A few days ago I received the Bluetrek Metal headset. I spent a whole week exploring various available bluetooth headsets and finally decided for the Metal, because it seemed like a very good balance between price / quality.
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Also, I do not like the look of 90% of headsets on the market - they're way too attention grabbing, have big blue lights flashing all over the place and are also unacceptably large.
Metal is nothing like this. I went for the black version and it's as simple looking as you can imagine. A small black bar with an ear-plug on one side and microphone on the other. Design wise, it's a perfect match for Touch HD.
Describing the size and weight of this tiny thing is really hard. You have to hold it in your hand to realize just how thin and light Metal is. Even tough the name "Metal" suggests otherwise, the device is only a few grams in weight. The housing is metallic, most likely aluminium, with a very good matte finish. Overall, Metal feels very solid and durable. There is only 1 small led, placed on the inner side of the device that can lit up blue or red, depending on different operations.
Along with the device, you get a plethora of accessories:
- 6 different silicone ear-buds (3 in ear and 3 with earloop)
- 2 different sized earhoooks
- short USB charging adapter
- 10 cm USB charging adapter (apparently needed for some USB ports, not shown in the photo above)
- belt clip
- car lighter USB charger (although this is listed as optional, it came with mine standard package)
Speaking of charging, Metal has super-cool solution for charging. With a small rubberized adapter, you plug the device itself into the USB charging port. No cables or anything. I find this very nice. The led's on the device in form you when the charging is complete. Initial charge took about 90 minutes from empty to full.
The pairing is idiot-proof. Turn on BT on the phone, turn on the headset, enter '0000' on the phone and that's it. After that, when ever the BT on the phone is turned on it will automatically pair with Metal when it's in range. The signal strength is normal for BT devices. If you don't have too thick walls, you can easily leave the phone in the other room without losing the connection.
Sound quality is okay. Nothing spectacular, probably not as good as the high-end models, but perfectly fine to understand the other person. I talked to my girlfriend over the Metal for a few days, and later asked if she noticed any differences in sound quality. The answer was straight and simple - no. She had no idea I was on a BT headset. So, I can conclude that the microphone does the job good, as well. Of course, Metal does not have noise-cancellation technology, so this is probably not a good choice if you need to make calls in very loud environments. But for normal usage (home, office, car) it's perfectly fine.
Cool thing about Metal is that you can use it without the ear-hooks attached. It may look strange that you can just plug something in your ear, without securing it in any other way, but believe me - it's not a marketing trick. I tried jumping around, waving my head in all directions, head-banging and all sorts of sudden moves - Metal stayed inside my ear firmly. So, this is a big plus for me, since I wanted to keep things as simple as possible.
While I was worried about really small buttons, in practice it didn't turn out to be THAT big of a problem. Yes, they're very, very small. Too small, to be honest. But the main button to start and end a call is slightly bigger and protruded up, so after some practice it should be ok to locate it while the headset is in your ear. Personally, I would prefer if the button size and arrangement was different, but it's usable as it is - barely.
The best thing about this device is that the price has dropped significantly. I ordered mine for 28$ from Sonicelectronix.com, which I consider to be a bargain.
Ooops! This was supposed to go into Accessories forum. Mods, please transfer the topic there
Related
This is a review of Anker portable bluetooth speaker MP230. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EURJAKK (due to this being a new product, ianker.com page hasn't been updated with a listing yet).
Portable bluetooth speakers are part of the most saturated market in today smartphone accessories. Everybody makes one, brand name or no brand name, and the prices range from anywhere under $50 and going up to over $200. After reviewing a lot of wireless speakers in different price categories, I can tell you with certainty that price range doesn't necessary translates into sound/built quality and you can actually find a decent portable speaker for a portable use at a great price. So let's take a closer took at what Anker MP230 model has to offer.
