BLU Studio 5.5 D610a Unlocked Dual SIM GSM Phone (Grey)

BLU Studio 5.5 D610a Unlocked Dual SIM GSM Phone (Grey)..

GET BLU Studio 5.5 D610a Unlocked Dual SIM GSM Phone (Grey) By BLU

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39 of 39 people found the following review helpful.
great phone
By easmith9140
okay first background:
coming from an iPhone 5c to this. (nothing wrong with iPhone except that it died and i needed a less expensive alternative)
i am in college, do a lot of emails, web browsing, app usage, messaging, and using maps(cuz i can never find anything in this town)
first off look at the specks- this phone is huge compared to an iPhone but very similar in it's build to a samsung galaxy. so if you don't want a big phone then this isn't for you. i didn't look at the size before ordering and was very mad at myself until i opened the box. this is a sleek phone with a bit of a grippy back casing; like what you would get with an incipio case. it is not heavy at all compared to it's size and it's very thin and well built. no rattling and no squeeks anywhere. back stays on well. screen is nice and bright and very clear. i honestly can't see a difference between this display and my iPhone. i have used the camera and the pictures come out fine; i don't use a phone for a camera religiously though. this is an android based phone which i love. the voice command and voice to text application come built in and are WAY BETTER than siri ever was for me. (the voice to text is an option while in the message screen) the phone volume is loud, music is crystal clear even in head phones and also in my car aux. i haven't had any issues yet and it's been about a month. if anything happens I'll update.

so pros:
good sound
light but durable
clear screen/good display
good software (easy to learn since I've never dealt with it)
easy to set up and work
easy to text/ use touch screen

only con: was the size until i got use to it. (so easy to read on this phone and i can actually watch videos. i was so close to sending it back but i love it now)

so in conclusion: great phone for the price. i really don't have any issues so far and I'm very pleased with my purchase. i got more than expected and i am pleasantly surprised.

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful.
Great Off-Brand Phone! You won't regret your purchase!
By Gerren Jones
Ok, I have to say that I am super impressed with this phone. If your reading this review, you are probably just as skeptical as I was when considering buying an off-brand phone. I don't write many reviews, but I always rely on others reviews so I want to help others with their hesitation to purchase this phone. I switched to T-mobile to save a little cash from being a Verizon customer for many years. First, the shipping was really fast, which was one of the reasons I got this phone after looking at other unlocked phones; this was available for Prime shipping.

Now for the meat and potatoes...once I turned the phone on, it started the normal Android first use process. And since I was going from a Note 2, I already had Google information. The phone was set up with my info in about 3 minutes and started downloading the apps I had on the Note 2. Then went to T-mobile to purchase a sim card ($10). They entered my info activated the sim card and the phone was up and running in about 2 minutes. Full bars and 4G!! I've been playing with the phone for about 2 days now and everything is good to go with no problems. Only problem I had was transferring my number from Verizon and that had nothing to do with the phone itself, but the process of porting a phone number between companies.

If I had to give any dislikes, I have 2...which isn't a deal breaker to me. One is that the phone doesn't have a lot of storage, but I added a 16gb micro sd and that dislike is solved. This phone will take as much as a 64GB micro card by the way. And the second dislike would be the camera. And I'm only comparing it to the Note 2 since that what I switched from. But like I said, not a deal breaker for me. This phone says 5.0 mega autofocus on the camera.

Overall I'm very happy with this phone and I don't think I'll get a name brand phone ever again when I look at the cost comparison. This phone works about 98% as good as my old Galaxy Note 2 and I love Samsung products. Just not Samsung prices. If you have read this far of my review, go on and buy the phone. You won't regret it.

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful.
Bang for your buck!
By Bradley T.
I am posting this after using the phone for 24 hours:

Looks: Straight out of the box the phone looks like a name brand phone. Sleek, subtle, and straight to the point.

