Some tech products that just didn’t make the grade
A reader recently asked why I rarely write negative product reviews.
I replied that with just 52 columns a year, I hate to waste one on a product I wouldn’t recommend. I’d rather write about products I think are great than waste time and space grousing about products that aren’t. Usually.
Every so often I come across a product that might be good for someone else but has at least one fatal flaw, at least for me, like these:
• Beddi (wittidesign.com; $99) is an intelligent alarm clock that promised: up to four separate alarms; a white-noise generator; a gradual wake-up white light and app-controlled mood lighting; three customizable smart buttons; and two USB charging ports.
It’s a handsome device as bedside clock-radio devices go, and while it mostly delivered on its promise, it had one fatal flaw: It pairs with your iPhone using Bluetooth.
So I wake up, slap the button that turns off the alarm, grab my iPhone, and head for my office. A few minutes later I hear the distinctive weather alert sound of my Dark Sky app. That’s good.
But it’s coming from the Beddi in the bedroom and my wife is still asleep. Oops. That’s bad. Since I can’t be trusted to switch the Bluetooth setting every morning, I’ve gone back to using my old alarm clock. While it might be perfect for single folks, I prefer not to incur the wrath of Mrs. Dr. Mac again.
• Rowkin Mini (rowkin.com; $99, but currently $59), billed as “the world’s smallest Bluetooth stereo earbuds.”
They’re well-made and include an induction-charging battery case with a USB port for charging other devices.
The most fatal of their flaws, at least for me, is their inability to remain in my ears. One popped out while I was walking and it nearly disappeared down a drain; another time one fell out, I almost stepped on it.
I tried all three included sizes of ear tips, but none fit just right. Other flaws included occasional sound dropouts in one ear or the other and a mediocre (at best) microphone.
They may be just right if your ears are just the right shape, but they weren’t just right for me.
• X3 Hurricane Canless Air System 260+ MPH (canlessair.com; $229, but currently $149).
It’s a rechargeable compressed air system that blows air at more than 260 mph. It can run for up to 15 minutes and is equal to more than 5,000 traditional cans of air.
You already saw the fatal flaw for me: It costs more than every can of compressed air I’m likely to buy in my lifetime.
It’s also much louder — by orders of magnitude — than the quiet hiss of air exiting a can.