New gadget alert! Smasung Level Overs

I gave in and bought  these as the price point had come down far enough for my liking! £164 for a Bluetooth Headset with decent ANC is very nice and is now in the sort of range of Plantronics offering. 

I've only had them a few days and the ANC doesn't seem as crazy good as the Purity Pro's I had previously but it's good enough to drown out Office AC and other consistent background noises. It's not strong enough to drown out people taking though. 

Comfort: These are very nice. I can wear them for a good few hours with no aches or pains where as the really soft Senhheisers HD558's start to feel a bit too much like they are clamped to your head after a long while.

Looks: I thought the black version looked a little too boring while the White/tan colouring in my opinion looks very nice.

Controls: So on the right side there are touch controls. swipe the cup forward / back and the track will skip forward / back (Although I found this didn't work on play.sportify.com ). Up / Down will control the volume which works pretty damn well for me.

Which new wireless earphones to purchase?

So my beloved Nokia Purity Pro's had a ill fated break (cup broke away from the headband) and although I love them I think they are a bit too pricey to reward Nokia / Monster with another purchase considering the lack of help neither would give me for such a flimsy structural design. Instead I'm considering earphones again as opposed to headphones. Bluetooth being the key driver hear for convenience.

As far as I can see these are the best options on the market within reasonable price ranges:

Sony Stereo Bluetooth® Headset SBH80 product page

Amazon link to purchase - £64.99

Plantronics Backbeat Go 2 product page
Amazon link to purchase - £55.95 without charging case
Amazon link to pruchase - £71.75 with charging case

POWERBEATS² Wireless press release - unrealeased yet website states £169.95. 

Apple makes it official: $3 BEEELLION for Beats

Personally I would have thought Monster were a better fit in terms of hardware but I guess they don't have a online music store presence.

Whats really interesting is suddenly Apple now makes apps for Windows phone (Try getting Google to do that) and Android!

From The Inq:

Apple has confirmed weeks of speculation, announcing that it has agreed to acquire Beats Electronics for $3bn.

The company on Wednesday issued a formal announcement revealing a deal which will see the House that Steve Built shell out $2.6bn in cash and an additional $400m in payments that will vest over time to bring Dr Dre and company on board. The final price was slightly lower than the $3.2bn figure which circulated when word of the deal first broke in May.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/05/28/apple_makes_it_official_3_beeelion_for_beats/

Beats Music will still be available on Android and Windows Phone after the deal, @Tim_Cook tells @FT. "It’s all about music." Story @FT soon

— Tim Bradshaw (@tim) May 28, 2014

http://www.theverge.com/2014/5/28/5759014/apple-now-makes-android-and-windows-phone-apps

Nokia Purity Pro headphones.

I went and got some for a steal on eBay. Felt it was risky but got such a good discount on 'as new' ones it was worth the risk! 

They are amazing! My first proper ANC pair and although people say they are not the best in that area they are pretty decent in an office environment.

I'm just going to copy and paste handy bits out of the manual here for my quick reference.


Connect to two devices at the same time
Would you like to listen to music on your computer, but still be ready for calls? When
you've paired your headset and connected it to your phone, you can switch the
multipoint feature on and connect your headset also to another compatible device,
such as a computer.
1 Make sure Bluetooth is switched on in both devices.
2 Make sure the headset is switched on, and press and hold for 2 seconds.
3 Press and hold the volume up key and to switch the multipoint feature on.
4 Pair the headset with the second device.
5 Switch the headset off.
6 Switch the headset back on, and the headset connects to both devices.
To disconnect, repeat steps 1-3.

Manual found here

Weird....My Stereo Sony hbh-is800's are working again!

Strange... they've been sitting in my draw for over a year without use as one side stopped outputting sound... Thought I'd give it a charge and test and low and behold it works again! Lets see for how long....