Beats Audio by Dr. Dre is a great example of style and brand can trump product details. Of course quality matters even in the headphones business, but the opinion of audiophiles regarding sound quality isn’t going to impact 15-year-old kids on what they determine to be cool.
The cool factor propelled the Beats brand and ultimately made Dr. Dre a billionaire with Apple’s acquisition of his company. This is a perfect compliment to iTunes and the iPhone, but it will be interesting to see if Apple applies some of its billions to also improve the quality of the product.
The new trend in headphones seems to be turning them into all in one devices, and while it is a trend that is still developing and maturing, don’t tell that to Sony who’ve now unveiled a pair of headphones that just about maxes out the concept.
The newly unveiled Walkman WH series features a built in music player with 16 GB of storage (or 4 GB for the lesser end WH303 model) and 20 hours of play through a fully charged battery. Furthering their independent music abilities, are the playback buttons on the side of the earphones that provide your basic track controls. A USB port for uploading music, as well as a traditional audio jack, round out the wearable headphone features.
The other big feature available for this model is the ability to turn use the speakers built into the headband. The idea of headphones that can be converted to speakers has been tried before with varying degrees of acceptance and success, but the use of Sony’s Xloud technology is an encouraging sign that this design may be the one to break the mold and provide an all in one alternative worth pursuing.
That’s going to be the general goal for this new model, as they aim to challenge the image of headphones just being headphones. While the unknown price of these models will be the largest determining factor in their validity, if Sony can make them work in three equally high quality ways you can expect these to draw some kind of consumer interest, and certainly a lot of industry attention, when they release.
In the world of headphone problems, somewhere behind having one ear go out and the other not (I believe they design these things like that to sell more) and straight up losing them, lies the burden of tangled cords.
It seems that taking even the most surefire methods to avoid this problem, like neatly folding them and securing them with a twisty-tie, yield no solution to this issue as somehow those cords always find a way to become this jumbled mess that makes the Griswold family Christmas lights seem like a simple knot.
I’ve long resigned myself to the fact that much like the two socks go in, one sock comes out dryer conundrum, tangled headphones are just one of those issues you have to deal with once in a while even if there is sometimes no valid reason for its occurrence.
Luckily, more innovative people than myself have not given up the good fight, and there does now exists what looks like a cheap, practical solution to this dilemma.
That’s the Nest Earbud Protector, and the idea behind it couldn’t be simpler or more welcome. It’s a silicone case you pop up, and put your earbuds in. From there you just wrap the cords around the spindle, pop it back into place, and your headphones are now stored in a neat package that keeps them safe from damage, and of course tangles. The best part is a simple yank of the headphones will free them without hassle.
Actually, the best part may be that the Nest only costs $10. Now sure, I could just buy a Bluetooth headset, but I’m still fundamentally against spending over $50 on a pair of headphones that aren’t for anything more than everyday commute use, and I feel like most Bluetooth headsets make me look more ridiculous than I care to admit.
If you’re incredibly stuck in your ways like me then, it’s hard to not recommend giving something so affordable and useful as The Nest Earbud Protector a look.
With the first reviews pouring in today for everyone’s soon to be most bragged about toy, the iPhone 5, it’s time to take a step back and look at everything we know about the new iPhone, to date.
The Look
It’s thinner (the thinnest smartphone in the world according to Apple), it’s taller (a half an inch taller to be exact), it comes in black and white (though that doesn’t matter according to the late Michael Jackson), and of course it’s pretty sleek. Apple has had more than enough time in this business to know what works and what doesn’t and they aren’t messing with the formula now. The iPhone 5 looks like an iPhone, just better.
The Features
For the most part, all of the usual upgrades apply. The sound is better, the video is clearer, and everything is supposed to be faster. Of particular note, though, are the new 4G capabilities and Siri functions. The 4G is supposedly as quick as you need it to be, Siri is better than ever, and can perform an array of new tricks from pulling up apps on request, to providing sports scores. Also, the camera is supposed to work better in lowlight, and the battery life is cited as working up to 12-14 hours in some cases with normal usage, which would mean a great improvement over the previous models. However, if you’re looking for the real new feature of the iPhone 5, you have to turn to the new iO6.