First Use: I put my (AT&T) SIM card into the phone and booted it up. I went through the 3 minutes Android/Google setup and viola! everything was working. I just had to add the settings to get my multimedia text working. Everything else worked automatically, even data. (I had read from another reviewer that it didn't get 4G speeds but I don't think he understands the difference betweeen 4G and LTE. I am very happy with the (data) speed of the phone.) The screen isn't super clear but it is very nice for what you pay. The camera was also sub par but once again you get what you pay for. The quadcore processor is very responsive and leaves very little time for lagging.

Overall: I paid $170(something) for an unlocked 5.5 inch (screen size) Android device and can not complain. If you want a replacement phone without renewing your contract or paying $500+ for an unlocked device, this is what I would purchase. Before reviewing the phone remember that you are reviewing a $170 phone, not a Note 3. If anything changes over the next few weeks I will update the review but has of today I am extremely happy.

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Ergotron 33-349-200 WorkFit-S Dual with Worksurface+

Ergotron 33-349-200 WorkFit-S Dual with Worksurface+..

GET Ergotron 33-349-200 WorkFit-S Dual with Worksurface+ By Ergotron

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72 of 72 people found the following review helpful.
Workfit-A vs Workfit-S
By Melnoles
My wife had back surgery and needed a way to sit and stand during the day when she went back to work. We are both IT professionals. I did a bunch of research and it came down to the workfit-a or the workfit-s. I know someone with a kangaroo, but I needed something for her that took very little effort to lift and the ergatrons fit the bill for that much better. I thought the s looked sturdier, but she liked the a because it mounted on the back of the desk instead of on the front. I ended up getting both. We got both models with the extra work surface which makes a huge difference in usability and with the dual monitor setup. I set up the a for her and the s for me. Both have dual 21" hp monitors. We use wireless keyboards and mice to simplify the cabling, although I had them set up wired initially and it was not a problem. It just took a little more work.

We love both models for different reasons. I like the s because it is simpler and I think the work surface, which is raised from the keyboard, is a better setup. She likes the a because the arm gives much more flexibility in motion around the cube. They both work perfectly for what we wanted, something we could use to sit and stand with during the day that take almost no effort to lift and lower.

I would recommend the s if you are tight on space and don't need the flexibility of the a. I would recommend the a if you have more room and want the flexibility of side to side motion. We don't have the bow hinge on either, so I can't say how they work, but we could see the benefit for sharing one monitor at an angle without having to have someone stand behind you.

My wife sits and stands on and off during the day as her back requires as expected. I thought I would alternate sitting and standing every other hour to try it out. I find I actually stand pretty much all day long at my station instead. I sit when I go to meetings and eat or after I work out. I got very inexpensive stand mats (less than $15) and I use mine all of the time and it makes a difference on my feet. My wife uses it less because it gets in the way when she uses her chair. I have a foot stool I use when I stand to keep one foot propped up on and off and I flip the mat over that when I sit, so it works out well for me.

The bottom line is both of these workstations are excellent for our needs. With work surfaces and large keyboard trays, they will each run right at $500 apiece. I find the benefit of being able to stand and sit well worth it. They are very sturdy, but they do take time to set up correctly. Setup is fairly straightforward with the instructions, but not trivial. The only issue I had was the holes for the worksurface on the s didn't line up perfectly and took some time working that out. Adjusting the tension on either takes some time, more so on the a, but everything works when you get it right. I find that I keep the keyboard higher than I thought to avoid wrist fatigue, but at the right height, it is not an issue. Getting the cabling right so it is clean and tight also takes time, but it turns out well if you work through it. If you are a hard typer, the monitors will bounce a little, but I adjusted easily and got used to it. More tension could reduce that, but I don't find it an issue.

