Review on Quirky PPVG WH01 Pivot Power Genius by Bill Escobar

I purchased this item to connect to my Revain Echo via a WINK hub. Good thing they called him Freaky because he's a little bit Freaky. The two plugs can be controlled fully electronically from the hub and are independent of each other. The other two forks are more traditional forks. There is a switch on the side of the device. The first thing you'll notice is that it's very bulky - much larger than a traditional outlet. And the cable is also very bulky. The serpentine configuration of the device can be partially changed, but seems almost pointless. I suspect there might be a location that would benefit from the device flexibility, but the device is so big I can't imagine flexibility being of any real benefit. Although the bulbs can be controlled directly from the hub and directly from the Echo, the bulbs will turn back on if there is a power outage. It was real pain. I bought a Quirky to control some decorative lightbulbs and was pleased to learn that after a power outage the Quirky returns to the state it was in before the power outage. If the outlets were off, they come back. This is a HUGE benefit for me as I live in Florida where power outages are common. Now to the problem. It is very difficult to connect a hub to a Power Genius bar. The manufacturer has come up with a clever way to get your Android or i-phone to do the work - you hold the phone up to a sensor on the hub and the phone actually programs the connection to the hub. Or at least it should be. I couldn't get mine to work so I called support. I have a lady who said she lives in New York. She guided me up the steps and was incredibly patient. She finally noticed that the room I was programming in might be too bright (it's sunny in Florida) and also recommended that I tilt my phone slightly so reflections wouldn't interfere with the programming. She also advised me to disable all APPs on my phone to make sure the flashing light works in correct time sequence from phone to strip. And to my great surprise, her suggestions and Viola! The damn thing was programmed and has been working fine ever since. She also recommended I plug the WINK hub into an extension cord so that after a power outage the devices turn back on in the correct order and nothing needs to be reset. . Like many men, I hate asking for directions. I feel like I've somehow failed my gender if I can't figure it out myself, and usually "help" services can't help. This was the exception. This young lady (at least she seemed young) was very patient and thorough, walking me through the steps that helped resolve the issue. Kudos to this company for actually having a support team to help - and as a bonus, she spoke good English and we had no trouble understanding each other.