Special thanks to Orig Audio (@origaudio) for sponsoring our giveaway!

How to enter the contest (TWO Options):

Option 1:

1. Become a Facebook Fan of Skatter Tech
2. Use Facebook Connect to leave a comment below

Option 2:

1. Follow @skattertech on Twitter
2. Click here to retweet the following message

Some Rules Apply:

• Don’t try to enter more than once. (We have robots!)
• Must live in the United States. 13 and older only.
• Winner is randomly chosen by computer auto generator.
• Entries close after Thursday 01/22/10 11:59 PM (PST).
• Winner will be announced on this post on the next day.
• Winner has 24 hours to respond to DM or Facebook Message.

That’s pretty much it. If you don’t know what Facebook Connect is, it’s simple. Just click on “FB Connect” next to the comment box and login with your Facebook Account. If you do that and become a Fan of Skatter Tech, you’re in! And for Twitter, if you don’t have an account, just get one! It’s quick!

UPDATE: Contest entries closed. We’ll be posting results shortly.

The Results: The winners are: Poline Chuon, David Chang, Dev Butt, Mariela Elizabeth Lopez, and Tuyen Nguyen! We’ll be contacting you shortly to get you your free set of OrigAudio Speakers!

Budget: $0-$50

Koss KSC-75

Punchy, fun, and energizing, the Koss KSC-75 clip on headphones offer incredible value for the money. Utilizing the same drivers as Koss’ more expensive and popular PortaPro, the KSC-75 lets you listen to your holiday tunes with precision while on the go. The KSC-75’s have a rubber coated wire clip to secure them to your ears. This clip is bendable to be compatible with whatever shape your ear may be. While sounding fragile, the KSC-75’s are quite durable and will not cause a fit being tossed around. Sound-wise these headphones are very engaging and bright. They bring you into the music in an engaging and energizing way with surprisingly good bass impact for such tiny drivers. Mids are pronounced and forward. The only thing lacking with the KSC-75’s are slightly veiled highs. At around only $15-$20 however, the KSC-75’s have great bang for the buck!

Buy: Koss KSC-75 ($15-25)

Sennheiser HD201

For the more laid back and relaxed listener the Sennheiser HD201 full-size, circum-aural headphones are great for the house. The extremely lightweight (yet durable) HD201’s carry on the great Sennheiser-house sound-signature of its extremely well revered and more expensive brethren. The HD201’s feature a generous 9.8ft (3m) long cable along with a 1/8″ (3.5mm mini) to 1/4″ (6.3mm) stereo jack adapter for your high end audio equipment. The long cable allows you to move about a room while listening to your music unimpeded. The leather ear cups are adequate and don’t cause any sweating issues. While not the absolute cleanest sounding headphones, the HD201’s carry the Sennheiser house sound of being laid back. They offer a pretty decent sound stage with a neutral, unaltered sound giving you your holiday music just as the artist intended you to hear it. The bass extends accurately down well, although lacks slightly in impact (you definitely hear it, but doesn’t have the big OOMPH!). The midrange of the HD201’s is accurate and true, not recessed and not too pronounced. The high’s have accuracy and clarity that many other headphones lack, with a slight roll off. If your ideal holiday season is sitting bundled up in bed with a cup of hot chocolate reading your favorite Christmas story, the HD201’s make a great companion.

Buy: Sennheiser HD201 ($20-$30)

Midrange $50-$200

Sennheiser HD280 Professional

A common sight in recording studios all across the nation, the HD280 offers professional sound in an innovative package. The HD280 is very robust and durable headphone designed with sound accuracy in mind. With great sound attenuation (up to 32dB) the HD280’s will let you listen to your holiday tunes in peace even if family and friends are being noisy. Should you need to get on the go, the HD280’s conveniently fold up into the headband for efficient storage. To ensure recording studio accuracy, the HD280’s have a very flat frequency response. The bass extends down far and comes out tight, accurate, and clear, although slightly lacks impact. The mids are delightfully crisp, clear, and precise revealing every last detail. On the high side, the sounds are clear and articulate, a nice detachment from the airy and veiled sound from most headphones. Overall, the sound is analytical, while not injecting any extra excitement or energy into your music, the analytical sound lets you pinpoint every detail for the more accurate and true to recording sound.

Buy: Sennheiser HD-280 Professional ($70-$100)

Audio Technica ATH-A700

Accurate and precise like a samuri’s katana sword, the Japanese Audio Technica ATH-A700 features a space-age design that creates a functional and clean sound. The unique headband cushions and deep ear cushions on the A700 provide an extremely comfy experience complete with a great sound. With a broad soundstage, the A700 ensures a rich and full sound experience. The bass is deep, tight, and has an authoritative presence. Moving into the mid-range you’ll glide right through its smoothness and silky-ness which extends seamlessly into the clear and revealing highs. The sound is very articulate, letting you pinpoint all the different elements in the music. Overall, the sound provided by the A700 is a very passionately constructed experience.

