Stuff that works
by Volker Weber
There is a constant stream of toys coming in and going out of vowe's magic flying circus. And there there are toys that win the editor-refuses-to-give-it-back award. They have to prove themselves over a longer period of time. And I am happy to report that these five items have not let me down, from left to right:
- The inexpensive Boomball. Just a simple speaker to hook up to a 3.5 mm headset out. It runs for four to eight hours and is loud enough for a small group presentation. The 3.5mm cable is very short, but it is directly connected and stored in the Boomball. Charges via MiniUSB. This screams for an update to MicroUSB.
- Plantronics BackBeat Pro. Whenever I need an ear canal headphone which connects via Bluetooth. Absolutely perfect if you don't need more than 3 to 4 hours of playback. I love the sound. A couple of reports say it is lacking bass, but I believe the testers did not achieve a perfect seal. I needed to try three different of the gels that came with the headset until I was satisfied.
- Jawbone Jambox. This is my Sonos away from home. I drop it in my bag so that I have music in hotel rooms. I also use it as a presentation speaker up to about 100 people in a small room. It's not unusual for people to come forward after the presentation asking about the speaker. I have the small version so that I can carry it easier. If you travel by car, you may want the big one. It's on my wishlist. :-)
- Plantronics Voyager Legend, now the UC variant. This is the best headset since the Voyager Pro. I cannot recommend it high enough. Six hours talk time is more than enough for me. I know you look like a dork wearing one, but I still wear it at events like CeBIT, since it alerts me of incoming calls and messages. The noise cancellation is crazy good. I even did some radio interviews from the showfloor and the radio people would not believe I was in a hall.
- Nokia Purity Pro headset. This is the Bluetooth version. I love this thing. You turn it on by unfolding it, and when you fold, it turns itself off. When you put the headset over your ears, it starts the active noise cancellation. That means there is a slight hiss, before you turn the music on. While it's playing I don't hear a thing. So I can't wear them when I am waiting for a delivery. I would miss the door bell, just as I miss any phone that is not paired to the headset. Splendid isolation. Being a Monster headset, this is for contemporary music. Let there be bass. Amazon prices are considerably lower than list.
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Comments
Oh nooo....more vowe-gadgets. ;-)
Is the headset around-ear or on-ear ?
Does it work with he Z10 NFC ?
It is an over-the-ear headphone. And yes, of course it works with the Z10 NFC.
Does the Jambox work as a conference speaker for calls as well? Would be great to have it as a portable speaker phone paired to a phone.
Yes, it does.
I was hoping you would answer something else.
Still suffering from my Sonos purchase.....
On the other hand : I hate the on-ears I am using currently.
Ok, the Sony Smart Mini Musicbox is about twice the price Boomball, but it adds Bluetooth and NFC (works flawless with the Z10 without any additional app) to the game. I don't want to miss it being on tour ...
