Motorola has announced two new Bluetooth accessories this week. The first is Oasis, a Bluetooth headset for those who don’t really care that the people around them think they’re totally mental, which was designed for maximum comfort after measuring 500 ears and collecting 15,000 data points. That’s a lot of nasty wax. It’s got two microphones and supposedly offers up to 12 mph (5.4 meters per second) wind resistance. That’s “2X better than leading competitors’ wind suppression technology”, a fact I wouldn’t know since I avoid headsets like the plague. You’ll be able to pick up the Oasis at AT&T stores for $80. Why are they making you go to an operator point of sale instead of an electronics store? I don’t know.
The second accessory is a bit more useful. It’s the S10-HD, a Bluetooth stereo headset that is “sweat proof”. In other words, someone finally figured out that the type of people who are probably going to use these types of headsets are the joggers and cyclists of the world, so they might as well make headphones resistant to bodily fluids. Everything is sealed in those annoying to open rubber enclosures, even the microUSB port used to charge the device, so it’ll be curious to see how long you can go owning a pair without breaking them. They weigh only 43 grams, can play music for up to 9 hours, have a 10 day standby time, and will be available at your local Best Buy by the end of next month for about $80.
Call me old school, but I listen to music on my big stereo, at home, with mixed drinks on the coffee table, and my friends on either side of me. When I’m out and about town I thoroughly enjoy hearing the sounds of the city, and even chatting up random strangers. Then the Bluetooth headset … no matter how fashionable Motorola or anyone else manages to make them, they’ll always have that stigmata of making you look like a tool attached to them.
No thanks.
[Via: Unwired View]