Minna Ola's most unique feature is the control. I'll let Minna tell you first, and then I'll go into it more.
Those are the shorthand instructions you will find attached to the controller of Minna Ola when you open it. The quick start guide, if you will.
There are only two buttons on Minna Ola and one gigantic touch pad. The small button located at the bottom is the on button. When you turn it on, it will pulse three times so you know it's on and then it will do a whole lot of nothing. That's right, nothing. There is no preset anything on Minna Ola. You have to create it all. To begin creating, hold down the large touch pad. The more pressure you apply to the touch pad, the stronger the vibrations will get. Pretty simple.
The touch pad (well, squeeze pad) is very soft and responds well. I originally was just going to use it without recording anything. I found that although the squeeze pad did respond well and was easy to press, it became uncomfortable to hold it down for extended periods and did end up recording things. If your goal is to have constantly changing vibrations, bare in mind that it will require you to have your fingers squeezing the pad at some level of pressure the whole time.
When you find a vibration strength or pattern you like, you can tell Minna Ola to record it. This is the big upper button. It's called the "loop" button. Press it once to begin recording. Squeeze the pad to create the pattern or vibration level you desire. Simply stop when you're done and the Minna Ola will somehow figure it out and play it back to you. If you like it, you can press the loop button again during playback. This will stop the squeeze pad from responding so you can't accidentally throw the pattern off.
The only bad thing I can say about Minna Ola's controls is that I cannot figure out a way to lock the pattern until next use. It doesn't say anything about it in the manual and every time I turn it off and back on, it loses my last pattern even if I locked it in. Meaning, if you find the ideal pattern one day that gets you off just right and you think you may never be able to make it again - you better take out a notepad and write down the pulses because you'll lose them when you turn Minna Ola off.
Other than that little hiccup, I think the controls are unique and pretty groundbreaking. I'm not a fan of patterns, personally. This is partially because I don't like my vibrator deciding when to pulse which way. My rebel spirit just doesn't like being told what to do. With Minna Ola, I get to tell it what to do. Fast then slow? Slow for a few minutes and then fast? Constant vibrations and then some pulses and then some milder vibrations? I can do it all. It's really pretty darn impressive, if you ask me.
I liked that the buttons were located in a spot that I could easily press them during use without having to remove Ola from my body to do so. It would really defeat the purpose if I had to create the patterns externally. Luckily, that's not the case. I also never accidentally pressed a button when using this.
To turn it off, hold the on button down for thee seconds. The instruction manual does not mention nor can I find a way to lock the controls to keep it from turning on.
Vibration wise, Minna Ola packs a pretty solid kick. It's not the strongest vibrator I own, but it's enough to get me where I need to be. I would say it comes in at a high level four if I press the squeeze pad all the way down. If I just barely touch it, I can get it to a low, almost off rumble. This means you can range your vibrations all the way from one to four vrooms. That's a pretty wide range. Normally if you get on a high end, the low end is still pretty high. If you get a good low end, the high range is non-existant. Minna Ola provides a great range for everyone except those who need full on power and nothing less. I personally prefer five vroom power, but can be content with four.
The vibrations fall in the middle of rumbly and buzzy, with a bit of a lean toward the rumbly side. If you're annoyed by buzzy vibrators, this shouldn't set you off. If you need very deep, rumbly vibrations then this might not quite be enough. The vibrations are deeper than many, but not the deepest I have come across. At the highest setting, there is a bit of a buzz to them and they become a bit more shallow.
The vibrations are strongest at the lower half of the shaft and tip, but radiate up to the second half of the shaft as well. I could not feel them at all in my hands during use, but there is a nice, plushy squeeze pad protecting you from vibrations.
Minna Ola is a little louder than my cell phone on vibrate. I wouldn't say it's the quietest thing ever, but it's certainly not loud by any stretch of the means. I can hear it through covers, but not through a closed door.
This is supposed to be a G spot vibrator. If you look at the design of the product page and don't have the product in your hand, it might look like a good one. Take a look at the pictures I posted again. See that big curve? That's not the part that's inserted. That's the controller. The little curve on the shaft is the supposed G spot curve. I couldn't even get pressure on my G spot from this, let alone a G spot orgasm. Now, my G spot is hard to hit and generally a pain. If yours is really sensitive, this curve might be enough. That's going to depend a lot on personal anatomy and I can only speak for mine. It's not as curved as most G spot toys though, so it's not quite what I would call an ideal G-spotter.
Ola is rechargeable. The charging port is located a little below the squeeze pad on the shaft. It took mine about two and a half or three hours to get a full charge. I've had mine about two weeks now and it has not died yet. It is a magnetic charger, not an insertable one. The magnets will snap into place when held together. The power light will pulse when charging and both lights will pulse when it is fully charged. I find that a bit confusing, but whatever.
Minna Ola is waterproof. I had no issues with this on a submersion test. It has held up through multiple washings as well.