Starting with a packaging, you no longer mistake Anker product from a distance with their distinct recyclable brown box and white sleeve with a picture of the product, not even a drop of plastic in there. Along with a speaker, you will find a very comprehensive manual, usb charging cable (full usb to micro-usb), and 3.5mm male-to-male audio cable. Speaker itself is very compact and sleek. At about 9.6oz and dimensions of 4.7" x 2.9" x 2.3" it can actually fit in the palm of your hand and very portable to take with you when traveling. The shape of the speaker is actually different from most of the other ones I have tested in this price/size category where they typically look like a round can, while this one is more elegant to fit on your desk with it's glossy piano finish top. Bottom of the speaker has rubber feet-strips creating a nice friction with a surface. The main volume up/down and call controls are on the left side, and the back of the speaker has on/off button to turn it on and to pair up with a smartphone/tablet, auxiliary 3.5mm input to connect to any source which doesn't support bluetooth, and micro-usb charging port.
Pair up was seamless and blue led behind the grill works great as an indicator. When you charing the speaker, led is red. Charging should take less then 2hr from full empty and it should last 8-10hr on a single battery charge depending on your listening volume. In addition to blue/red color to indicate operation vs charging, the same led blinking also indicates when you are in a pairing mode (rapid flashing of blue led) or when battery low (red led flashing). Once paired/connected, I was actually able to walk away 50 ft from my phone through an open space before I lost a connection. In addition as a speaker, it also works as a speaker phone with an acceptable voice quality.
Now, about the sound quality. This speaker has front firing drivers behind the grill for your high frequencies and top firing sub with a bass port in the back. According to the spec, it supposed to be 2x 3W. For this price range it sounded just ok, where bass was a bit overpowering and distorted at higher volumes. I mean, its not fair to do audiophile analysis of $29 speaker, so you need to have more realistic expectations these will not be crystal clear or can be used to fill up a big room with a dynamic sound at your next party. They definitely will not sound thin thanks to the bass port in the back, and as I mentioned before you can use it wireless and wired connected through 3.3mm aux cable.
Overall its a very elegant looking speaker with a speakerphone functionality. Don't expect a stellar sound quality, but with an added bonus of extra bass, extended wireless range, great battery life, and backed by Anker's 18-month warranty, it's a great value for under $30.
Here are the pictures.
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thank for the review
look amaizing and wanna buy it
looks pretty good for the price
Thanks for the review for this - Looks like it could be a good speaker to travel with. :good:
Thanks for the review mate! Would you mind posting a video? I am about to buy that thing, but I have to see (and hear!) it in action before!
:cyclops:
This is a review of X6 Qi enabled wireless charger: http://dx.com/p/x6-qi-standard-mobi...-nokia-lumia-920-lg-nexus-4-more-white-275848
Since I have access to the latest Nexus 7 HD tablet, now I can finally enjoy wireless charging. With Qi charging becoming so common among latest popular phones and tablets, no wonder you see so many different wireless charging pads. The one I'm looking at today is probably one of the smallest and the most compact you can find anywhere.
I got this X6 wireless charger from DX.com, and I thought that priced at $19.99 it was a really great deal. First of all, its super compact and light weight. With dimensions of about 3.1" in diameter and 0.3" in thickness while weighting only 3.4oz, you can easily mistake it for a glass coaster. This is perfect when you are traveling and can just store it anywhere, even in your shirt pocket. What makes it especially useful while on the road or even just keeping it on your desk or nightstand is the fact that a charging usb cable is built in and neatly wraps around for storage. Every time I'm looking to charge up my gadgets, I never have a problem finding wall charger, but always have to look around for a cable. Here, it's self stored and ready to use as soon as you unwrap it. Also, with input current of 1.2A, and output charging current of 1A - you will get max charging wireless speed. I tested it with my tablet and it worked perfectly. Here are the pictures.
