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 Very Handy Tool Aug 02, 2010
I am a gadget type of guy and when I first saw this about a month ago, of course I had to have it. I am now on about the 5th day of ownership and I do have so say, that so far, I really like the Smartshopper. The first day or so I had many problems with it recognizing what I was saying, but I eventually figured out what the problem was. I was talking to it like it is stupid. I was speaking slowly and annunciating every syllable the best I could, such as "toe-may-toe s a u c e". Finally I decided to speak normally to it and BINGO, that did the trick. Now it recognizes probably 99% of what I say.
Yesterday I added my first two items to the list. I agree with some reviewers that say word entry is awkward. I don't mind doing it, but the alphabet is laid out strange and navigating with the buttons is confusing. But despite this, it really doesn't take long to do.
Some food items on the list aren't very specific, i.e., it lists Beef Roast and Beef Steak, not very detailed. There is a particular cut of roast that I like to buy, so that was one of my additions yesterday...'Eye of Round'. It recognizes it easily.
One thing I was worried about before getting it, was how it would do with multiple voices. My wife speaks in a much higher pitch than I do, but as it turns out, it recognizes what she says just as easily.
If you ever have a problem finding a particular item, try a different means of saying it. For instance, if it doesn't recognize 'apple sauce', try saying 'canned apple sauce'. Which brings me to my last point, it does just fine with lengthy product names. The other day I told it 'canned cream of mushroom soup' and it popped up just fine.
To sum it up, I really do like this thing. As long as it doesn't break, I'm going to be very happy with it.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Warranty is bad, and it will break Jul 13, 2010
I purchased this item and the warranty is for 90 days (3 months). At 3 months and a few days it stopped working. I tried all the things recommended to fix it. They all failed.
I phoned the company and was told the same thing obtech (see this persons review) was told.
We can't fix it, we can't repair it, even at my expense. But they will give you a code to get 20-30 bucks off a new one.
This item is fun and nice once you set it up, but the warranty is something the company needs to fix.
At best a minimum of 1 year from date of purchase if it fails due to no fault of your own.
This item was never dropped nor damaged.
3 months, 100 dollars. 30 bucks a month for a grocery list. :(
I'd also recommend Amazon take this and any other "smartshopper" grocery list off their selling list til the warranty warrants buying it.
Beware !!
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Horrible warranty, don't buy Jun 24, 2010
I bought three of these things as gifts for Christmas. What a waste. The warranty period is so short that when it breaks, and it will, all the company will do is offer to sell you another one at a discount. They won't offer to fix it, just sell you another product that doesn't work. Save your money and buy a pad of paper and a pen or pencil. You will be much happier.
 Overrated Product, Don't buy the extra protection warranty!! May 27, 2010
Bought this unit for my Mother as a gift sometime ago and within six months it stopped working all together!
Whats ironic about this unit is that whoever sets it up (me for example) it only works for! Giving this as a gift it was annoying when it only would recognize things (which it barely did) from my own voice versus my Mothers voice which it had an extremely hard time doing. The lists were ok but they never were that useful to be honest. Also it takes WAY MORE TIME to actually create a list than to write it down.
The real reason why I give this a two star rating (and believe me that is generous) is because when you purchase this item it comes with batteries, and for a couple bucks more and so I thought piece of mind i bought the extended warranty. To my dismay the unit stopped working (reasons unknown) and the batteries that were included in the box leaked causing more concern. Upon calling the company to complain and try and get a replacement i find out that battery leakage is not covered by the warranty even if they supplied them, also the replacement fix fee was almost as much as the product to begin with.
Needless to say Brookstone and there products lack quality and in my opinion are one heck of a scam company. Will never recommend or buy another product from there again! Do yourself a favor and write down your own lists and save the headache and money!
Love it! Apr 21, 2010
Since I always seem to misplace shopping lists I've created, I love, love, love that the SmartShopper holds the list for me until I'm ready to walk out the door. It's so easy to hit the button and tell it what you need. I also love the "add items" feature that allows me to add an item that may not already be in the memory bank. It also lets you add errands you need to run while you're out; I often include oil change, bank, and gas. The SmartShopper has saved me so much time by reminding me to get all my errands done in one trip, and also by categorizing my groceries so I don't have to double back for an item I may have forgotten. I move through the grocery store so efficiently now.
On the downside, everyone on here is correct, the voice recognition could be better. There are times when I tell it "Packaged Salad" and it asks me if I meant "Pork Chops", "Pastry Shells" or "Packaged Salmon". Sometimes, after I've tried 3 times, I'll just give up and go the 'add items manually' screen and just do it that way, which isn't very time effective. It can be frustrating, but I generally don't mind too much because it's wonderful in every other way.
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