Buy: Audio Technica ATH-A700 ($110-$200)

Audiophile $200+

Sennheiser HD600

If by chance you absolutely, positively cannot make the local and extravagant Christmas concert, sitting down with the Sennheiser HD600’s at home later is likely to make you forget you missed anything at all! The rich and enveloping sound of the HD600’s will instantly transport you to your own private concert giving you a front and center seat. Innovatively, the HD600 is constructed in an open backed design in oder to prevent reflected sound waves distorting the ones going to your ears. Large cushy velvet padding keeps your head and ears situated perfectly throughout your listening time. Being an audiophile grade headphone, the HD600’s require a headphone amplifier in order to be driven to its fullest potential. While still sounding great even without an amplifier, would you run a 91 octane sports car with only 87 octane grade gasoline? The wide soundstage of the HD600 puts you dead in the center of a broadway concert hall with the music flowing from all directions. Deep and clear lows contain the perfect amount of impact while staying tight and punchy. The mids come through richly, yet accurately and perfectly balanced. The singers sound as if you’re the only person in the auditorium and they’re singing just for you. Up high the HD600’s provide crisp and clear sound that brings through details that most other (including good) headphones recess. The combination of such a balanced and true sound is total audio euphoria.

Buy: Sennheriser HD600 ($350-$550)

This Gift Guide is a part of our ongoing Skatter Tech Holiday Gift Guide.

Body Design: 4/5 stars
As the name suggests, the Jabra Halo simply resemble a halo. As I removed it from the packaging, it struck me a luxurious gadget. They felt quite lightweight as I picked them up and the black trim was elegant. After skimming through the product info sheet, I looked at the quick-start guide for directions before trying them on. Ok, easy enough, just unfold and snap in to lock the headphones into position — wait… ’snap’? Although I was a bit worried, I realized that the headset actually had a joint to fold. This wasn’t just to make the device more compact for travel, but it was actually what turned it on and off as well. It’s unique, new, and the sharp look definitely certainly got me a few glances.

Controls: 3/5 stars
All physical controls are on the right side of the headset. There’s one big multifunction button that serves as an Answer/End key and the Play/Pause control. The multifunction can answer an incoming call or end a call in progress. If the music is being played back it then can be used to pause or resume the track. The side of the right ear piece has a touch sensitive strip that allows adjusting volume or navigating tracks. Simply sliding your finger up or down the strip increases and reduces volume, respectively. To skip tracks, you’ll need to hold down on either the top or bottom portion of the strip. This may sound great on paper, but it takes quite a bit of getting used to. It was just difficult to find the position of the touch strip since there’s no groove to help guide your finger. The only other issue was the responsiveness probably due to the Bluetooth Protocol. It often took a second or two to react to a change in volume, track change, or pause. It’s not a big issue, but hopefully there will be improvements in the future. On another note, it would have also been convenient if separated the multifunction button into to dedicated keys: one for answering/ending calls and one for playing/pausing music.

Comfort: 4/5 stars
I generally avoid over-the-ear headphones since they are too bulky to carry around. Plus traditional headphones have messy cables to deal with. That’s not the case with the Jabra Halo. It’s sleek and even folds up into an included pouch. Plus it feels great to wear. The insides are lined with a velvet-like material, which are quite comfortable. It might even help dampen outside noises. The inner lining unfortunately gathers some lint and since it’s black; it’s quite visible. The side ear-pieces can be pulled out further for a better fit. Unless your head is too large, this should adjust to fit just about anyone. Even with extended periods of use, the headphones were quite comfy.

Dual Pairing: 3/5 stars
I’ve had numerous complications in the past dealing with pairing new devices. Sometimes these things just don’t pair right, take too long discover the device, or PIN is nowhere to be found. The Jabra Halo simply works. Just hold down the multifunction button until the light starts to blink. Once once it appears on your device, just key in the default 0000 pin that’s mentioned in the manual. Since this device supports dual pairing, just repeat the process again to connect a second device. That was easy, but the Halo has problems after that. It’s theoretically suppose to be able to handle two devices at once. So if you get a phone call on one, it should be able to answer that, but also handle calls from another phone too. The problems starts with a long delay when switching between devices. It took at least about 20 seconds before the sound was transferred to the headset after pressing the multifunction button to answer a call. It may sound convenient, but it will also truly annoy the caller since they’ll have no idea what’s going on. If it was a little faster, I would happily be able to pair this to my computer to listen to music, but also answer calls on my HTC Hero.

Battery Life: 4/5 stars
According the advertising and info sheet, Jabra claims a 6 hours of music playback. So of course, I tested that claim. After a full charge, I found that I was getting about 4-5 hours of playback at medium volume. That’s certainly enough for a day’s use. They could surely make some battery life improvements in the future, but it works just fine. To charge the device, Jabra has provided a AC wall charger with a standard microUSB tip. It plugs into the port on the bottom end of the right ear piece. There’s an indicator on the inside of the headset that display’s both the battery level and the Bluetooth connection status. Here’s the other neat aspect, the headset supports a wired connection mode. So when it runs out juice, just plug it in with the included microUSB to 3.5mm headphone jack and you can keep on rocking! There’s even an additional microUSB to USB dongle included to re-charge with a computer. The connector was a bit loose, which was an issue since it stops charging if you move it unintentionally. However that might just be an issue with the review unit we received.

