What is it? An audible safety warning for your vehicle when backing.
Rating: Works As Advertised
This product is designed to produce a beeping warning when your car or truck backs up, a sound similar to those on many trucks, commercial vehicles, and construction equipment – used to warn anyone behind the vehicle that it is moving in reverse and the vehicle’s driver might not be able to see them.
The product is small, and requires no batteries. It is powered via the photoelectric cell that also activates the beeping alarm or warning.
It installs with a simple peel-and-stick sticker on the back of the product. Positioning it on one of the rear backup lights of a vehicle (the white backup lights, not the red rear taillights or brake lights), causes the product to function when the vehicle’s backup lights are on. When the vehicle is shifted out of reverse and the backup lights extinguish, the product ceases to sound. It’s that simple. Period.
This product works as advertised.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
ASOTVI Review of the OpenX
What is it? A tool for opening plastic clamshell packages.
Rating: Works As Advertised
Major claims: “fast, easy, and fun”
First of all, everyone wonders why manufacturers use those almost impossible to open clamshell containers. The answer is that they are “supposedly” an anti-shoplifting deterrent. That is, for some smaller products that would be easy to purloin into a pocket or purse, these near impenetrable enclosures make it very difficult to extract the product in the store without someone noticing, as well as the entire package itself being more difficult to conceal. The problem is that for all law-abiding citizens who happen to purchase these products, after getting them home, extracting them from their enclosures can be a nightmare without help. Enter OpenX to the rescue.
This product is made of heavy duty plastic and features two razor blades. One blade is an extendable triangular blade for both piercing and slicing; the other blade is set inside a set of plastic “jaws” or “teeth,” this blade specifically designed to slice open packages after the first blade has created an entrance incision.
The instructions for the product indicate for the first blade to be used to cut a one inch slit in the side of those hard plastic packages, then insert the bottom “tooth” or “jaw” into the incision allowing the other razor to slice open the plastic. Most of these clamshell type containers are constructed of two pieces of plastic sandwiched together and sealed along the edge. So slicing through at any point large enough to remove the item inside is sufficient for the exercise to be successful.
Many of these type packages are form-fitted to the product inside, and may necessitate a few strategic cuts to free the item inside. We observed that with the combination of the extendable box-cutter blade and the inset slicing blade, just about any twist and turn could be addressed. The extendable blade can also be used for any other box-cutting tasks. The other blade and lower jaw can also be used as a letter opener.
As to being “fast, easy, and fun” – It was observed to be faster than using one’s teeth (as the vendor’s video suggested) or even a pair of scissors. It was indeed easy to use, even when attacking very hard plastic. Fun? That’s a subjective judgment in the eye of the beholder, i.e. if cutting open plastic containers is what someone might deem entertaining or amusing. We observed this product to be an effective and useful tool.
Conclusion: Unlike scissors, which have difficulty negotiating hard plastic, or a standard box cutter or utility knife, which can potentially cut too deeply and possibly damage or scratch the product inside, this tool is specifically designed for this specialized task. It works as advertised and would be handy to have around the house, especially if you commonly purchase a number of products that often come in these type containers.
Rating: Works As Advertised
Major claims: “fast, easy, and fun”
First of all, everyone wonders why manufacturers use those almost impossible to open clamshell containers. The answer is that they are “supposedly” an anti-shoplifting deterrent. That is, for some smaller products that would be easy to purloin into a pocket or purse, these near impenetrable enclosures make it very difficult to extract the product in the store without someone noticing, as well as the entire package itself being more difficult to conceal. The problem is that for all law-abiding citizens who happen to purchase these products, after getting them home, extracting them from their enclosures can be a nightmare without help. Enter OpenX to the rescue.
This product is made of heavy duty plastic and features two razor blades. One blade is an extendable triangular blade for both piercing and slicing; the other blade is set inside a set of plastic “jaws” or “teeth,” this blade specifically designed to slice open packages after the first blade has created an entrance incision.
The instructions for the product indicate for the first blade to be used to cut a one inch slit in the side of those hard plastic packages, then insert the bottom “tooth” or “jaw” into the incision allowing the other razor to slice open the plastic. Most of these clamshell type containers are constructed of two pieces of plastic sandwiched together and sealed along the edge. So slicing through at any point large enough to remove the item inside is sufficient for the exercise to be successful.
Many of these type packages are form-fitted to the product inside, and may necessitate a few strategic cuts to free the item inside. We observed that with the combination of the extendable box-cutter blade and the inset slicing blade, just about any twist and turn could be addressed. The extendable blade can also be used for any other box-cutting tasks. The other blade and lower jaw can also be used as a letter opener.
As to being “fast, easy, and fun” – It was observed to be faster than using one’s teeth (as the vendor’s video suggested) or even a pair of scissors. It was indeed easy to use, even when attacking very hard plastic. Fun? That’s a subjective judgment in the eye of the beholder, i.e. if cutting open plastic containers is what someone might deem entertaining or amusing. We observed this product to be an effective and useful tool.
Conclusion: Unlike scissors, which have difficulty negotiating hard plastic, or a standard box cutter or utility knife, which can potentially cut too deeply and possibly damage or scratch the product inside, this tool is specifically designed for this specialized task. It works as advertised and would be handy to have around the house, especially if you commonly purchase a number of products that often come in these type containers.
