As you may know I’m a big fan of standing desks, I’ve been using one for almost 5 years now and although they are better for you compared to sitting all day, it’s not that good for your body to stand all day either. If you’re at a desk the majority of your day it’s actually best to switch between standing and sitting along with some movement & exercise breaks in between. After years of using a standing desk I’ve noticed that when I stand for most of the day my hips and legs feel very tight.
This brings me to today’s review of the FlexiSpot Deskcise Pro all-in-one desk bike (Amazon). I’ve been waiting for a company to come out with a high quality desk bike, and this one actually won a CES innovation award this year which was intriguing so when they asked if I’d like to review it I quickly agreed. But they did not pay me nor is this sponsored in any other way. This is a product I probably would have eventually gotten anyway.
The FlexiSpot desk bike may be my ultimate solution and it may be yours too. Also my cat loves it which is a blessing and a curse. It’s currently $399 and comes in 2 color options: black or white. The white one kind of reminds me of something that should be in a dentist office. It’s got a medical equipment vibe to it so if I was buying one right now I would probably choose the black.
Now what initially attracted me to this desk bike was all the positive reviews I saw online. But the main things I’m looking for in a desk bike may be different to what others are looking for. I didn’t want a desk bike to lose weight or get fit. In my opinion a desk bike shouldn’t be purchased for those reasons – there are much better ways to achieve those goals.
My primary reason for wanting a desk bike is to incorporate more movement, even if it’s subtle, while I’m working so my body doesn’t feel as stiff as it would if I were standing the majority of the time and just to get my blood flowing. That’s really it. So in my review I’m going to cover the most important features in a desk bike for me which are:
Simplicity
Sturdiness
Comfort
Quietness
Starting with simplicity, it comes in a single heavy box and is shipped directly to your door. FlexiSpot claims that it has a 1-minute assembly which I do believe is possible if you’re already familiar with the assembly guide and what all goes where and how to connect it. After unboxing all the parts, reading the manual, and connecting everything it took me a few minutes.
The assembly was very easy which was great. I love when products go together easily especially something big like a desk bike. The overall design works well – it has flip out legs with wheels on them for easy moving on hard floors but not as easy on carpet. The pedals come with silicon covers so if you have sensitive feet like me you can pedal barefoot without wincing like a baby. It has a cup holder in the middle below the seat, which is located right between your legs so I wouldn’t trust having an open drink in it because I’d be afraid of easily knocking it over. I think I’ll only put a closed lid drink in the cup holder when I use it. One of my favorite features is how quick and easy it is to adjust the location of the desktop and the height of the seat. You can use the left lever under the desktop to move it back and forth, the right lever adjusts it up and down, and the lever under the seat adjusts the height of the seat. So it’s super easy to adjust all those things.
It also has a resistance knob that can be set from 1 which is hardly no resistance to 8 which is the max resistance. I keep it around 3 or 4. It also has a digital display that keeps track of your current stats like distance traveled, speed, and other things which is kind of nice if you want to set a riding goal during your work sessions. I like to just set it at distance traveled so I can occasionally look down and see how far I’ve gone. And yes it does come with batteries and you can easily replace the batteries when needed.
When it comes to sturdiness, the FlexiSpot is pretty stable for it being a desk bike. The desktop does have some slight wiggle if you apply enough force but it does come with an allen wrench to tighten the screw to help minimize that. But if you’re riding the bike and have your wrists or arms on the desktop there’s virtually no wiggle or shakiness. Just the slight weight of my arms or wrists helps stabilize it enough to where I can type on my laptop with no problems at all while I’m pedaling which is a huge plus when it comes to this type of setup. And the whole bike is also heavy enough so that the wheels don’t move around while pedaling even on a hardwood floor. So it does stay put.
As for the comfort, this is where it is totally subjective. I’m 6’3″ and slim, and the seat and desktop raise up high enough for me to ride and work fairly comfortably. And if you already own a standing desk this fits nicely underneath so you can use it in conjunction with your existing desk. And since this is an “all in one” desk bike you can also use this as its own standing desk by standing in front of the desktop, and to my surprise the desktop is high enough for someone as tall as me to use it as a standing desk. The desktop surface area is large enough for a small laptop and another small item or two. It is a great fit for my 13″ MacBook Pro but if I had a 15″ or larger laptop it wouldn’t leave me with much extra room on the surface. The wristpad is comfortable – it’s pretty firm with just enough give to it. However, I do wish the seat was softer.