Sound Quality: 3/5 stars
For a Bluetooth Stereo Headphones, the sound quality is superb. It definitely sounded better than what came out of the Altec-Lansing BackBeat. Unfortunately the quality rapidly deters the further you get away from the paired device. The range was quite short, sound began to quickly get choppy at about 25 feet. That’s not too great compared to the Altec-Lansing which worked from at least 75 feet away with no physical obstructions. Things however change when you switch over to the wired mode. The audio quality immediately becomes a lot more crisp with better highs and lows. The bass was also at decent level. As for phone calls, the quality was satisfyingly clear for both me and person on the other end. It doesn’t cancel out background noises for the microphone too well. It becomes harder for the person on the other end to hear you in noisy environments. Although you’ll probably have the paired device in your pocket most of the time, it still would have been favorable if the range was further.

Bottom Line:
Overall, the Jabra Halo is still one of the best Bluetooth Stereo Headphones on the market. It offers both wired and wireless connectivity modes. Sound quality is excellent. Although a bit slow to react, it still offers the ability work with two devices at once. The headset even folds up and tucks away into the included pouch. The battery life is decent and the device is fairly durable too. The Jabra Halo is however a bit pricey, costing nearly $135. And there’s a reason for that, these are premium headphones. Competing products such as the Altec-Lansing sell for nearly half the price, but also do lack audio quality and premium features. If you have the cash to spend and are looking for a new pair of wireless headphones, you can’t go wrong with the Jabra Halo.

Buy: Jabra Halo for $130 [ships free + no tax]
Links: Jabra.com Halo

The Body – 4/5 stars
The BackBeat 903 headphones weigh 34 grams and rest behind the ear when worn. An 8 inch cable connects the two pieces together behind the neck. The ear pieces are slightly adjustable, allowing extending vertically and sniveling horizontally. There are a call and a play buttons on the left and right ear bud, respectively. A volume switch, which also controls track navigation, is under the right ear piece. The power button and standard micro-USB charging port are on the left ear piece.

Comfort – 4/5 stars
The headphones fit and felt a lot better than both the Kensington Wireless Headphones and the Motorola S9. They still don’t come anywhere close to the comfort a traditional pair of ear buds or over-the-ear headphones offer. These tended to slide off quickly with too much physical movement. Even with adjustments, these just wouldn’t work for me if I were to go for a jog, but would work just fine in an office room situation. To give these a second chance, I asked a couple of friends to give them a try. Just about all of them had no complains about the fit and were overwhelmed by the truly wireless headphone technology. In fact, they wanted to buy a pair too.

Headset Functionality – 4/5 stars
Altec Lansing implemented the ability to use these as a Bluetooth Headset as well as streaming music. The built in microphone sounded crystal clear to those on the other end of the phone. I actually found it to sound better than the expensive Andrea BT200 headset that we previously reviewed. The call button ends calls during an active conversation; answers call waiting and can start voice commands. The one feature the BackBeat lacks, that I would have truly appreciated, would be dual pairing. Things would have been a lot more convenient if it allowed me to stay paired to both my phone to answer calls and to my laptop for music. I’ll currently have to re-pair each time I switch between the devices.

Compatibility – 4/5 stars
If you’ve got the fairly new Laptop or Smart Phone sporting Bluetooth 2.1 with stereo profile support, these will probably function just fine. I tested mine with the Dell XPS M1530 Laptop running Windows 7, which paired easily and sounded fairly good. There were occasionally jitters, which wasn’t a big deal. I also attempted to pair it with my Apple iMac, it ended up partially bricking the BackBeat. I had to hold down the power and plug in the charger to reset it. I further went on to test it with the Apple iPhone 3GS, which paired quickly and sounded a whole lot better than music did through my laptop. (It was most likely due to the poor quality of the Bluetooth Module in the XPS.) Even with the latest iPhone 3.1 OS, the previous/next track function doesn’t work due to the lack of the remote control profile support on the device. Hopefully Apple will do something about that soon; it can at least pause and play for now. The remote control function did work with the LG enV Touch and the Samsung Rouge. The bottom line is Altec-Lansing’s technology works; however your device might not support the standard. Before picking these up, read up as to whether your device is compatible with the BackBeat. Altec-Lansing also sells a simple headphone jack to Bluetooth adapter, if you wish to use this with a device that isn’t’ compatible.

Sound Quality – 5/5
Before anyone goes crazy over the rating for this, read this entire paragraph first. As I stated in the intro, these are a step closer to the future, but not yet there. That’s mainly because the sound quality is great, but only great compared to the few Bluetooth Stereo Headphones on the market. These won’t compare with the sound quality offered by Sennheiser, Shure, Ultimate Ears, or V-Moda for the same price. But don’t let that stop you from purchasing these. The average person will probably listen to music from ripped CDs encoded in MP3 or from an online music store such as iTunes or Amazon MP3. With that kept in mind, most will probably not be able to differentiate the quality between a decent pair of headphones and these, especially when fascinated by the freedom offered by the wireless aspect. So yes, for the Bluetooth Headphones I’ve come across so far, these probably one of the best.

Battery Life and Wireless Range – 5/5 stars
I tested these after a full charge. Instead of one unlikely straight drain, I decided to test real life performance. I used it for 30 minutes at a time and turned them off while not in use. I used iTunes to track the songs I had played on my iPhone. When the headphones started beeping to let me know it was at its last throws, I had played back about 5 hours of songs on my phone over the course of two weeks. If you throw in the hour or so of phone calls I may have answered with these, it’s pretty decent. They weren’t too short ranged either. If there are no obstructions such as walls, music kept playing from my iPhone from at least 75 feet or so. In the average household, it can probably make it through a wall or two before quality degrades heavily.

