Award Winners and their runner-ups

By Richard Sherwin, Richard Macias, Ted Mayo, Amy Eller, Christine Eads, Bob Plunkett, Jennifer Auspitz and Susan Davis

Last week the CTA, the largest consumer products trade association, released the innovative products of the year. Here are a few products and services that the CTA might have missed:

The Barnes and Noble Nook

(Best reading App)

Barnes and Noble has been taking it on the chin from Amazon’s splashy rise to fame through its shopping web site and its Kindle hardware. But for those of you who rely on the best way to read an eBook and to buy, search and add documentation features, B@Ns new Nook App, available on most mobile phones, Tablets, PCs and Mac, is far and away the best reading App on the market. The recent update of Kindle App makes it too much part of the shopping infrastructure of Amazon and not as easy to use as before. In fact, one of DFA’s favorite features of the old Kindle App was its ability to find free books. Now that’s been relegated to an almost unfindable feature. Nook’s upgrade also is esthetically cleaner and makes it easier to shop.

Runner-up is the new reading App from most public  libraries and its “OverDrive” system which lets you choose whatever format you have…or read on its own App which doesn’t require a subscription to any E-Reader.

The Bissell SmartClean Robot

(Best Robotic Vacuum)

Formerly the bastion of Roomba, we found the new Bissell SmartClean Robot vacuum far easier to use and faster charging. The Bissell’s directions could use a little help, but once running, it seems to have a better robotic mind in choosing where to go in a big room and which dust or dirt to chase. Its tech support (like most Bissell products) is much better than Roomba, too. Our biggest knock on Roomba was that we and others seem to go through batteries just as the unit was coming off warrantee. In fact we went through a few Roomba’s because of battery issues.

Runner-up: Roomba! They have a huge market share and right now the unit is available in many more retailers than the Bissell.

The Riva S Blue Tooth Portable Speaker

(Best Blue Tooth Portable Speaker)

Design Experts, Inc., the maker of the RIVA S, recognized for its best-in-class audio products, has gotten past the myriad Bluetooth® Wireless mobile speaker units on the market. Riva’s TrueWireless™ technology allows for a very accurate stereo speaker arrangement,  and its proprietary Trillium™ technology employs ADX audio drivers, and numerous other features like high-quality speakerphone and Charge Out functions. While its menu operation is not for the faint of heart, the RIVA S outdid our Bose, Logitech, and several others in the same size and price range. (about $235). Its battery life was the best in class, lasting up to 13+ hours at 73db, and 5+ hours at the single speaker’s maximum 94+dB output, giving you a full day’s worth of audio at the beach, in the backyard or around the house. The Riva S App is very useful for wireless control.

Runner-up: tie! Bose, JBL and Altec Lansing are all clear sounding and powerful and medium weight.

“We”  provides real Boost for mobile phones

(Best Booster for weak mobile reception)

The DFA model home is in the forest, far from any cell towers. Whether you have Verizon or AT@T, Sprint or T-Mobile account,  there are times when any of us have only one or at the most two bars on our phones. Recently weBoost, one of the more reliable signal booster manufacturers and marketers installed the latest home/small business model here.

The weBoost is helping us stay connected whether we are accessing email, making a call or streaming videos. We are able, for the first time, to get connected via 4G. We have even used the higher speed connection to replace traditional Wi-Fi when our Cablevision Wi-Fi was out. We found that our videos buffered less and downloads were completed much quicker than before. And, when testing all the major and a few minor mobile service providers even with 3G, our signals were vastly improved. Connect 4G, the weBoost proprietary booster, also features dynamic, self-adjusting controls that automatically customize the gain level on each frequency band as conditions require. The self-install kit includes all components needed for installation-booster, indoor & outside antennas, power supply and 2 lengths of coaxial cable. The home and or small business version of weBoost is $399.

Runner-up: Several mobile signal boosters have emerged the last few months, but are even more expensive than weBoost. At the next consumer electronics show in January, we expect this technology to drop in price drastically.

In the DFA Labs Now:

Quell drug-free pain relief wearable technology

Some of us tried Quell at a recent trade show and were surprised by its effectiveness. This wearable technology is said to provide 100% drug free, widespread relief from chronic pain and is FDA cleared for use during the day and at night while sleeping.

Some reporters tried this device before we did. At least five reporters, in addition to our team members, put Quell on their ankles (blood supposedly flows up) and reported almost instant relief from some pain spots and a few felt better but not total relief. It is doctor recommended; designed for people with nerve pain, back pain, fibromyalgia, and arthritic pain among other chronic pain conditions.

Quell’s patented OptiTherapy technology automatically adjusts stimulation to deliver optimal pain relief. It’s Bluetooth® connection and smartphone app make it easy to monitor your pain therapy and sleep, and to customize the device’s operation.

Costs $249 and comes with a risk free, 30-day money back guarantee.

Runner-up: We are still using the Omron electro therapy device that has worked successfully for our ankle pain, sciatica and sore knees. It’s priced around $65 and provides (after using for 15 minutes on a middle strength setting) a few hours of relief.

The Best Smart or Not 4K Ultra TVs

Digital Family Advisor’s staff used to follow the best analytical reviews from Consumer Reports, but the venerable protector of consumer products (in every category) as fallen on hard times in our opinion, and their ratings are hard to decipher and/or do not cover the latest models, so we are borrowing what we think are the most reliable in this next generation of TVs based on our interviews with industry experts and what our own staff members have purchased.

Our initial findings say that the highest level of picture quality comes in the pricier “Smart” versions of the TVs. So it is not worth it to save the $100 or less for the non-smart models. Ultra HD TVs (4K) TVs that include Internet Apps, like Netflix, Amazon, You Tube and Hulu Plus tend to have better components. In our initial top picks Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, Vizio P2 – M series and LG provide enough Apps if you don’t already have Roku 4, the only set top box that plays back Ultra HD (4K) content. We also found that that top TVs in the Ultra HD class provide enough HDMI and other inputs and outputs that you can connect your set- top box, Blue Ray Player, component stereo and whatever else is introduced the next few years to protect you from obsolescence.

Runner-ups: The second tier TVs, the ever popular priced Vizio budget line, Hisense (now owning Sharp TVs in addition to its own budget line of TVs) JVC, Polaroid, TCL, Element, RCA, Sceptre, Westinghouse Digital, may have licensed some famous names, but all these affordable TVs will not produce highest quality viewing. And any of these brands that you might remember from the good old days are not “those” memorable companies. They are usually offshore manufacturers that purchased the rights to those famous names.

One more TV reminder: even the top rated TVs, thanks to very thin bezels, nonexistent bezels and ultra slim profile, will NOT produce even middle range audio quality which ironically the boxier older TVs sometimes did. The older models had more room to fit decent (maybe) speakers inside the TV chassis. So a $50 Blue Tooth speaker or even a sound bar (more reviewed soon) will be required for a full immersive listening experience.