Now I’ve been told I have a rump, but I must have a bony butt when I’m sitting because although the seat feels comfortable when I first sit on it, after about 45 minutes of sitting and riding, my butt gets numb which doesn’t feel very great. So I have to get up and walk around every 45 minutes or so when using this bike which is I guess what I should be doing anyway, but I’d love if I could sit on it comfortably for up to an hour which other people may find possible. I’ll probably end up purchasing a gel seat cover to make it more comfortable for me. So yes I wish the seat was just a little bit bigger and softer. Also when I’m pedaling, the inside of my ankles come extremely close to the pedal arms so I have to position my feet a bit to the outer side of the pedals to avoid my ankles hitting the pedal arms as I’m riding so I do wish the pedals were just a bit wider.
As for the noise, the FlexiSpot desk bike has been extremely quiet so far. Now this could possibly change after months or years of use, but I’ve been using this for a month and it’s still very quiet when pedaling. It’s much better than my $40 stepper I bought. There are no squeaks or rattles, it’s about as quiet as a desk bike can possibly be which I love.
To sum it up, I like this desk bike and I think it’s definitely worth it if you want to be a little more active during your work sessions, if you have enough space in your office to use it, and if you’re using a compact laptop for your work. This won’t support a big dual-monitor setup, but it’s a nice fit for people who don’t need a ton of desktop space and want more movement during work.
That wraps up my review of the FlexiSpot Deskcise Pro (Amazon). If you have any questions leave a comment below and I’ll do my best to answer you. Thanks for watching. My name is Andy, and I’ll talk to you in the next one.
For all you current & soon-to-be owners, these are my favorite accessories for the Tesla Model 3!
Waterless Car Wash/Wax (Amazon)
This has a perfect 5-star rating on Amazon and was recommended to me by a fellow Tesla owner. The kit comes with everything you need including microfiber towels. You can use it with or without water. In less than 30 minutes you can have a clean & shiny Model 3.
Microfiber Bug Sponge (Amazon)
The Model 3 front end is a bug magnet. This Viking microfiber bug scrubber helps get the bugs off when washing the car. It has a mesh microfiber design that’s strong yet safe to use on the car’s clear coat. Plus it’s washable & reusable.
All Purpose Cleaner (Amazon)
CarGuys Super Cleaner is one of the best all-purpose cleaners and works great for the Model 3 interior. It can clean pretty much any surface except glass. You can use it on the dash, seats, steering wheel, middle console – almost anything inside the Model 3. It also comes with its own microfiber towel.
All-Weather Floor Mats (Amazon)
These ToughPro all-weather floor mats for under $100 will come in handy if you ever have passengers riding in your car. They are cut perfectly for the Model 3 and fit nicely on top of the existing floor mats or you can use them on their own if you’d like. They’re low maintenance & easy to clean.
Cordless Hand Vacuum (Amazon)
Another must-have for keeping the interior clean is a cordless hand vacuum. This rechargeable Black & Decker is very affordable and good enough for most car cleanups.
Matte Black Console Wrap (Amazon)
The Model 3 center console is extremely glossy & a fingerprint/dust magnet. To fix this I got this awesome DIY matte black console wrap kit. The install took about 1 hour and was fairly easy but it did take some patience. Totally worth it though and I love the way it looks and feels now.
Collapsible Sunshade (Amazon)
As an owner of a fully electric vehicle you’ll want to minimize battery usage and this foldable sunshade helps with that. It folds into a small circle & comes with a convenient holder. It blocks the heat from the sun which helps avoid battery drain from the fan kicking on.
Smart Home Lock (Amazon)
The August Smart Home Lock lets you turn your existing door lock into a “smart” lock. With the Model 3, your smartphone is basically your key so to get rid of your keys altogether you’ll want a smart home lock. This one has worked great for me. It has an app so you can lock/unlock your door via Bluetooth.
Bonus products for Aero wheel owners:
Aero Wheel Cap Kit
If your Model 3 has the standard 18″ wheels you’ll want the Tesla Aero wheel cap kit to show off the nice rims underneath.
Suction Cup (Amazon)
If you get the cap kit you’ll also want this suction cup. It helps tremendously when removing the center cap from your wheel when you want to put the Aeros back on.
Wheel Touch-up Paint (Amazon)
If you have the standard 18″ wheels at some point you’ll probably experience curb rash. For a quick fix get this Dupli-Color Dark Shadow Gray touch up paint. It matches the rim color almost perfectly. It’s not a complete 100% fix for curb rash but it does make it look way less noticeable.
Just so you know, I’m not a car enthusiast by any means. I’m more of a tech enthusiast and I’ve never owned a Tesla or an electric vehicle up to this point. I’ve actually driven a 2007 Pontiac G6 for the majority of my car driving life so it’s not like I’m coming from another premium vehicle. But with that said, the Tesla Model 3 is by far the most fun and absolute best car I’ve ever driven.