Included Items and Packaging – 4/5 stars
The packaging is minimal and clean. Getting the headphones out was quick. There’s literally nothing included in the box other than the AC Adapter, Bluetooth Headset, and a manual. Which is great due to simplicity. I do wish that Altec Lansing would have thrown in a USB to microUSB cable to allow charging the BackBeat 903 with laptops and USB chargers when a power outlet isn’t available.

Conclusion
The BackBeat 903 headphones are a unique piece of gadgetry that just about any individual will notice. It truly does stand out. They offer the freedom to easily move away from your desktop or laptop. The technology works, it’s easy to setup, and use. The battery lasts for well over an average day’s use. Plus you can use them to answer calls conveniently. The only drawback would be the audio quality, which still lacks compared to traditional headphones. I enjoyed using these and would definitely recommend these. It’s available now for a fairly reasonable price of $55 through retailers such as Amazon.com.

Buy: BackBeat 903 for $55
Links: AltecLansing.com BackBeat 903

Kensington recently released new Bluetooth Stereo Headphones and as promised here’s our review. The headphones, also entitled the BT3071, sports the Bluetooth 2.0 protocol and uses the A2DP profile to wirelessly steam audio from any compatible device. These stereo headphones are fairly affordable and function a whole lot better compared to the previous generation of Bluetooth headphones.

Device Compatibility – 5/5 stars
From some tests, I found the Bluetooth Headphones to work seamlessly with the array of devices I paired it with. It was compatible with the Bluetooth built into a Sony VAIO running Windows XP, a Dell XPS M1530 running Windows Vista, and a Apple iMac running OS X Leopard. In addition it played nicely with the LG enV and LG Muziq mobile phones. And to top that, it also worked with the Sony PlayStation 3! If you’ve got a fairly modern Bluetooth-enabled gadget, chances are that you won’t have any problems.

Headset Functions – 3/5 stars
The Stereo Headphones also feature a built-in microphone allowing it to double as a wireless headset.. This means you’ll be able to answer calls when paired with a mobile phone and can be used for VOIP when paired with a computer. The downside might be that the audio to contained a bit too much static, which I didn’t experience with other Bluetooth headsets. It shouldn’t be much of an issue for taking calls occasionally, however you probably would want to get a different headset unless you wish to irritating the person on the other end of the phone.

Physical Controls - 4.5/5 stars
The headphones sport a few neat little controls right on the headset including a pause/play button and a track back/forward toggle on the left side and volume controls on the right side. The controls worked without any issues with Vista’s Media Center, Windows Media Player, and Apple iTunes. They worked with cell phones as well. The only issue was the lag in responsiveness of the controls. Most people will often end up clicking again causing something unwanted to occur. From my experience, be patient and wait a second or two after clicking on a key.

Wireless Range – 5/5 stars
The Kensington Bluetooth Stereo Headphones are officially benchmarked to offer a 66-foot (20 meter) range. From my experience going any further than 30 feet from the paired device would result in cracking sounds. Any obstructions such as walls severely crippled the range. I found there were no issues as long as I was contained within the four-walls of an average-sized room. Overall the range is more then enough to have freedom to move around without being tied to your device.

Battery Life – 5/5 stars
The battery life was quite impressive since it lasted about a week even with a couple hours of use each day. It is officially advertised at 23-hours of stereo music playback and 19-hours of talk time. These Kensington Headphones probably had the best battery life I have seen on any of the bluetooth headsets. The BT3071 has a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery which can be re-charged using a standard USB to mini-USB cable. An AC Adapter was not included, but fortunately just about everything we own these days has a USB port which should do the job.

Audio Quality – 3/5 stars
Any audiophile will surely laugh at the sound quality of these headphones, however the majority of consumers probably won’t notice anything unless its mentioned to them. Setting aside frequency range which lacks on most levels, the quality is plentiful for most people. One thing that everyone will notice for sure is the occasional chops and breaks due to the wireless component. I personally found these great for listening to podcasts or watching TV shows on my laptop without disturbing others and having the freedom to move around and do other things without being tied up.

Overall I feel the Bluetooth technology still has some quirks to workout, but despite that, these headphones make the best of it. I originally felt the headphones were uncomfortable, however it wasn’t an issue after a few days of use. The majority of those who purchase this will probably be satisfied with these. The Kensington Bluetooth Stereo Headphones are available for purchase now and are much cheaper than Bluetooth Headphones were last year. These headphones have a MSRP of $79, however if you shop around you’ll be able to find them for as low as $65!