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In keeping up with my previous reviews of accessories I got from dx.com, I decided to continue including a review of another cool accessory/gadgets as a bonus. Often when I'm looking for a specific cable or a tool on dx site, I can't help but notice other accessories they recommend to you, among those being some of the coolest flashlights I have ever seen. So here is a deal, the flashlight I'm going to review here is a top of the crop they offer, and considering how cheap you can get most of the stuff from dx.com - $73 flashlight below probably cost a lot more in a regular store under some better known brand name, although the same or inferior in quality. But they also have a ton of other flashlights even under $10, although if you are going up in brightness level, a number and quality of diodes, and the quality and color of aluminum material - the price will go up.
This particular flashlight is FandyFire Knight: http://dx.com/p/fandyfire-knight-2-...ht-w-green-laser-golden-silver-3x18650-178577 - it's probably something you would want to keep on your desk as a centerpiece for conversations and bragging. Made out of solid cast aluminum with a distinct golden finish, it has a very nice hefty weight of about 290g. Being about 6" in length and 2" in diameter it's very compact, and comes with a durable detachable handstrap and replaceable sealing ring. It uses 3x 18650 rechargeable batteries which do NOT come with this flashlight, but you get get about 4 of these with a pair of chargers for $13 (got it from ebay). It uses very high quality Cree XM-L leds and produces almost 1000 lm of brightness power. The light is so powerful, the picture with a light on was taken in the evening with every light off and my camera flash off, and it was still bright in the room like it was during the day. The flashlight has a conveniently located power switch on the side so you can use it with one hand, and it has 3 modes of operation with full high brightness, low brightness, and emergency strobe light. As a bonus, and the reason for a premium price, Knight flashlight comes with rare 532nm Green laser (!!!) which is activated by double-clicking the power switch. I was able to capture the laser point in my last picture below. This is very unique because typically we see a common red laser, while this one is green. When activated together with led lights, it cuts right through the light and can be used as additional pointer while shinning the way. You can also activate this green laser by itself without main light. Also, the tip of the flashlight has removable crown ring which I think also used in self-defence. In my opinion, this is the coolest flashlight I have ever seen, and considering the quality of the built and all the features - it one of my favorite "gadgets" at the current moment But if you don't want green laser and if you are looking for different options, there is a ton more different flashlight or any other survivor gear you can find on dx.com. Here are the pictures of this Knight model:
I've been using the Inateck BTSP-10 Bluetooth speaker for nearly a month now, and it has simply been a pure pleasure.
The specs are:
Two 1.5 inch 3W speakers, with bass booster unto 88dB
Built in 1500mAh lithium polymer battery
Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR
Built in microphone for hands free calls/iChat
USB for charging
AUX 3.5mm audio plug
The BTSP-10 is rated to work with Windows, OS X, iOS, and Android devices.
Here is a quick unboxing video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu_2dSYH_m8
The packaging is surprisingly minimalist, and although black reminds me a lot of Apple. You get a small black box with the Inateck logo on it, and tiny musical note visible on it. It's a sturdy and strong thick cardboard, and inside you'll find the speaker itself, a flat 3.5mm audio cable, mini USB cable, and a traveling bag for the speaker.
The packaging oozed quality device, and the speaker was seated in thick heavy foam for protection.
It can take 3-3.5 hours to fully charge,during which the power button on the side will glue red. Although depending on use I've gotten an average of between 6.5-8 hours of use out of it. This is while having it constantly connected with my computer.
The speaker itself has an interesting Honey comb designed front where the speakers are located, and the device has a rubberised plastic shell, with four pads not the bottom to stand on. The device is well made, and feels good in the hand as well with the Matte rubberised shell fitting in rather well.
On top are three buttons, 1 for Bluetooth, and the two volume buttons. On the right is the Auxiliary 3.5mm audio jack on/of button, and the mini USB port.
On the front onto of one of the speakers is the Inateck logo, and a singular LED which light Blue when connected, and red when not.
I've tested the device on my 5.1 Mac Pro, and Note 2. It's connected instantly and worked as soon as you start playing something.
The speakers in it are surprisingly powerful, with music being clear and well audible. It's certainly a lot louder than it looks when ran close to full volume.