The Model 3 is Tesla’s most affordable car in their current lineup and it’s the best-selling all-electric car in the US and it’s also the best selling mid-size premium sedan in the US period, electric or not. And for good reasons, which I’ll go over in this review.
Delivery
What if I told you that I ordered this car online with the touch of a button? If you’ve ever ordered anything on Amazon, then that’s kind of how it’s like ordering a Tesla.
In March 2016 I stood in line and put down $1,000 to reserve my Model 3. Two years later, in March 2018, I ordered my Model 3 on my smartphone and paid the $2,500 deposit with my fingerprint using Apple Pay which was a seamless experience.
5 weeks later I took delivery of my Model 3 in Cincinnati. The delivery was super quick and easy, literally in and out in less than 30 minutes.
In order for me to have gotten my Model 3 as soon as possible I had to order the first production configuration which is $50,000 at it’s cheapest and includes:
$35,000 base Model 3 with the single RWD motor & standard 18″ Aero Wheels
$9,000 Long Range Battery upgrade which gives 310 miles of driving range on a full charge
$5,000 Premium Upgrade Package
$1,000 Delivery Fee
My Model 3 cost a total of $56,000 because I added:
$5,000 Enhanced AutoPilot
$1,000 for Multi-coat Red paint
So at around $50,000 this first production Model 3 is not the “affordable mass-market” electric car that Tesla promised. Tesla says that is coming later. When exactly? Nobody knows yet. We’ll have to wait and see.
Key Card & App
The Model 3 does not come with a key or even a key fob. Instead it comes with a key card that is the size of a normal credit card and easily fits into your pocket or wallet. But the key card is actually the backup method. The main key is your smartphone, using Bluetooth and the Tesla app. I’ve been a huge Tesla fan for a long time but the moment when my smartphone became my car key, that is when it all started to change for me and I truly realized how far ahead Tesla is, technologically speaking, and I’d be surprised if this doesn’t become the standard for all new cars.
The way it works is I can use the Tesla app to manage many different things on my Model 3 from anywhere – I can see its exact location and interior temperature, check if it’s charging and how long it has left, see how much battery range it has, I can turn on the heat or AC, remotely unlock or lock the doors, open the frunk or trunk, honk the horn and flash the lights.
But I don’t have to use the app or even pull my smartphone out of my pocket when I’m going to get in it to drive. As long as I have my smartphone with Bluetooth enabled, the Model 3 senses when I’m near the car and it will automatically unlock when I press to open the door, and it’s ready to drive when I sit down. It works the same way when I park, just exit the car and as I walk away with my smartphone in my pocket, the Model 3 will automatically lock itself. So no more fumbling with car keys or key fobs anymore. It’s a complete game changer for me because with Apple Pay and things like smart home door locks, 99% of the time all I need is my smartphone for what I need to do. So moral of the story: don’t lose your smartphone. But seriously, once you experience this you’ll never want to go back to normal keys or key fobs ever again.
Model 3 Design
This car is stunning, and that’s why there’s really no bad color choice for the Model 3 because it just looks so good in any color, but especially red. Pictures and even videos don’t do the Tesla red justice, you really have to see it in person to appreciate how gorgeous it is. Fun fact I’m the first red Model 3 owner in my state. I’m not 100% that is a factual statement but based on the Model 3 delivery spreadsheet I’m pretty sure I am and until someone proves me wrong I’ll just assume I am because it’s cool to say. Even before seeing the interior which is really a jaw dropper, people immediately notice how futuristic the design is just from seeing the exterior. My mom referred to it as “The Transformers” car when she first saw it.
In 2013, the Tesla design chief said that the Model 3 would be “an Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class type of vehicle that will offer everything: range, affordability, and performance”. I gotta say that’s a pretty accurate description, but the Model 3 is really in a league of its own. From the lack of a front grill, to the all glass roof, to the door handles that are flush with the body, the exterior looks very sleek and sporty. Speaking of the door handles, out of all the tech in this car, the door handles are the one thing I have to explain to every person who rides in the car. To open the doors from the outside, you press in with your thumb then grab the long part as it comes out. This is easily learned but it’s still a bit of a hassle to open if your hands are full. But I not only have to explain how the doors open from the outside, but also the inside. To get out of the car, you have to press the top button on the interior door handle, which people always think is the window button. So again it’s different than what people are used to but once you know how to do it, it feels completely natural and that’s the risk and reward that Tesla took with this design.
Since there’s no engine, it has a front trunk (or frunk), which isn’t a huge storage addition but it does allow you to store some things in it. But it’s so cumbersome to close that I hardly ever use it. You can’t shut it like a normal rear trunk, you have to close it gently almost all the way then press down with both hands at the same time until it seals shut. I wish it would have been able to close like a normal rear trunk. I believe the frunk’s best use is to store things that you need in your car but don’t need access to regularly.