Buy: Kensington Bluetooth Stereo Headphones – $65 (via Amazon with NO TAX + SHIPS FREE)
Links: Kensington.com BT3071 Product Page

Last week Kensington announced a slew of new accessories, one these being a new wireless bluetooth stereo headphones. The headset can be used to listen to music and with built in microphone, it can also answer phone calls. The Kensington Bluetooth Stereo Headphones (K33436US) has built in “easy access buttons” to play/pause or skip tracks as well as to answer/end phone calls. In addition the headset can be paired with a Windows or Macintosh machine for use with applications such as Skype. The device will pair with any Bluetooth 2.0 device that supports the A2DP protocol. According to Kensington, the Bluetooth Stereo Headset will work up to 66 feet away from your wireless device and will offer an impressive 23 hours of music playback and 19 hours of talk time. The headphones have a MSRP of $79.99 and are available for pre-order, however it wont hit retail stores until March.

Pre-Order: Kensington Bluetooth Stereo Headphones – $79 (no tax + ships free)
Links: Kensington.com – (Product Page)

The phone everyone’s been waiting for is finally here. The LG Voyager, which is also known as the LG VX10000, is an upgrade to the popular LG enV (VX9900), which we reviewed around this time last year. Skatter Tech was lucky enough to get a hold of this unit, courtesy of Verizon Wireless, and I’ve been putting it to the test since I got it last week. Just for a quick overview, the Voyager features a touch-screen display plus an internal wide-screen, a full HTML browser, a QWERTY keyboard, Mobile TV, and a ton of other new features. Although LG seems to be taking their communicator series in a whole new direction, I would still say that Voyager is definitely a worthy upgrade to the enV.

LG VX10000 Specifications:

• Provider: Verizon Wireless (1.9GHz / 800MHz CMDA)
• Form Factor: Laptop-like w/ QWERTY keyboard
• Dimensions: 4.64H x 2.12W x 0.71D (inches)
• Battery Life: 240 mins talk time & 480 hours standby
• Screens: 480 x 240 pixel TFT external & internal
• Digital Camera: 2 megapixel camera and camcorder
• Storage: ~185MB internal + microSD (8GB max)
• Special: external touch screen and mobile tv
• Others: Bluetooth 1.2 + Stereo Speakerphone
• Price: $299 with a new 2-year contract

LG Voyager Body: – 5/5 stars
The VX10000 is a bit larger than your average phone, but no one should be complaining once they see what it has to offer. The phone stands 4.64-inches tall, is .71-inches thick, and 2.12-inches wide. The Voyager retains the same height as it’s processor, the enV, but is slightly wider and thinner as well. The phone should fit into most pockets, but might be a bit of a stretch for tight jeans. On the front of the phone, you’ll find the large touch screen display followed by the SEND, CLR, and END hard-keys lined up at the bottom. On the left of the phone, there’s a camera button, a spring-loaded hold key, and a toggle volume control. The microSD card expansion and the 2.5mm headset jack are the left side, while the charging port, which doubles as the USB connector, is on the bottom. You can charge your phone via USB as well! Other than that, there’s a two mega pixel Camera centered at the top on the back and a battery pack right below it. One the inside of the phone, there’s another display located between two speakers on the top portion and the illuminated QWERTY keyboard on the bottom. The keys are well spaced out are are large enough to type quickly, making it possibly the best keyboard I have seen on a phone to date. Also, unlike the enV, the Voyager actually sits flat on a surface, so no wobbling!

The Two Screens: – 5/5 stars
The biggest disappointment in the LG enV was the extremely small external display. All that has now changed since the LG Voyager’s 2.81-inch touch screen display takes over the entirety of the front and even replaces the numeric keypad. The phone’s internal display is also 2.81-inches diagonal, but isn’t a touch screen. Both the screens have a resolution of 400 by 240 pixels and a color depth of 262K. The quality of both displays were excellent. They were bright and clear enough to view in direct sunlight. The accuracy and responsiveness of the touch screen display was great, but some buttons and items were too small and hard to reach, so interface could use a bit of work.

Music Player: – 4/5 stars
I had a great experience with the Music Player on the enV and was hoping for a big upgrade, but it seems as though there hasn’t been any chances. The main complain would be that the interface for the player is completely different on the external and internal displays. The interface for the outside portion has been designed for use with the touch screen and works fairly well. It actually looks quite neat and allows browsing by Songs, Albums, Artists, or Genres. You’ll have the ability to purchase music from the mobile store, shuffle your music, and search your library. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for the internal interface. The music player on the internal display is still using the standard theme found on the enV and a plenty of other Verizon Wireless phones. In addition the developers have managed to make such as simple program actually look worse and just for starters it doesn’t even utilize the full display. Instead the program has been cropped to a 320 by 240 pixel frame with black borders. Despite this, the playback functions work quite smoothly and the player didn’t have any other major flaws. For supported formats, the Voyager can playback unprotected MP3, WMA, and AAC files in addition to songs purchased through the phone. (Will work with Amazon MP3 & iTunes Plus!) Overall the player is functional and even displays Album Artwork for a nice touch, but it could have been better.

Speakers & Headphones: – 3.5/5 stars
One reason I liked the enV and its predecessor the LG VX9800 (aka “The V”) was the fact that they all had built-in stereo speakers. The LG Voyager carries on that tradition, but there’s a problem. The speakers in the LG Voyager sounded quite horrible and began to crack terribly even before we got close to reaching full volume. (No bass as well.) I would have expected for an even better experience, but these speakers prove otherwise. Since the LG Voyager is also a music phone, I would have also expected them to implement a standard 3.5mm headset connector. Instead, the Voyager maintains a 2.5mm headset jack meaning that you’ll need to purchase an adapter for use with your regular headphones. As Bluetooth headsets are becoming so cheap and barely anyone uses wired headsets anymore, I wonder how long it will take for manufacturers to phase out 2.5mm jacks and replace them with 3.5mm ones. Fortunately, listening to music with headphones on the VX10000 was a much better experience than with the speakers, but quality was still no where as good as on the VX9900.

