WHAT IS IT: Bluetooth stereo earbuds with talk capability
NEW, FUTURE or RETRO: new and hot
PREVIEW or REVIEW: review
HOW GOOD IT IS: In my estimation this is a
breakthrough product category and one of those things that is a “must
have”. Why you may ask, since there are
headphones, earphones, ear buds and other listening devices of nearly every size,
shape, price and function.
Because these are the first I would call “Stuffables”. Unlike virtually every wired and wireless
headphone made, these are the first to be rugged enough to pull out of your
ears and just throw into your pocket or purse along with your keys, pocket
change and anything else. Unlike other
earbuds that use frail thin wires that tangle if you look cross-eyed at them,
the Anker buds use a thick flat rubber cable that looks like it would survive a
ride in the washing machine (DON’T try it), and no matter what I do I can’t get
them to tangle.
There is precious little excess in these buds … two slightly
large earpieces, a short (thank you!) cable that hangs under or behind your neck with an
extremely slender control pod. Hidden
somewhere is a microphone with noise-reduction that’s reasonably close to your mouth. Charging is done with a small clip-on plug
that is equally light and portable for mobile use. And not to stop there, Anker has thoughtfully
supplied additional tabs that virtually “glue” the earbuds to your ears for
sports like bike riding, jogging, etc.
Why are these “must have”?
Consider the ways I have found to use them. Seriously it’s a wonder they ever leave my
ears:
1. They are so small, easy to use and convenient I
now use them to listen to virtually everything on my smartphone rather than
through the tinny speaker, with the added bonus they are ready instantaneously
to use as a talk/listen headset that tremendously helps block out external
noise and make talking on my phone a joy, even in noisy airports.
2. As good as the internal speakers are getting in
tablets/eReaders these simply sound better and are the most perfect earbuds I
have ever found for watching a movie on an airplane.
3. When I am at my desk I now use them to listen to
the audio from my desktop and my laptop the vast majority of time, but
especially at night when I want to crank it up without disturbing those around
me.
4. Ditto for watching TV. A simple Bluetooth adapter on my home
entertainment amp actually allows me to listen to any source while walking
around, feeding the pets, watering the lawn, you get the idea. I can even follow the game on TV from the
back yard by looking through the window at the TV from time to time during a
big play. It’s important to note for a
use like this that Anker allows simultaneous connection with two devices to
play music on one device and take a call on the other.
5. While I don’t use an iPod as much anymore
because all that’s built in to my phone and tablet, there is a tiny Bluetooth
adapter for that too, where I can toss the player in my pocket and listen
wire-free.
Let me repeat the word “toss”. There is no stereo headset I have ever seen
that is so easy to simply shut off and stuff into my pocket (hence,
Stuffable). When the flight attendant is
giving me the evil eye to shut off ALL devices, no longer do I have to
carefully stow away a pair of headphones, I just stuff the Ankers into my
jeans, ready to go the instant the warden gives me the green light.
They are comfortable.
Battery life is reasonable at about 7 hours and they are rugged. They
sound great. Bass is deeper than the
average earbuds, high-end is tight and the mid-range (important for dialogue in
movies and for cell phone talk) is clear.
Unlike some other earbuds I’ve tried which have to be adjusted perfectly
to get the “sweet spot”, these are not as picky about exact placement in your
ears. I also like that there are NO
operating buttons on the earbuds themselves so there is zero risk of mistakenly
hanging up or doing something you don’t want to while adjusting the buds in
your ears.
Bottom line … I got these direct from the
manufacturer to provide evaluation and feedback.
That had no influence on this or any review I write. Be aware that success
with Bluetooth products is not always the same for everyone. I’ve had a higher-than-usual interest in
Bluetooth technology for a long time (which is one reason I tested these) and
have had my share of disappointments.
Bluetooth gets better all the time and I don’t doubt that these earbuds
represent some of the most current technology available.
WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE: The obvious advantage here is sheer size, what you see is what you get, two aluminum earbuds connects by a flat rubber band. That's it. There is no weight to the connecting cable to pull the buds out of your ears. There is one impossibly thin controller molded into the cable with 3 tiny buttons that have a positive feel to them.
SIMILAR TO: Jaybird Freedom Stereo Bluetooth earbuds; Plantronics
BackBeat GO Bluetooth Wireless Stereo HeadsetWHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE: The obvious advantage here is sheer size, what you see is what you get, two aluminum earbuds connects by a flat rubber band. That's it. There is no weight to the connecting cable to pull the buds out of your ears. There is one impossibly thin controller molded into the cable with 3 tiny buttons that have a positive feel to them.
DO YOU NEED IT: this is one of those things you never
thought you needed until you have it.
HOW IT IMPACTS YOU: the fad of wearing huge oversized headsets is wearing off
quickly and unless you are Justin Bieber you probably agree the look is getting
a bit silly. But most earbuds sound
pretty bad and most are tethered by cheap thin wires and are just as cumbersome
as the big fat Dr. Dre’s. I predict a
new genre of stuffables that you simply toss into your ears and when you’re
done you toss them into your pocket/purse.
These are the best I’ve seen so far.
COMMENTS: Anker is a relatively young company who is cutting a market
niche by trying to offer stuff that is either unique to them or that they do
better than the rest of the pack. They
are quickly becoming a dominant force in aftermarket batteries for smartphones
and tablet devices. Wisely they are not
marrying themselves to only one of the competing mobile OS protocols but trying
to do the right thing by everybody. What
sets them apart is they are savagely passionate about customer service, for the
few products I have so far I have received a personally written email responses,
sometimes in just an hour or two and sometimes close to midnight my time. They consider, listen, evaluate and respond
to suggestions from customers about improving their products. Seriously, in today’s world how much, if any,
of all this can be said about most companies?
TECH TOY WIZARD RATING: 5/5
TECH TOY WIZARD RATING: 5/5
BUYING OPTIONS: Buy it at Amazon
SEE IT IN MOTION: Anker Official Video
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Thank you for your directions. It looks very good.
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