The rear trunk is great and has a ton of storage for how small the car is. It even has a lower compartment for more storage. I’m really impressed with the overall amount of storage space in this car. The Model 3 is also equipped with 8 cameras, 1 radar sensor, and 12 ultrasonic sensors to assist the car with partial autonomy now and possibly full autonomy in the future. But with all that tech on the Model 3 it still doesn’t have a good blind spot detection system. It only shows a visual alert on the screen and I wish it had lights on the side mirrors or a way to show the side camera feeds on the screen when you activate your turn signal. The standard 18″ aero wheels are a big point of discussion: some people love the way they look, some hate it. I actually think the Aero wheels look good on certain colors, red being one of them. Plus not only do you save $1,500 by not upgrading to the 19″ wheels, the Aero wheels get their name from being aerodynamic which means they give the Model 3 slightly better range efficiency compared to the 19″ wheels. And the best part? They can easily be popped off to reveal the actual rim underneath so you can change it up if you don’t need the extra range from the Aero wheels. So it wasn’t even a question when I ordered my car – I’ve been a fan of the Aero wheels from the start.
Now, the interior. The view is phenomenal through the all glass roof, the vegan leather seats are some of the most comfortable car seats I’ve ever sat in, the center console gives even more storage, along with two smartphone charging docks up front. The short front end and lack of instrument cluster gives a nice wide clear view through the windshield. The backseat can sit up to 3 adults if they don’t mind getting up close and personal.
But as an owner this is the view you’ll see 95% of the entire life of this car. It’s completely different than what you see in any other luxury sedan in this price range. Some may say it’s bland and cheap looking and that they’d miss all their dials and buttons. I, on the other hand, see a beautiful minimalist design that doesn’t sacrifice controls at all but instead, moves them from hardware to software via the brain of the Model 3: the center-mounted 15″ touchscreen display. Tesla is a software and energy company that just happens to make cars so it’s no surprise the touchscreen in the Model 3 is the best out of any car out right now.
The majority of the screen is the map and GPS. The left hand side is where it shows information and quick controls for the Model 3 including remaining battery mileage, energy usage, windshield wiper controls, and of course the speedometer. And let me just say, the speedometer being on the touchscreen is a non-issue. I don’t even remember what it’s like to have an actual instrument cluster. It didn’t take hardly any time to adjust to the speedometer being on the right instead of in the middle. Windshield wipers can be set to Auto which will enable the wipers to automatically turn themselves on and off based on off it’s raining or not and it works pretty well as long as you’re okay with the wiper speed being unpredictable because they’re still not perfect yet.
The bottom menu has different icons for various things like climate controls and music source. Setting the climate is a bit unintuitive at first because it’s completely software controlled. But again like most things on the Model 3, once you get used to the new way of doing things it quickly becomes natural. The touchscreen itself is responsive and it’s fairly simple to navigate. For this being the first version of this type of screen and software I think Tesla did a good job with the layout. However my primary grip is I wish the artwork icon would swap locations with the source and the playback controls so that those are closer to the driver which makes it easier to use the touch controls while driving. And I believe Tesla will no doubt constantly improve the software and layout over time because they’ve already been doing just that.
The backup camera is the best I’ve ever seen in a vehicle just because of how large the display is. And it comes in handy because the view out of the rear view mirror is pretty narrow compared to most cars I’ve driven. So almost everything is controlled via the touch display, opening trunk/frunk, settings for lights, even opening the glovebox. The navigation system uses Google Maps and provides turn by turn directions and also shows current traffic conditions and I’ve compared it to Waze which is my favorite navigation app and it replicated Waze’s directions almost every single time. So it has pretty much become my go-to GPS because it’s so convenient because it’s built into my car and is up to date in real time.
The Trip Planner is great because when you type in a destination that is more distance than your current battery range, it will show you which Superchargers you need to stop at and how long you need to charge in order to get to your destination without running out of battery. So with that paired with the 310 mile battery range on a full charge, I pretty much never have range anxiety. For those wondering if the screen is distracting – not at all. Sometimes I forget it’s there. It’s not intrusive or too bright or anything like that. In fact it automatically adjusts brightness and switches to a night mode when it’s dark.
The premium sound system is awesome as well. It allows music playback through Bluetooth from a smartphone but what I really love is that the Model 3 has built-in LTE connection along with music streaming via Slacker Radio which I find myself using more than Spotify Premium which I did not expect. But when you’re playing music over Bluetooth from your smartphone it does display what you’re playing on the touch screen and you’re able to control the playback from the steering wheel and on-screen buttons in case you wondered about that. It also has Tunein for podcasts which is nice. But the speakers sound so good it’s hard to listen not to listen to music when driving even for a huge podcast fanatic like myself.