Digital Camera & Camcorder: – 3.5/5 stars
The LG Voyager features a 2.0 megapixel camera, which also functions as a camcorder. Photos can be taken at a maximum resolution of 1600 by 1200 pixels, while videos can be recorded at a max of 320 by 240 pixels. No improvement for either of those functions have been made since, as those were also the maximums on the enV. The camera and camcorder allow setting the white balance and choosing color effects for captured content. The external display can be used to take self portraits when the phone is flipped open. The camcorder can record up to 1-hour videos, however only clips under 30-seconds can be emailed. On the other hand, images of any size can be emailed. The camera also has an auto focus function, which drastically improves the quality of your photos. The part that was quite disappointing was the fact that LG has removed the retractable cover, which protected the lens, and the built in flash, which was quite handy in low-lighted situations. Overall, the image quality seems to have actually degraded.

microSD + Syncing: – 4.5/5 stars
LG has taken a big jump with microSD technology, now supporting 8GB cards. That’s a fairly good increase considering that the enV was limited to 2GB microSD cards. Although 8GB cards might be a bit pricey at this point, you should be able to purchase a 4GB microSD card online for under $40. As for syncing music, it was as simple as it could get. Your computer will recognize the Voyager as portable media player (mass storage device), so no additional drivers were required. You will, however, need to pop in the CD and install the drivers if you do wish to use your phone as a data modem. Once the device was recognized I was able to use Windows Media Player to transfer the music onto the Voyager. If you prefer to directly copy files onto the phone using the file explorer, that works smoothly as well. Mac OS X users, unfortunately, will have to use an SD card adapter to copy their music onto the microSD card since USB drivers are not yet available. Even Windows users will also end up having use a SD card reader/write occasionally, since it isn’t possible to access your photos and videos when using USB.

Bluetooth: – 4/5 stars
There hasn’t been exactly too much improvement with Bluetooth technology either. The LG Voyager continues to use Bluetooth v1.2, which the enV already had. Most new phones including the LG Muziq, which we reviewed a few months ago, and the Apple iPhone now boast a Bluetooth v2.0 platform with Enhanced Data Rate. Despite this, the LG Voyager was still able to work perfectly with my Samsung WEP200 headset, which uses Bluetooth v2.0. The VX10000 also supports using Bluetooth for use as a dial-up modem, with wireless stereo headsets, for transfering phonebook/calendar entries, and sending images to your computer. So it should still be able to do just about everything important.

HTML Browser: – 5/5 stars
First off, let me say that this is in no way comparable to the Safari browser on the iPhone and iPod Touch, which is amazing. This is, however, a HUGE improvement over the standard BREW browser found on most Verizon Wireless phones, which could only handle WAP pages. The browser is simple, easy-to-use, and works with both the external touch screen and the internal display. Even large web pages (ex. digg.com) loaded eventually, but using it was not practical since it took too long to load or navigate. The browser doesn’t support flash or ajax, but was sufficient enough for viewing text, images, and links. Most of the websites we tested it with worked surprisingly well. When using the external display you’ll be able to drag the page around with a finger, otherwise you’ll have to use the four-way navigation pad. Additional “screen optimized” and “text only” views are available along with the zoom function. The Voyager also delivers the web content over a 3G network which is faster than the iPhone’s 2G.

The Interface: 4.5/5 stars
The LG Voyager external interface is probably the most attractive interface I’ve seen on a phone from Verizon. To use the screen, you’ll have unlock it first by either clicking on the un-lock key on the screen or by pressing the hold key on the left spine. At the bottom there are four quick access buttons: Messages, Dial Pad, Menu, and Phone book. Clicking anywhere else on the screen will bring up a shortcut menu with even more icons to different apps. Just about all the phone’s features including the music player, navigator, web browser, V Cast Videos, camera, and text messaging is use able through the external screen. There are some applications including Mobile Email and Get It Now programs that can’t be used through the external display, so you’ll have flip open the phone. Another neat hardware feature implemented into the Voyager is tactile feedback. When something on the touch screen is clicked, the phone emits a vibrating impulse indicating that an action has been detected. The internal interface has received a clean makeover, but will remain very familiar to enV owners. The enV’s “Email Key” has now been replaced another shortcut menu, offering easy access to plenty of functions. Although the interface wasn’t perfect, it looks good, was usable, and was quite impressive.

GPS Navigator: – 5/5 stars
One feature I did truly did enjoy was the built-in GPS Navigator. The program, which costs $9.99 per month, gives subscribers access to maps, turn-by-turn directions, and local searches. The part that I like the most was that the voice narration actually read out street and highway names instead of simply stating “Turn left ahead” or “Make a right turn”. For example, actually reads out “Turn left onto Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road,” “Exit freeway on the right for San Francisco,” and “Keep right on Mission Blvd.” Most navigators I’ve used including those built into Lexus/BMW cars and portable Garmin/Magellan, couldn’t do this. The one’s I’m talking about were over an year old, so I’m sure new ones can read out names and do much more. Purchasing a decent navigator can cost a few hundred dollars, so spending $120 for a year of subscription isn’t too bad. In addition, if you don’t want subscribe and don’t use your navigator that often, you can pay a one-time fee of $2.99 for 24-hour access. Overall navigation tool was well polished, worked on both screens, and will come in handy if you’re ever lost.