The cool factor on both is way up there, particularly the a. You will get attention. I wrote this review because I found very little online comparing the two models. I hope you find this useful.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful.
Ergotron dual monitor 2 work surfaces
By Amazon Customer
I purchased this for work a couple of months ago. I have back and neck issues. Being able to stand or sit is absolutely awesome. You can get the strain of you back for awhile. I probably stand 6hrs and sit 2 hours at work. The device itself is well made but it is unstable. The extra work surface is entirely to flimsy to write or type on. Since the work surface hangs from above there is no real support. You have to be ginger when using it. No heavy leaning. It is also to small so I added a shelving board to it by screwing it right to the existing surface. The upper work surface is stable because it has more contact with the suspension frame but is to high to use for typing. The monitors need to be at a point where you look straight across and not down which makes the keyboard to high. You arms need to be at 90 deg when typing . This device is excellent compared to others out there for price but needs to be more stable. The base needs to be bigger and the work surface supports need to be stabilized better and this thing would be 5 stars easily. I feel that for the price you are paying this is not to much to ask. If you just want the choice of sitting or standing , then this device gets the job done. I am 6ft tall and the height on this device is maxed out when i am standing.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
Well made and much-needed
By John Coker
I installed this at work a few days ago and am very happy with it. The separately adjustable keyboard and monitor height made it so that I was able to get it just the right height. The quick height change means I can alternate between standing and sitting as well.

The machine is impressively sturdy and well-designed, somewhat of a rarity, and made a pleasant surprise.

One comment is that anyone much taller than 6'0" / 183cm may not be able to get the monitors quite as high as they need. (24" monitors are just the right height for me at the highest setting, but wouldn't be good for my 6'5" office mate!)

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Targus USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Dual Video Docking Station, PC/Mac/Windows 8-Tablet/Netbook Compatible (ACP70USZ)

Targus USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Dual Video Docking Station, PC/Mac/Windows 8-Tablet/Netbook Compatible (ACP70USZ)..

Special Price Targus USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Dual Video Docking Station, PC/Mac/Windows 8-Tablet/Netbook Compatible (ACP70USZ) By Targus

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36 of 36 people found the following review helpful.
Getting better with driver updates
By MikeBaz
This is at least the second Targus USB 3.0 dock. (There was an ACP-70US - without the "Z" - and before that there was at least one USB 2.0 version of the same basic thing.) I purchased the non-Z version at a local store, and had a lot of trouble with stability of the dock, so I brought it back and bought this newer version.

It is still an unstable product, even with the current (Jan., 2013) firmware and drivers. The audio out dropped more than once a day, so I eventually stopped trying to use it and now plug the speakers into the machine (a Surface Pro) when the dock is being used, ignoring the on-dock audio completely.

And then, about once a day, the dock just "checks out". The hardware is still there, but it's nonresponsive - any peripherals attached aren't really available. The more common case of this is the monitors connected (I'm using both ports) just get frozen with whatever they had, the USB devices slowly drop out (e. g. mouse and keyboard work, but then at some point stop), etc. To fix this you have to unplug the dock from the computer, unplug the power (which at the dock is annoying, because the plug has a sliding, locking connector), plug the power back in, and connect to the computer. Then you're good for another... day if you're lucky.

I am very close to returning this unit and trying a different manufacturer's one at this point. The only thing stopping me right now is the fear that since all of these dual-display docks are basically the same guts (DisplayLink), that I'd be swapping one broken unit for another.

UPDATE IN APRIL, 2013: The very recent April driver update (7.1) has made a substantial difference. I've now gone nearly a week without the sound dropping or the Ethernet dropping. I see other posts about people having the exact same issues I was having, especially the Ethernet. I don't know if the updated drivers would help them, but it helped me. We'll need to see if it's a long term fix but so far at least, it's much better.

Also this is on Windows 8 - I should have said that before. Very specifically it's on a Surface Pro.

UPDATE APRIL 18: The drivers are not perfect still - I have had one drop of the Ethernet earlier this week after all, and just now, a loss of the sound. And there seems to be a new issue with this driver release around performance on the displays - the mouse cursor and scrolling are "jumpy" and that was not the case before. So it's still a work in progress even after all this time. So I am still waiting on DisplayLink to continue their improvements. The device works well enough at this point to not bother sending it back, and DisplayLink powers all of the other devices of this type so it's not like there's a choice around it even if I did send it back. That said I've dropped the rating back because it's a little silly that after all this time there are still issues around it.

I should also mention you CAN'T currently find the updated drivers on the Targus site - I just checked. They are at the DisplayLink site (7.2M0 released April 3, 2013).

UPDATE JUNE 18: The May 2013 drivers are better still. Biggest remaining issue is sound dropping every so often.

