Dave's Blog
OK, so now I have a blog. People have been after me for a long time to put up one so here goes.
The first thing that I'd like to do is to share my experiences with some of the latest gadgets out there (those that know me know I'm a techno geek and have to have all the latest toys as soon as they are available).
The VueZone Personal Video Network
Well as soon as I heard about this thing, I was hooked. the price point was OK ($299 for two wireless cameras and a gateway) but not great. Even so, if it worked, and met the expectations set by the manufacturer (300 foot range, access from anywhere on the web, dual color cameras, easy setup etc.)
So I placed my order back in May and was informed that delivery was expected in early Summer. OK, its May so Summer is not far off...
After OVER FOUR MONTHS (and numerous emails asking where the !@#@#$ is my camera system?) the box finally arrived. Inside was the Gateway, two cameras (cute little guys) mounting system (really cool way to mount via adesive mounts and magnetic contact inside the cameras and the mount) and a power supply for the gateway.
I proceeded to follow the instructions and got the gateway connected to my network. Install was easy enough but range was far below the 300 feet promised. Of course, to be fair, my house is brick and my router is in my garage (detached) about 30 feet from the house. However, I have an N+ Router that has great range (I'll do another review of that later on) so that should not have been that much of a problem. Anyway, the cameras that were close to the router did in fact work, at least for about 20 minutes.
All of a sudden, with no changes to my network or router, the system just stopped working. Nothing I could do would get it working again.
I appealed to the company via their support site and got nowhere. The first message was pretty much, "oh, it should work" (NOT helpful) and the second was a message that ignored my response completely and said they assumed the problem had been solved.
When I pointed out that NO, the issue had NOT been resolved and that I STILL had a $300 system that was pretty much a door stop, I got a response that said their automatic system had kicked in and they were trying to fix their system...STILL no response about my issue. I wanted to really at this point, just get my money back. As of now, however, I have not gotten anywhere.
Final verdict (up to now):
This is definitely a product AND company to steer clear of.
The products are of inferior quality (WAY BELOW the $300 price tag) and their tech support is laughable.
Rating our of a possible 5 (Excellent): -5
UPDATE!
Someone at VueZone must have read my blog.. :)
I got a PHONE CALL yesterday evening from James at VueZone. They are sending me a new Gateway to try! My rating as of now still stands since this has been nearly a five month ordeal. However, we'll see what the new Gateway does when it gets here (I am told it will arrive this Friday).
UPDATE!
OK. I received the new Gateway.
Hooked it up and it started to work right away. Good sign...
It worked great Saturday and Sunday but on Monday morning, I could see
my cameras in the browser window but they were "grayed out". I could
not get the image to come up. I deleted the cameras in the right frame
and tried to drag them over again, no go.
I unplugged the gateway and plugged it back in after ten seconds. The
gateway showed that it was connected to the internet but again, no go. I refreshed the window, logged out and back
in, same result.
Keep in mind that the system was set up for just over 48 hours.
Finally, I checked the battery...DEAD on both cameras!
One of the reasons I bought this system was because the company touted LOONG
battery life by the nature of how the technology was designed. I have a
news flash for Avaak; 48 hours battery life is not LOONG battery life.
Disappointing to say the least.
Giving the benefit of the doubt that they might have sent me batteries that had
already seen better days (however, the Settings page had indicated full
batteries on both when I set them up) I will AGAIN try this with a new
battery and see how long it lasts.
If 48 hours is all you can get on this system, IMHO, it is pretty much useless for any practical application.
I'll post my results after another 48 hours.
Hawking Wren1 Wireless Extender
As I have previously mentioned, my router set up is in my garage that is about 30 feet from my house (brick). I had been using a Dlink DIR 655 for the last year or so nut had continuing problems with dropped signals in my upstairs office. The Dir 655 is a good router but my situation was a bit too "extreme" for it, apparently. I searched for a solution and found some devent review for the Hawking extender so I got one online.
Configuration was a nightmare. the instructions and tech support are woefully inadequate and offered little in help. there are a number of settings that can be manipulated but no scheme for working with most routers. It is mostly "trial and error" to find a setup that works. Even then, the extender works only a few days or a week and has to be re-mated to the router. Consequently, it was an ongoing irritation. Finally after trying to work with it over a couple of months i gave up and tossed the thing as a piece of junk.
Final Verdict: - 4
Poor setup documentation
Not a dependable unit to use for a stable network
Tech support is a joke
I purchased a Linksys N+ WRT160N Router after searching for reviews of routers with the best range. EI needed to replace a DLink DIR 655 that diod not have sufficient range for my network. the DIR 655 is a good router as long as you don't need more than average range.
Everything I read about it seemed to indicate that it would meet my needs so I took a chance.
Setup was easy and straight forward. The unit came up and setup the
network quickly and easily (all my PCs run Win 7 Ultimate by the way).
the best thing is that it has sufficient reach to get to every part of
my house with a decent signal. I have had it in place now for several
weeks without a dropped signal. Consequently, I no longer need to
the extender (I had taken it offline anyway as a lost cause).
Final Verdict: +5
Good setup documentation
Easy setup
A dependable unit with great range
Mophie Hard Case and Battery for iPhone
I am, like most iPhone owners, not greatly impressed with battery life (I have the 3g version - 8Gb). Seeking a solution to this problem, I searched the web for products that had fairly high ratings from owners. I found the Mophie (http://www.mophie.com/) and gave it a try.
For several weeks, I was overjoyed with the unit. It did exactly what it promised and my short battery life woes were (I thought) over. However, one day, the unit refused to recharge. No warning or change in behavior, it just stopped taking a charge.
I appealed to the company and was sent a new unit and they provided the return shipping label for the old one. Nice service!
However, after one week, the same issue occurred. Once again, I was unable to get the unit to take a charge.
Another drawback to the unit is getting it in and out of the case. Getting in is not as difficult as getting it out. The latter is an extremely hard proposition and you almost have to break the case to get it off the iPhone.
Final Verdict: +1
Good while it lasts but pretty much a temporary solution.