Customer Reviews
A real money saver 
2008-01-09
I bought this because I found out that my home theater receiver is a power hog. It uses 60 watts even when "off". I did the math, and assuming I want it on 6 hours a day, this would pay back fast. I added a few extra things: a sub woofer (6w at idle), VCR (7w when "off"), and a DVD player (2w when off). I measured all this with my Kill-a-Watt.
Add that up and you get 75w that's wasted. Multiply 75w * 18 hours a day * 365 days * $0.18 (cost of a kwh of electricity here)/1000 = $89/year in savings. This thing will take less than 6 months to pay for itself. You can plug in your own numbers and figure your payback time.
Installation was a breeze. I plugged my tv into the "control" outlet. My receiver, VCR, sub woofer, and DVD player got plugged into the switched outlets. There are some always on outlets too, and I plugged the UPS that has my Wii and TiVo into one of those.
Then I turned on the power switch. No adjustment was necessary.
Now when I turn on my TV, the receiver and sub (and the rest) turn on with it. When I turn off the TV, the rest of the stuff turns off too.
One Major Flaw - Impossible tuning for Computer Sleep/Standby 
2008-01-01
I really wanted to like this product. It is a great idea and the design is almost perfect. The major problem with the design is a single $0.20 trimmer pot ( variable resistor ) that is used to set when your device is ON versus OFF. It is VERY hard to set. My computer in Sleep mode consumes 50W and in normal ON mode consumes 100W. Tuning the strip to recognize the difference between the two power states required about 1/10 of a degree turn - hard to do. What is worse is that even after I got it working once, temperature variation in the circuit would cause it to stop working the next day. For many applications ( for example, computer hibernate=5W, vs ON=100W ) this device works just fine. I can't recommend it for computer Standby however. If they would improve the circuit with a multi-turn pot, it would probably work great. I might try this myself after the warranty period is over. Should have been a great "Green" product, sigh....
What they don't tell you 
2007-12-18
The switched outlets in my unit wouldn't turn on unless at least 60 watts was plugged into the control outlet, no matter how the sensitivity control was adjusted. My 50 watt halogen desk lamp wasn't enough. A 70W incandescent lamp worked. Of course, the 20W desk lamp I'd originally planned to use didn't work at all. The user guide, included in the package, claims 40W incandescent is enough, but I doubt it. Why not increase the range of the sensitivity control so even a 5W lamp would work? The advertising should clearly state the minimum load required. If I have to connect a 60W lamp everytime I use my laptop and peripherals, I may actually use more energy with the Smart Strip than without it. Not so smart.
Update - January, 2008. My review was based on a *discontinued*, according to BITS LTD, model shipped by Amazon in December, 2008. I purchased a recent model directly from BITS LTD and it works fine with a new MacBook Pro laptop and acceptably (sensitivity control needs to be set very precisely) with a 5-year old Powerbook (GHz Ethernet). In each case, the power brick was plugged into the control outlet. Considering that BITS LTD and I corresponded several times to understand and correct the issues, I'd give it four stars now. I give BITS LTD five stars for support, but not the unit Amazon sold.
Awesome Power Saver 2007-12-18
Great product, I recommend this for every home theater, computer desk, and other places where accessories stay powered up when not being used. We put the TV on the control outlet, and the rest of the stuff on the switched outlets, so when the TV is turned off it turns everything off, and when the TV is turned on everything is automatically turned on. my Amplifier alone was drawing 20 watts when sitting idle, 20*365days*24 hours is like 175 kilowatt hours, in other words aprox 40 dollars in electric bill that we will save this year. from that device alone this power strip is well paid for.
Good Product 2007-12-02
I have two installed. One at the computer and a second running off the tv. Both have worked just as advertised, set-up took seconds.
Layout is nice and unit feels well constructed. Very pleased with the purchase and would recommend to anyone with game systems, home theaters, Sat/cable boxes that only need to be powered when watching the screen.... (Also has unswitched outlets for DVRs and handheld device chargers etc...)
Attn: Mac Users 
2008-05-29
We have a Mini Mac desktop and were not aware (from Amazon's description) that we would be unable to use it due to a certain technological difference of PC's and Mac's. BUT... we contacted the manufacturer and they had us mail them the protector and they did a custom tune to it so that we would be able to use it on the Mini Mac! It took them about a week and they shipped it back free of charge. It works perfectly! I highly recommend it!
Great product. Works as advertised. 2008-04-03
This product works as advertized. Installs just like any other powerstrip and when the device plugged into the blue outlet turns on/off, all the devices plugged into the white outlets also turn on/off. There are also a few red outlets that are always on. Great idea and well implemented.
Great way to save money and help the environment 2008-03-10
I bought one of these for my husband for Christmas and liked it so well we bought two more for other areas of the house and even gave one away as a gift. It works very well and is easy for even the least technically inclined to set up. I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking to save a little money while also conserving some energy.
Nice alternative for power saving 2008-02-27
I used this product in place of a surge protector with a manual on/off switch that failed on me. It's very convenient to just have the items switch on and off with the cpu. My only complaint is that the pot you adjust to set the threshold seems a little touchy. I've had to adjust it a few times but I suspect that will settle down shortly.
Works as Advertised 2008-02-25
I use this Smart Strip to power down my speakers and 3 attached network drives when my PC goes into standby mode. Works perfectly, but it did require me to adjust the dial on the side the first time (which is common if your master outlet still generates some amount of power - it is easy to adjust). After that, it has worked like a charm. Should pay for itself in a few months.