Which brings us to the steering wheel which has a few controls for the car. Besides the two stalks on either side that have typical controls like windshield wipers, brights, turn signals, parking button, cruise control and autopilot: the wheel itself has two scroll buttons that can be scrolled up or down, pressed left or right, and clicked in the middle. The left scroll button is dedicated to audio playback and can increase or decrease volume, go to next or previous song, or play/pause. The right scroll button can be pressed to activate basic voice controls. Voice controls are useful but are still pretty basic. My hope is that Tesla can continue to push software updates that will enable more sophisticated voice controls because that’s where many of our devices are moving towards and it would be great to say things like “set cruise control to 70 mph” or “open glovebox”.
Let’s talk about one of the main reasons I bought a Model 3: Enhanced Autopilot. Tesla claims this is still a BETA feature but if you’re watching this you’ve probably already heard of Tesla Autopilot which, on certain roads, will automatically steer, accelerate, and brake as needed to stay within the lane at whatever speed you set. It’s basically cruise control plus and works best on long highway or interstate drives. To enable Autopilot while driving, just double tap down on the right stalk and if it’s available it will pop a message saying to keep your hands on the wheel and be ready to take over at any time. So even though you’re supposed to be keeping your hands on the wheel you can see that it steers, accelerates, and even slows down and stops by itself. But you should always stay alert and be ready to take over at any time, and if it senses that you haven’t had your hands on the wheel it will periodically pop up an alert to put your hands on the wheel so that it knows you’re still paying attention.
To easily change your speed on Autopilot or cruise control, just scroll the right wheel up or down quickly to change the speed in 5 mph increments or scroll a single notch for 1 mph increments. You can also set the length of space between the Model 3 and the car ahead using the scroll wheel’s left and right directions. I’ve used Autopilot for hundreds of miles and it’s worked almost perfectly. There was one time when I initiated the turn signal and as it was halfway through the lane change it suddenly turned back into the previous lane like it thought there was a car in my blind spot when there wasn’t anything at all. So it’s definitely still improving every day, but other than that it’s worked great and it’s something I use every single day. It takes the mundane boring part out of driving and lets me relax a little more than usual knowing that there are two things controlling the car instead of just one.
Also when you have the Enhanced Autopilot option, the regular cruise control actually becomes Traffic Aware Cruise Control meaning it basically does what Autopilot does except for Auto Steer. So on roads when Autopilot isn’t available or when it’s limited to a certain speed, I will enable normal cruise control with one tap down of the right stalk and it maintains that speed like any other car but if the car ahead slows down, the Model 3 will brake and speed up again to maintain that speed so you don’t have to. So Autopilot is one of my favorite features of the Model 3 and it’s something everyone seems to love.
Driving & Handling
It’s quite sad that half the reason I bought the Model 3 was for Autopilot because this car is so much fun to drive. I hate driving, or I should say, I hated driving before getting my Model 3. Now I look for any excuse to drive somewhere.
The first thing people always notice is how quiet it is. This is a common experience for anyone who rides or drives in an electric vehicle for the first time so it isn’t unique to Tesla but it’s so satisfying. When the car is on and stopped it’s dead silent. When going at slow speeds it’s like partially-dead silent. Zombie silent you could say. And even driving normally it’s much quieter than any gasoline engine vehicle. No engine, no exhaust, no transmission, no rattling parts under the hood. Just blissful peace and quiet with the ever so faint whir of the rear motor at times.
After you get used to the quietness of the electric vehicle, the next thing people notice is the acceleration. This thing is quick and the fast acceleration is mainly due to the instant torque that comes with electric vehicles. Tesla’s official specs don’t say this but many online acceleration tests show the first production Model 3 achieving 0-60 in 4.7 seconds.
I know there are plenty of gasoline vehicles that are faster than that, but what really makes this memorable is the instant torque along with the quick acceleration without the noise, like I just mentioned. When you go 0-60 in less than 5 seconds and can still hear a pen drop, that is what’s so fun about it.
But even though it’s fun to enjoy the quick acceleration, there’s sort of an ironic phenomenon that comes with owning a Tesla because I’ve found it to be a fun challenge to see if I can achieve better range efficiency than my previous drive, based on the stats it shows on the display. The faster you accelerate and drive it fast, the more the range efficiency suffers so I find myself actually driving more smoothly just to see if I can lower my overall average wH per mile. And so far my Model 3 is getting great efficiency at an average of 234 wH per mile.
The handling is better than anything else I’ve driven. The compact steering wheel is a lot smaller than my G6 steering wheel and it has a very comfortable grip. When steering the Model 3 it feels super sporty and nimble. It doesn’t have smart air suspension but the ride is significantly less bumpy and more comfortable than my G6 ever was.