Messaging: – 5/5 stars
In addition to text, picture, and video messaging, the VX10000 also has an easy-to-use email client which will work instantly with your Yahoo! Mail, Live Mail, AOL/AIM, or Verizon accounts. If you do happen to have your own server or use another mail service such as Gmail, you can even enter in your own POP3/IMAP and SMTP servers. The only downside was that the functionality was quite basic and didn’t even allow opening links in messages. Despite this, it remains a good way of getting a sneak peak of your inbox, replying to messages, and composing new ones when you’re away from your computer. The phone also has a built in Instant Messaging client which will work with AOL, Windows Live, and Yahoo! protocols. The program runs smoothly on both screens, allows viewing your buddy lists, and participating in multiple conversations at once. Both the Mobile Email and Mobile IM clients have the ability to run in the background and display notifications when new content reaches your phone.

Other Goodies: – 5/5 stars
The LG VX1000 comes with a bunch of extra tools including a calculator, calendar/date-book, alarm clocks (3), stopwatch, world clock, notepad, tip calculator, and a voice recorder (1 hour max). The address book can hold one thousand entries with five numbers and two emails per contact. Unique ringtones and photos can be set for each contact as well. The voice dialing feature allows making calls by reading out names in your address book or dictating numbers to dial. The final extra feature we’d like to touch on is Mobile TV. We would have reviewed this feature, but there was one problem. What’s the problem? There was no coverage in our area. The service only works in three cities in California and a total of 25 cities through the entire United States.

Despite my minute complains over speaker/headphones quality, the music player, and camera, the LG VX10000 is still probably the best phone offered by Verizon Wireless. In my opinion this will be a big seller for the holiday season and will probably be difficult to get a hold of. I strongly recommend this phone if you plan to actually use the features it offers, otherwise going with a more compact phone will suffice. Verizon Wireless has even been kind enough to throw in a USB cable so you don’t have to purchase a Music Essentials Kit to sync your music. If you plan to purchase this phone it will be available online and in stores on November 21st, 2007. You should also be able to pre-order the phone by calling Verizon Wireless or visiting their website. The LG Voyager will run you nearly $299 after signing a new 2-year contract and submitting a $50 mail-in-rebate. If you are eligible for upgrade, you should be able to get another $50 or $100 kicked off price based on your current calling plan. Overall the phone will take a bit getting used and even though it’s a bit on the pricey end, you are bound to enjoy what it has to offer.

Deal Alert: LG Voyager for $199! (with new 2-year contract)
Links: Verizon Wireless | Voyager Data Sheet (.pdf)
Related: LG enV VX9900 Review | Voyager Video Walkthrough

Yesterday, smart USA, announced the pricing and availability of the smart fortwo models in the United States. The smart fortwo is a mini car produced by Mercedes, which offers driving with over 40mpg efficiency. The smart car is only 8.8-feet long and 5.1-feet tall and includes all the standard features found in cars today such as ESP, anti-lock brakes, and air bags. Although it only seats two and limited storage space, it has become quite a popular car in Europe since it’s easy to maneuver through small streets and even friendly to park in crowded areas. The car can also hit a top speed of 90mph, therefore can be driven on highways and is fast enough for most areas.

Anyways the entry-level coupe starts at $11,590 and included 5-speed automatic transmission with a manual mode. Unfortunately this model doesn’t even have powered windows, air conditioning, or even a built in CD player with AM/FM. Therefore paying another $2,000 will the three items mentioned above plus a panorama roof, alloy wheels, gear paddle shifters, heated mirrors, and sports steering wheel. Finally for $16,590 the smart car becomes convertible with an automatic soft top, a sound system with MP3 playback and a 6-CD changer. Although it may seem that this car lacks many features, which are now taken granted, it offers a wider range of price customizations, is one of the smallest car on the market, and offers almost double the fuel efficiency of any other car at that price range. The smart fortwo series will hit dealerships during the first quarter of 2008.

Links: SmartUSA.com | Wiki Info

Shure recently introduced the more affordable SE110 Sound Isolating Earphones, which are aimed more towards average consumers. This is great purchase for iPod, ZEN, and Zune owners plus for those who wish to listen to music on their computers. Even though these earphones are the furthest down on Shure’s product line, with their MicroSpeaker and Sound Isolating technologies, these will offer an incomparably better performance than generic headphones included with your media player.

In addition, as always, Shure will include a variety of Sound Isolating Sleeves (aka. earpieces) in three sizes to ensure that they will fit your specific ear. The headset’s cable is also modular, including a 3-foot extension for personal customization. Other than extra ear pieces and cable, Shure also throws in a carrying case. And finally it come standard with a Two-Year Warranty.

