less frustrating experience, but it doesn’t feel as complete as the browser version. The iPad version also allows you to stream Slacker over AirPlay, while the iPhone/iPod touch version doesn’t. On Spotify, AirPlay is available on both the iPad and iPhone.

Final Words

Free Slacker Radio is very competitive with the other free digital music services because you can listen to it on any device and it offers additional non-music content for users with various interests. You also get the curated stations and DJs, which add value. On the other hand, Rdio and Spotify have stronger social media integration with more crowdsourced content. The new kid on the block, iTunes Radio, has double the number of songs and an easier-to-use UI (as per Apple) but a lot less features and non-music content.

At $3.99 per month, Slacker Radio Plus is a good deal, competitive with the paid Pandora service at $3.99 (which has far less songs and curated content) and cheaper than the mid-tier Spotify subscription at $4.99. However, Slacker Premium at $9.99 per month offers less value than Spotify Premium (also $9.99), which gives the user a lot more flexibility with on-demand, offline content and a better mobile experience.

Slacker is definitely worth a spin for Pandora users, but if you’re already paying for another music service, Slacker may not have enough to draw you away.

Slacker Radio Review

Dear loyal Ben’s fans, cubicle warriors, Reddit addicts, bored college students sitting in class, cats who have learned how to type, Bill Shatner, grandmothers who like to forward emails from their AOL account, people who write one-star Yelp reviews, anyone who uses Internet words in real life, lurkers, people in Starbucks pretending to write a novel, Ghetto Dogs (you know who you are) and all other fellow travelers of the Internet Tubes:

Today you bear witness to the BIRTH of The CheckOut. The CheckOut is the geeky, Internet-addicted cousin to Ben’s Bargains, which has been saving online bargain hunters bundles of cash since it started way back in 2000.

Here’s some of what you can you expect to see on The CheckOut:

• Guides: Sure, we want to help you save money with buyer’s guides. But we will also be rolling out other helpful guides to help you get the most out of your tech! In the meantime, check out 10 Coffee Mugs to Get you Through Your Monday Morning.   
• Reviews: Technology is changing so rapidly, it’s hard to keep up with the latest, shiniest toys out there. Check out our review of the Roku 3, the newest iteration of the popular set-top box players. 

  Special Meme Bonus: If you see Success Kid, that means we absolutely love it; if you see Sad Keanu, we're bummed it's not better; and if you see Grumpy Cat, prepare to watch the Dark Side of the Force flow through us.

  

• Features and Ben’s Bytes: We’ll be sharing how-to’s, thoughts on the tech industry, insights into online shopping and other life-changing lists. Check out 5 Signs That You’ve Become a True Home Theater Enthusiast for some amusing soul-searching.
• Awesomeness: The tubes of the Internets are filled with wonder (and memes), and we’ll be bringing you what catches our eye and makes us laugh. Check out Five Amazing Movie Object Posters for some truly eye-catching designs.
• Giveaways: It wouldn’t be Ben’s Bargains without some sweet giveaways! To celebrate our launch week, we’ll be giving away geeky cool prizes Monday through Friday, starting with a couple of the awesome T-shirts in our buyer’s guide. Check out the post here to enter: 10 Character T-Shirts Worth Wearing.

We’re glad you could join us! Get out there, explore a few posts and lay some comments on us!

The CheckOut is ALIVE!!