One of the biggest and best differences when transitioning from a gasoline car to a fully electric car like the Model 3 is the one-pedal driving. In the Model 3 when you let your foot off the accelerator the car actually slows itself down with automatic regenerative braking. So you barely have to use the actual brake pedal unless you need to come to a complete stop or stop very quickly. This not only saves your brake pads but it also lets you drive most of the time with just one pedal. Also whenever regenerative braking occurs it feeds energy back into the battery so you get better efficiency. And in the Model 3 if you do need to come to a complete stop while driving like at a red light for example, all you have to do is press the brake pedal until the “Hold” icon appears and then you can take your foot off the brake and the car will stay stopped which is a relatively unknown but very convenient feature. One-pedal driving and regenerative braking definitely takes some time to get used to but once you master it, you’ll never want to go back to driving with a gas pedal.
The fully electric motor really does enhance driving in a way that’s difficult to put into words. It feels effortless and obvious. It just feels right. When cruise control is enabled it keeps a steady speed even if you’re going up or down a steep hill, there’s no delay in acceleration compared to my old Pontiac which had to think a bit and slow down before it actually revved the RPMs and struggled to keep up with set speed when going uphill.
Remember how everyone says a car is the worst possible purchase a person can make because it instantly depreciates as soon as you drive it off the lot. Well, what if I told you my Model 3 will be better next year than it is today? See, Tesla is constantly improving the software and just like all the other Tesla vehicles, the Model 3 can download software updates automatically as Tesla releases them. Your smartphone and computer have been doing this for years. Now it’s the car’s turn. As Russ would say, “Why not?”
Cost & Savings
Even though the Long Range Model 3 is a luxury car first and foremost, it’s still allowing me to not ever buy gas again which feels really good.
Instead of visiting gas stations, I just charge my Model 3 in my garage so it’s also saving me time. The Model 3 comes with a mobile connector cable along with some adapters to charge it. A common outlet for home charging is a NEMA 14-50 which I have in my garage and it gives my Model 3 thirty miles of range per hour of charge.
My Model 3 charges at night when my electricity is considered off-peak and is billed at 6.3 cents per kWh. After driving over 2,000 miles, my Model 3 is averaging 234 Wh/mile which means it uses 23.4 kWh to travel 100 miles. So 23.4 kWh times 6.3 cents means it costs approximately $1.48 to travel 100 miles in my Model 3.
Of course these numbers all depend on many factors like where you live, how much your electricity costs, and your average range efficiency but based on current gas prices it would cost me about $11.50 to travel 100 miles in my Pontiac G6. That’s a $10 savings per 100 miles. I usually drive at least 20,000 miles per year so that’s a $2,000 annual savings on what would have been spent on fuel. This doesn’t offset the initial cost of the car by any means, but over time it will prove to be significant.
Conclusion
When it comes down to exactly what a car should be, the Model 3 excels in almost every single way. It’s attractive while being fully electric with zero emissions, it’s quick yet quiet, it’s fast yet safe, it’s compact yet comfortable, it’s fun yet relaxing, it can travel over 300 miles on a single charge yet has a nationwide network of Supercharger stations for a quick charge when needed, and most of all: the Model 3 is the future, and it’s here now.
Here’s the best way I can try to explain what it’s like going from a gasoline car to a Model 3. Remember like 10 years ago when everyone had a Motorola RAZR as their cell phone? At the time it was the coolest thing I’d ever owned, until I got my first iPhone in 2009 and that completely changed the game.
Think of how that felt – going to a smartphone that is completely software driven with an intuitive user experience along with a minimalist simple design built around a single touchscreen and only a couple of buttons. Now try to envision what it would be like to go back to a flip phone with a ton of little buttons, no touch screen, no apps, no over-the-air software updates, nothing. Nobody wants that. It would never happen.
The Model 3 is like the flagship smartphone to the electric vehicle and autonomous car revolution, and once you experience it for yourself you may get a little sad and nostalgic for antiquated gasoline cars because they’ll soon be forgotten in the wake, rear view mirror, of what is the Tesla Model 3.
That’s my review of the first production Long Range Tesla Model 3! I hope you enjoyed it. Of course nothing is perfect, so I will be coming out with more videos about the Model 3 and tips and tricks for Model 3 owners or future owners so be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel.
KitSound is a British audio brand, and they recently launched the Voice One speaker in the US. When they asked to sponsor this video I quickly agreed because I wanted to see if there was a true affordable competitor to the new Apple HomePod. Watch the review video above to find out.
The KitSound Voice One starts at $179.99. It is a powerful smart speaker with built-in Amazon Alexa voice service. In the box, which I love the way this box opens by the way, you’ll find the Voice One speaker, 3 different power cords (one each for USA, EU, and UK), along with a 3.5mm aux cable, a remote control, and the quick start guide.