UPDATE AUGUST 30: The 7.4M0 drivers (from DisplayLink - Targus still has 7.3M1) seemed better, but audio dropout seemed to get much worse. I ended up completely uninstalling them (after unplugging the dock), rebooting, installing 7.3M1, connecting the dock, waiting for the hardware update and driver load (note: I don't remember seeing the update during an upgrade - that could be a UI issue or an actual installer bug, I don't know), confirming everything was working, disconnecting the dock, uninstalling fully again, rebooting, installing 7.4M0, connecting the dock (again including a hardware update), and then everything was happy for now. We'll see how stable it is. I've dropped my rating because this is a bit ridiculous, not having a reliable driver after all this time.

UPDATE DECEMBER 5: Even at 7.4M2 I'm still seeing the dropouts of audio. I did find a better way to fix it: (1) right-click volume icon in notification area (2) choose "Playback devices" (3) right-click "Speakers - Targus USB Audio" and choose "Properties" (4) change to the Enhancements tab (5) Change any of the enhancement checkboxes, click Apply, then change it back, and click Apply. [The change back isn't necessary but leaves you how you started.] Changing this setting seems to force the driver to sort itself out.

55 of 61 people found the following review helpful.
Works as advertised. Up to five displays, GigE, no waiting.
By Tyler Pomerhn
I'm not certain why so many others are having issues with this dock. I bought two (one for work, one for home).

Unboxed one, plugged GigE, some USB2.0 peripherals, and two 1920x1080 displays into the device, powered it up, and plugged it into the USB3.0 port on my Asus G74SX. The laptop detected the hub, but had very few of the components working. After inserting the driver CD that came with the unit and installing the drivers, the GigE port lit up and ran at 1Gbps, the USB2.0 fired up, everything worked but the dual external monitors. However, I waited about five minutes and the monitors suddenly engaged at the full 1920x1080 FullHD resolution.

Subsequent plug-ins to either of the docks worked flawlessly. A software update popped up with Windows Update a week later, with many updates for the dock; one of the biggest was for the DisplayPort software, which is software that extends video through the USB port. Technically, my NVidia GPU on the Asus doesn't see these monitors as external displays, so theoretically I could run with more than three screens. I tested and was able to run the GigE port to transfer files, while I was watching a 1080p video on one external display through the dock and another external display running YouTube, all while running apps on the laptop's main screen.

In short, This device was about as plug-and-play as can be, and that's saying something - I've been in the industry for 15+ years, and rarely had anything be so stunningly transparent, easy to use, and functional. I run with three displays (two external plus the laptop's own screen), GigE, and other peripherals all with a single USB cable.

My advice for others who might have problems - check your drivers, both on the software for the dock and for your own USB3.0 controller. I would wager that 90% of the issues are related to the laptop's own USB drivers, or perhaps running a set of screens at non-standard resolutions (though my work external screens are 1920x1080, which is standard, and my home screens are 1920x1200, and the docks have no issues switching between the resolutions, even when resuming from sleep), or running with outdated software. Maybe the 64-bit drivers are better than their 32-bit cousins. I dunno.

Bottom line? If there is some form of incompatibility, then you'll probably hate it. And let's be real, folks, it's been out a whole three or so months. But for those of us who need a docking solution that is easy to use and ubiquitous across manufacturers, and the drivers work, this is an EXCELLENT device.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful.
Works great, but don't lose you're power supply!
By B. Roldan
I've been using the Targus docking station for 3 months now with no problems. I've tested it with a Sony Vaio and Dell XPS, both performed flawlessly when I installed the latest drivers. I've used dual monitor and single monitor configurations with no problem.

Here is the biggest failing with the product. If you happen to lose your power supply, like I did on a recent business trip, you are out of luck. Targus WILL NOT sell you a replacement power supply. I tried mightily to convince their support team, but to no avail. Their solution to my problem? Go buy another Targus docking station... now I can have a spare docking station with my new power supply!

This decision by Targus is a major oversight in customer support, and so my total experience with the product goes from 5 stars down to 3.

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