The bass cannot match dedicated powered speakers, but that's to be expected. having used it extensively for music, and movies I simply cannot fault it for sound quality.
The only issues I have encountered are on my Mac Pro. I have had signal drops, disconnects, and stutter during playback when connected via Bluetooth.
Although this is entirely not fault of the the Inateck Speakers in anyway, and is entirely due to USB3.0 interference over the bluetooth band. Intel has released a white paper documenting the issue, and it seems that when I unplug my USB3.0 devices the issue is immediately eliminated.
I've used the speaker near daily, and almost constantly through Bluetooth. Let me just say again that they are a pleasure to use.
I would highly recommend these to anyone that is looking for a decent high quality bluetooth speaker for either their computer or mobile devices.
For more information: http://www.inateck.com/inateck-btsp-10-bluetooth-speaker/
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Looks like it's only sold in EU, since it's not available in US amazon? Also, it looks rugged but their webpage doesn't say anything about IPx rating?
This is a review of Favi Boomerang Mini wireless Bluetooth speaker. http://www.favientertainment.com/Audio-p/boom02-sm.htm
It's a bird... It's a plane, It's a... maybe a headphone? No, it's a new wireless Bluetooth speaker from Favi, like nothing you have seen before! With so many wireless speakers I have reviewed in the past, I wasn't 100% sure what to expect just by looking at the image on the box it arrived in. I guess Favi guys took thinking outside the "speaker" box literally to come up with Boomerang idea for their product. Have they succeeded? Let's find out!
Arrived in a box with a lot of detailed images and functionality description, I was still a little bit puzzled considering there was one picture with a silhouette wearing it around the neck and another one with a phone wedged in the middle. Taking it out of the box revealed something that resembled a folded headphone which also included bonus accessories of usb to micro-usb charging cable and 3.5mm audio cable and a detailed user's guide. The construction of the design felt very solid, especially when unfolded, made out of high quality plastic material with metal reinforcements around folding hinges and metal piece inside of "headband" for a secure springy action. The speaker itself wasn't too heavy, but still had a heft to it showing that it's not a cheap toy.
Once unfolded, you'll find 2 active speakers facing forward with a metal mesh grill at the tip of each side of "Boomerang". There is also a combination of two pairs of passive bass radiator, according to diagram on the back of the box, and two open bass port on the sides. On the inner side toward the edge there was 2 grooves to hold your smartphone in between with a decent clamping force. As a matter of fact, it was strong enough for me to pick it up easily with a phone inside, and to carry it around. While placed on the surface, you can adjust the position of the phone which changes the angle of speakers facing forward. I know there was an image of silhouette wearing these speakers around the neck, and I was actually able to fit it as well (considering I do have a thin neck), but I would NOT recommend doing that since its a very tight fit. As a standalone speaker or with a phone wedged in-between - this was one of the most interesting and innovative designs I have seen to date.
On the left side inside of Boomerang, you find the micro-USB charging port (battery lasts up to 10 hours), on/off switch, led power indicator, a mic, and AUX input to connect directly from headphone jack of your source in case if you don't want to or can't be paired up wirelessly. And speaking of that, the pair up was a breeze. As soon as I turned Favi on, I was able to discover it with my Note 2 right away, and it paired up with a phone and media audio flawlessly. Furthermore, you can also pair it up by tapping NFC area labeled with a sticker on Boomerang. The wireless range covered a typical 40ft of a distance.
In addition to media play, it also comes with a mic to be used as a speakerphone, where it performed well. But the shining star of Boomerang performance was the sound delivery! Rated at 4W, assuming 2W per speaker, sometime you don't expect much. As a matter of fact, I was a bit skeptical thinking Boomerang was more about the design and the looks rather than a sound quality. Was I in for a big surprise! These little speakers packed a hell of a loud sound presentation which I was able to crank up almost to the max without too much distortion. Though not exactly being able to drive a deep bass, the sound was actually full and clear, and had a bass punch enough to make it highly enjoyable. Also, considering that you are dealing with two speakers on each side of your phone, the sound had a good stereo separation.