The SE110 will be available in stores in just two weeks, September 17th to be exact. It’s MSRP is set at $119, however will be available in retail stores for just $99! Shure also offers a variety of accessories including music phone adapters. We’ll be getting a pair to review very soon, so check back! Meanwhile, please take a look at our review of Shure’s $150 SE210 from earlier this year.

UPDATE: Shure SE110 Earphones Review

Links: Shure SE110
Related: Shure SE210 Review

This year at CES, of the cutting-edge gadgets, functioning bluetooth stereo headsets made their first appearance. Motorola had their “Bluetooth Active Headphones S9″ on display. The S9 is one of the first bluetooth headsets to function with any bluetooth device, that supports stereo profiles. The S9 is intended for music playback, however it also supports wireless voice calls. Also, unlike most other bulky wireless bluetooth headphones, these Motorola headphones are quite sleek, stylish, and light weight, weighing less than an ounce.

Active Headphones S9 Features:

• Crisp 1.3cm stereo speakers
• Compatible w/Bluetooth enabled devices
• Supports both phones and MP3 players
• Up to 6-hours of music playback
• Touch sensitive music & talk controls

The headphones have touch-sensitive talk/end controls on the left and play/pause controls on the right. Most initial reviews all seem to be giving the S9 a “thumbs up.” However if plan to purchase wireless headsets to use while driving, these are probably prohibited in most states since they cover both ears. In addition, they S9 headphones are quite pricey, current online retailers such as Amazon price it at $130. I’d recommend waiting for cheaper ones arrive since these are one of the first truly portable pairs.

Buy: Motorola Active Bluetooth Headphones S9
Links: Active S9 Headphones | Motorola Press

Griffin Technology recently announced three new products for Sony’s PlayStation Portable (PSP): iTrip PSP, iFM PSP, and SmartShare PSP. Their first product, iTrip PSP, is a FM tuner which streams audio to stereos. The second item, iFM PSP, allows listening to the radio and/or controling PSP music. Their third product, Griffin SmartShare, splits the audio for two headsets. All three of these look amazingly good because of their PSP-styled look. Although all three are a bit pricy, they are all brand-name products and seem very reliable. (Griffin iTrip Nano was amazing)

The first item, the Griffin iTrip Transmitter, is pretty much a “dock” in which the PSP can be placed into. (Similar to the iTrip Nano concept) The unit has a built in antenna, hardware controls, and a LCD display. (requires 2 AA batteries) The iTrip can broadcast 88.1 – 107.9MHz within a 10 – 30ft range. This unit currently available on the market for $50.

The second item, the Griffin iFM, is a FM Radio tuner for the PSP which connects to the PSP using a cable. (currently costs $50) The iFM is powered by the PSP and does not require any additional power supply. The unit can tune into stations 87.9 MHz – 107.9 MHz. The iFM will also functions as an external remote for the PSP (volume, track, play, etc.) and has a small LCD to display information. (has a pass-through port for headphones)

The last item is the Griffin SmartShare, which may sound like a pointless product, but can be very useful. The SmartShare is a splitter with individual volume controls so two persons can listen to music with standard headsets at once. This is an ideal product for people who are often in noisy areas and are trying to let others listen to their music. This item is a much cheaper than the other two products, costing only $15.

Links: Griffin Products | iTrip | iFM | SmartShare
Recent: Sony PlayStation Briefing

Today (February 28, 2006), Apple announced two new products at a special Apple event. The first product was an Intel based Mac mini (Intel Core processors) and the second was a stereo system called the iPod Hi-Fi (compatible with all iPods). Another minor release was $99 leather cases for the iPod nano & video.

“Fifty percent of our entire product line is now available with Intel processors, in less than sixty days,” – Steve Jobs, Apple CEO

Two versions of the Intel Core Mac Mini were announced. The first one has a 1.5GHz Intel Single Core processor, 60GB hd, DVD/CDRW, and costs $599. The second edition has a 1.67GHz Intel Dual Core processor, 80GB hd, dual-layer DVD±RW/CDRW, and costs $799. Both have 512MB of ram and an Intel 64MB graphics card. They also have WiFi, Bluetooth, Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 400, and more. The Mac Mini now has an infrared port for the remote which controls the Front Row program that it now includes. Front Row allows easy access to photos, music, and movies; a new feature now allows sharing content across networks.

The second product was the iPod Hi-Fi. The Hi-Fi is a stereo set, which as a dock atop to connect either the iPod nano or video. (iPod shuffle can be plugged in using a port on the back) When the iPod is plugged in, the backlight will be turned on and album art will be displayed. (will also charge your iPod) The Hi-Fi can also run on 6 D-cell batteries, but is unlikely most will carry such large speakers around. (17″x 6.6″x 6.9″) This is pretty much an expensive Apple branded pointless speaker set to compete with 3-party devices.

Overall the entire “special” event was a disappointment. The Mac Mini with an Intel processor was expected to be released eventually just as an Intel based Mac G5 is expected. Next, the iPod Hi-Fi was a completely pointless invention and is way too expensive for anyone. Finally, the new leather iPod case is unusable while in the case, making it useless! Therefore, nothing really impressive was announced at the keynote.

Links: Mac Mini | iPod Hi-Fi | Leather Case
Related: Apple.com | Apple Store
Recent: A Faster MacBook Pro | 1GB iPod Nano