The Voice One speaker is 11” tall by 5” wide and deep and weighs just under 4 lbs. It’s sporting a retro style design with a charcoal colored stain-resistant Nano coated woven grill that gives it a very pleasing look. If you’ve seen some of my previous videos you’ll know that I love gray products. There’s just something attractive about gray and this speaker is no different.
On the front you’ll find a mute & unmute mic button, a volume ring with a tap to talk button in the center, the ring will change colors depending on the current function, below the ring is the input button to change between Bluetooth Aux or Wifi mode, an action button below that, and a KS light that will light up with the beat when the speaker is playing loud music.
On the top there are two far field microphones which work very well for picking up your voice from far away or even during music playback. On the back you’ll find a subwoofer port, along with a very convenient USB port to charge USB devices, and a 3.5mm line-in port for wired inputs.
This is a smart speaker that works with Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, and many other Internet Radio services including Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn. The setup is super easy, just download the free KitSound app and follow the instructions to connect it to your Wifi network and to your Amazon Alexa account to enable voice commands. The KitSound app is not the most intuitive app in the world, but it does do its job fairly well and I have not experienced any bugs or glitches so that’s always a good thing. From the app you can control playback, change various settings including the bass and treble, set a sleep timer, configure presets, and more. So the app does give you a nice variety of controls.
Speaking of controls, the remote control is an added bonus. It contains the same controls that are on the front of the speaker which is nice, and its most functional use is when the speaker is playing loud music, so instead of trying to scream Alexa, you can just use the remote’s button to enable Alexa. The Voice One also has multi-room technology so you can actually pair up to 8 speakers wirelessly and have them play the same audio across all the speakers at the same time. Great for parties or yeah, parties.
The smart aspect is one of the best features of the Voice One. I love its integration with Amazon Alexa and I also love that it has Spotify Voice Control and Spotify Connect. I’m a big Spotify Premium user so I’m constantly listening to music on Spotify and the Voice One speaker shows up as an available device right in the Spotify app so that’s how I play all my music on this speaker, even though the speaker does have Bluetooth as an option as well. It’s great because when you use a Spotify Connect device like the Voice One, the music streams directly to that device so you’re getting high quality audio plus it saves your phone battery from draining so quickly and it also lets you use your phone for voice calls without interrupting the music.
Using the Amazon Alexa voice service is a very nice touch as well. You can ask it general questions, you can ask it to play certain artists or songs from any of your connected music streaming services, and if you have other Amazon Alexa compatible smart devices in your home, such as my Nest Thermostat, you can control them from the speaker using voice commands.
So we know how smart it is, but what about the audio quality? Well, the other best feature about the Voice One is its 360 degree room-filling sound, which is a result of the two side-facing drivers at 10 watts each paired with the strong bass reflex. So there’s no front-facing speaker which caught me off guard at first, but the side facing drivers really do give it a true stereo-quality sound, and they are very satisfying to listen to. From the highs to the mids to the lows, it’s just a very clean and rich audio output even at very loud volumes. I’m a hip hop head so the majority of what I listen to feels like it was made for this speaker. It definitely shines with rap music and hard hitting beats, but really any genre of music that I’ve played have all sounded very good.
Overall, I’m very impressed with the Voice One. Just the fact that it’s a smart speaker with built-in WiFi & Amazon Alexa makes it desirable. But when you combine that with its high quality immersive audio, the slick looking design, and all the other features like wireless multi-speaker synchronization, the free app, the remote control, the convenient ports, all for less than $180. That’s what makes it a must-have especially if you’re considering an Apple HomePod or any other smart speaker for that matter. For the price, you’re getting a fantastic speaker that I’m sure you’ll love.
I hope you enjoyed my review of the KitSound Voice One smart speaker. Thanks to KitSound for sponsoring this video, and thank you for watching.
I’ve recently begun to transform my house into a smart house, starting with my wireless security system all the way to my thermostat, and when I was researching the best smart thermostats I saw a particular brand called ecobee that was mentioned quite frequently. So when they reached out and asked if I wanted to do a sponsored video of their latest smart home product called the Switch+ I thought it looked like something you guys would be interested in so I agreed.
The ecobee Switch+ is a smart light switch with far-field voice technology and built-in Amazon Alexa which is the name of Amazon’s virtual assistant and it’s one of the main features of the ecobee Switch+. According to Amazon “The Alexa Voice Service is an intelligent voice recognition and natural language understanding service that allows you to voice-enable any connected device that has a microphone and speaker.” And that’s exactly what the ecobee switch+ is equipped with.