ASOTVI Review of Pops a Dent
What is it? Do-it-yourself dent and ding repair kit for your car
Rating: Doesn't Work As Advertised
Major Claims:
Per the vendor commercial, the printed claims on the product’s box, and the product’s included instructions, the way this kit is supposed to work is that you first begin by plugging in the electric glue gun and waiting five minutes for it to warm up. When the glue is ready, you apply a generous portion to the glue pad of one of the pullers. The glue pad is then attached to the center of the dent. The instruction say to wait 3 to 5 minutes for the glue to dry, but not to wait more than 8 minutes. From that point the bridge is laced onto the threaded stem of the glue pad, with its two pads positioned on either side of the dent. By rotating the knob onto the stem, the bridge provides a counterforce, “pulling” the dent out and restoring the sheet metal to its original condition. That’s how it’s supposed to work “in theory.”
As our video illustrates, we attempted to get the product to work multiple times but with no success.
To begin with, the design of the product limits its potential effectiveness fairly dramatically:
So we aren’t prepared to claim that this product could never possibly work in any instance. We are simply observing based upon our evaluation that the possibility of achieving a successful result with this product, best case, is very limited in scope of applicability, is not as easy as the vendor claims, and it cannot physically be done on any and all types of dents or on any and all cars as the vendor claims.
Rating: Doesn't Work As Advertised
Major Claims:
- Box says, “It really works!” – We could not verify this claim, even with multiple attempts
- “So easy anyone can do it” – We couldn’t get it to work
- Works on any size car and just about any size dent – Absolutely untrue due to the physical design and limitations of the product.
Per the vendor commercial, the printed claims on the product’s box, and the product’s included instructions, the way this kit is supposed to work is that you first begin by plugging in the electric glue gun and waiting five minutes for it to warm up. When the glue is ready, you apply a generous portion to the glue pad of one of the pullers. The glue pad is then attached to the center of the dent. The instruction say to wait 3 to 5 minutes for the glue to dry, but not to wait more than 8 minutes. From that point the bridge is laced onto the threaded stem of the glue pad, with its two pads positioned on either side of the dent. By rotating the knob onto the stem, the bridge provides a counterforce, “pulling” the dent out and restoring the sheet metal to its original condition. That’s how it’s supposed to work “in theory.”
As our video illustrates, we attempted to get the product to work multiple times but with no success.
To begin with, the design of the product limits its potential effectiveness fairly dramatically:
- The dent you wish to repair can’t be more than approximately 5 inches wide, in terms of total surface area, due to the fact that the pads of the bridge have to span it and be resting on the high points of the original surface, where you would like to pull out the dent to match.
- If the metal has been stretched in any way when it was damaged, this product will do nothing to reform it back to its original shape.
- If a dent is on a corner or rounded surface such that the two pads of the bridge can’t straddle either side of it, the product isn’t applicable.
- It isn’t applicable to bumpers or anywhere on the car you aren’t dealing with light sheet metal.
- Glue drying time is nothing short of pure guesswork. The whole concept of this product is that the application of glue to the dented surface is going to be exactly strong enough to hold fast sufficient to pull out the dent, but still be pliable enough to remove with a snap and without becoming permanently glued to the car. There’s nothing other than trial and error available for this to be achieved, if it can be achieved.
So we aren’t prepared to claim that this product could never possibly work in any instance. We are simply observing based upon our evaluation that the possibility of achieving a successful result with this product, best case, is very limited in scope of applicability, is not as easy as the vendor claims, and it cannot physically be done on any and all types of dents or on any and all cars as the vendor claims.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
ASOTVI Review of the Open It
What is it? A tool for opening packages of all types
Rating: Must Have
Major Claims: It cuts, snips, slices, and unscrews – It does!
Fundamentally this product is a heavy pair of commercial-grade shears, especially adapted for opening all those clamshell and blister packages of products that defy escape. Sometimes even normal scissors have a hard time negotiating their way through some hard plastic packaging. We found this product cut through clamshell packaging quite easily, with its large handles affording an ample supply of leverage and power. If fact, its blades are offset such that the package itself doesn’t interfere with the handles during the cutting action.
Beyond opening those pesky plastic packages, this product is also a “Swiss Army Knife” of sorts, in that it also offers three other functions. The handles can be locked together to allow the blades to close and form a “plow” for cutting through paper-wrapped packages – think of it like a large letter opener. Next it has a small razor blade in the handle that serves as a handy box-cutter, for cutting tape, cellophane, and for slicing into CDs or DVDs. Lastly, it offers an onboard screwdriver, both flathead and Phillips head, for opening small compartments with tiny screws.
We found this product to be very strong and well made. If you purchase a lot of products that typically come in hard plastic clamshell wrap, then this product could very well be a “Must Have”. It absolutely works as advertised.
Rating: Must Have
Major Claims: It cuts, snips, slices, and unscrews – It does!
Fundamentally this product is a heavy pair of commercial-grade shears, especially adapted for opening all those clamshell and blister packages of products that defy escape. Sometimes even normal scissors have a hard time negotiating their way through some hard plastic packaging. We found this product cut through clamshell packaging quite easily, with its large handles affording an ample supply of leverage and power. If fact, its blades are offset such that the package itself doesn’t interfere with the handles during the cutting action.
Beyond opening those pesky plastic packages, this product is also a “Swiss Army Knife” of sorts, in that it also offers three other functions. The handles can be locked together to allow the blades to close and form a “plow” for cutting through paper-wrapped packages – think of it like a large letter opener. Next it has a small razor blade in the handle that serves as a handy box-cutter, for cutting tape, cellophane, and for slicing into CDs or DVDs. Lastly, it offers an onboard screwdriver, both flathead and Phillips head, for opening small compartments with tiny screws.
We found this product to be very strong and well made. If you purchase a lot of products that typically come in hard plastic clamshell wrap, then this product could very well be a “Must Have”. It absolutely works as advertised.
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