Overall, I was VERY impressed with Boomerang design, quality, and sound performance. The convenience of Bluetooth and NFC pair up, a long lasting 10hr battery (depending on the volume), very innovative idea of expansion sleeve design to hold the phone, great clean sound, and a compact folding storage (wish they would have included a travel pouch) all together adds up to a great value currently available on Amazon for $59.99. Just don't get discouraged by the labeling of "iPhone" in there since Boomerang is universal for use with any phone or tablet that supports Bluetooth. This Favi Boomerang Mini speaker definitely gets my high recommendation!
Here are the pictures.
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This is a Review of Ultra Waterproof Bluetooth wireless speaker. http://www.sw-box.com/Ultra-Waterpr...SW-BOX&utm_medium=Banner&utm_campaign=product
As a mentioned in the past, due to so many generic wireless speaker clones, I decided to review only models with unique features. Here is something I found to be a perfect fit for this category. The whole point of wireless speaker is to be able to play and to control music or to receive calls from your phone remotely, and to be able to do that at louder volume than your phone or tablet. This bluetooth extension gives us freedom to move around within 20-30ft wireless range, but also imposes limitation since we have to keep electronics away from water and dirt. Or perhaps you are waiting for an important call and need to jump in the shower. The speaker I would like to present to you today has IP67 waterproof and dustproof rating that will allow you to play it anywhere, by the pool or even in a shower, without skipping a beat. Here is what I found.
Arrived in a rather generic plastic see-through box, you get a good 360 degree presentation of the product even before you take it out. Beside the speaker, it also comes with an accessory box with a user manual and usb power cord. The power cord is unique by having full size USB connector on one side and 3.5mm power connector on the other side. It's not your typical usb cable, but I have seen similar ones in the past so finding a replacement shouldn't be a problem. The reason such power connector is chosen for this design because every port needs to be kept sealed. Power connector is the only port in here, and the plug for this power port has a better seal since it will go deeper into the connector to make sure no moisture or dust gets inside.
Taking a closer look at the speaker itself, it has a cylindrical drum shape with a large suction cup in the back. The speaker opening comes out from the back as well, and the top has a sealed rubber buttons to control its functionality. In the middle, you have Play/Pause/Stop button, to the right/left you have multi-function volume up/down which also doubles as skip next/prev buttons, at the top there is a power button, and at the bottom you have Phone/Call button with microphone pinhole. There are physical buttons underneath of these rubber cover buttons, and they are very easy to feel and to push. As I mentioned before, the power port connector on the side is sealed with a rubber flap. With a help of a rather strong suction cup, you can attach this speaker to any smooth surface, vertical or horizontal. This becomes especially handy if you want to use it in the shower.
The pair up was very easy, and the speaker under "My Speaker" id got connected both to the phone and to the media audio. Operating range was around typical 25-30ft. The sound and call quality were just OK, nothing too outstanding, but still relatively clear and loud. Obviously, this speaker is not designed to provide audiophile quality sound or being competitive with large wireless speakers, but its sound performance was on par with other small wireless speakers I tested in the past. The main advantage of this speaker is to provide a remote sound from your phone/tablet as well as the ability to pickup calls in the "wet" environment. Furthermore, unlike so many other speakers that only let you control the volume, here you can also control the playback with Play/Pause as well as skipping to the next or the previous song. And when you are in the shower streaming your tunes from the phone, you can also pick up a phone call directly and talk without stepping out. Now, that is priceless!!!
Overall, I found this speaker to have a lot of unique features including a full playback and call controls, a very compact design, a loud clear sound, and strong suction cup. With its IP67 rating, this Bluetooth wireless speaker will become your shower's best friend and you will never miss a beat or a call even under the water! I wouldn't advice to actually keeping it for too long submerged under the water, but being splashed under the shower while attached to a wall shouldn't be a problem. Also, for $15 plus change its a great value!
Here are the pictures.
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