The Switch+ is like a smart personal assistant and simple light switch wrapped into one. With the built-in microphone and speaker for Amazon Alexa, the Switch+ enables invisible voice control in any room it’s installed in. It also provides smart light control by detecting occupancy and daylight. Also, a software update coming this summer will enable the Switch+ to function as a sensor to manage hot or cold spots in a room when the switch is paired with an ecobee thermostat. Like all ecobee products, the Switch+ integrates with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, SmartThings, and IFTTT. The Switch+ is $99 in the U.S. and $119 in Canada and it’s available for pre-order starting March 13 and will start shipping on March 26. I’ll leave the link in the description below for you to check out.
First, let’s go over what’s in the box. Inside, you’ll find the main attraction itself the Switch+, along with a wall plate, 4 wire nuts, 2 mounting screws, and the setup guide. The install is fairly simple and only takes about 45 minutes. Even though you can follow the setup guide that comes in the box, it’s probably easier to download the free ecobee app because the app will actually walk you through the entire process and it has helpful videos along the way. The app will also tell you what tools you need and it will do a compatibility check to verify your light switch will work with the Switch+.
Once you’ve verified compatibility, you’ll need to turn off the breaker for the switch you’re installing. After confirming the power is off, remove the old switch from the wall and disconnect the wires. Next, identify and connect the necessary wires to the Switch+. This part took the longest for me so be patient. Once that is done, push the wires back into the wall and screw the Switch+ to the wall. Turn the breaker back on and test out the Switch+ by pressing the button to turn your light on and off. If it works, then the final step is to snap on the wall plate.
Next, you can use the ecobee app to finish setting up the Switch+ by creating your free ecobee account, giving your Switch+ a name & location, and connecting it to your WiFi network. Keep in mind that even though it has built-in WiFi, it does not have Bluetooth enabled at this time. Once it’s fully set up you can control your Switch+ from anywhere using the ecobee app as long as you’re connected to the internet.
On the app home screen you can quickly turn the light on or off using the main button or you can tap the middle icon at the bottom to bring up more controls. the Smart On feature will automatically turn on the lights when someone enters the room. If you enable daylight detection, Smart On will only activate when the room is dark. Smart Off will turn the lights off when no one is in the room, and you can set the off timer to different intervals based on your preference. Another awesome feature is the built-in night light which will automatically glow when the room is dark. And if you have your Switch+ set up as an outdoor light, you can set it to automatically turn on at sunset which is nice.
As I mentioned before, Amazon Alexa is a big part of the Switch+ because it allows you to perform voice commands like asking it to set a timer, read the news, give you the weather forecast, and more. This is all part of ecobee’s “Whole Home Voice” vision to deliver effortless hands-free voice control in every room without dealing with hubs or wires.
To start using Amazon Alexa, first link your Amazon account within the ecobee app. Then download the free Amazon Alexa app and sign in with your Amazon account. Next, add the ecobee skill and authorize Amazon Alexa with your Switch+. Then you can ask Alexa to discover devices, and Alexa should respond with the name of your Switch+.
What’s really cool is the built-in speaker that I mentioned earlier, and if you’re in the US and have Amazon Prime you can tell it to play any song that’s available on Amazon Prime Music and it will play it out of the speaker. Now don’t expect to use this as a high fidelity party speaker for loud music but honestly if you just want to listen to low-level background music while you’re working or studying, this little speaker does the job. You can also listen to iHeartRadio and use Tune-In Radio for audiobooks & podcasts, with support for SiriusXM & Pandora coming soon.
However, the Switch+ does not currently have Spotify integration and as a heavy Spotify Premium user I was a little let down by this. But if you have an Amazon Alexa-enabled Sonos speaker, you can ask Alexa to play music on Spotify that way. I don’t have a Sonos speaker but I was able to add a skill in the Amazon Alexa app that lets me control the playback of Spotify on my iMac which is pretty cool. And that is the key, search the Amazon Alexa app for any skill that you’re interested in and if it’s available you can add that skill to the ecobee Switch+. And you can also control other smart lights in your home if they’re connected to your Amazon Alexa account. I was also surprised at how well the Switch+ picked up my voice from across the room and even when I was playing music pretty loudly it heard me most of the time.
Overall, for $99 I think this is a pretty neat smart device that is perfect for people who want voice-control in their home without adding bulky hubs or wired speakers since this is just a small light switch basically hidden on the wall. The ecobee app is very intuitive and it’s nice that you can use the same app for the Switch+ and ecobee thermostat if you have one. The Switch+ itself is nicely designed and has worked as expected so far. Again if you want to pick this up, the link is in the description below.
Thanks to ecobee for sponsoring this video, and thank you for watching. Be sure to hit the thumbs up if you enjoyed this video and subscribe if you haven’t already to see more tech videos in the future. I will talk to you in the next video.
