Posts tagged hardware-2

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iHome iBT24

 

Yeah, that’s a bit of sarcasm up there in the hed; there’s obviously no lack of choice regarding Bluetooth speakers. This year’s CES exploded with Bluetooth, and it doesn’t seem a day goes by that a manufacturer doesn’t release another model.

iHome is more about, well, more; so instead of releasing one, they’ve released four.

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Hold the phone! Or, rather — don’t. Martian Watch models see much of its promised potential unlocked With the launch today of iOS and Android apps, just ahead of their estimated ship date(s).

The app finally adds two major features to the watches — remote camera control and social media updates — along with a few smaller ones.

bcoda-coda-one

 

If you haven’t heard of South Korea-based bCoda before, that’s OK — neither had we before we got this press release about their first pair of stateside products.

The Bluetooth-equipped CODA One looks like a phone handset, and it sort of functions the same way — only it’s cordless. If you’re juggling lattes, you can also set it down on your desk and use it as a hands-free speakerphone. Bells and whistles include noise-reduction and echo-cancellation, a large battery with a meaty 20 hours of talk time and the ability to pair with up to eight devices.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdEebGqGiko&list=UUCFQNW_zl9YIcU1o472vqaw&index=29

Are they for UFC fighters who want to listen to music while they’re actually throwing punches in the ring? For talk-radio listeners who get violent when they hear opinions they don’t agree with? Or just for clumsy goofs who’re always destroying their headphones (you know who you are). Whatever the reason for the over-engineered Jabra Revos existence, the headphones ship today.

shootout-noise-cancel-headphones-2

 

Noise-cancelling headphones are suddenly all the rage. It certainly seems as if every big player in the audio game has at least one model that features active noise-canceling, usually accompanied by other luxury features — and with a corresponding luxury pricetag. Even manufacturers who’ve only recently begun making cans, like Logitech UE and Klipsch, prominently feature active noise-canceling in their model lineups.

It may even seem as if the technology has been added to some models simply because it’s become the feature du jour — an impression strengthened by the fact that not all noise canceling is the same. Not even remotely.

None of the headphones in our showdown — the Klipsch Mode M40 ($350), the Logitech UE 6000 ($200) or the Monster Inspiration ANC ($300), the noise-canceling version of the regular, passive Inspiration model we reviewed last year — exhibits the powerful noise-canceling ability that can almost completely drown out noise, like that of the Bose QuietComfort 15. Nor do they sit on the next level down, with NC performance similar to, say, Audio Technica’s ATH-ANC7b (although one here comes close).

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