Gadgetwise: Plantronics’ Wireless Earbuds Get an Update

With its newer model, the BackBeat GO 2, Plantronics addressed the battery life issue by adding a travel case that doubles as a charger. The company says listening time for the earbuds is still about 4.5 hours, but a fully charged case can triple that. Users get a voice alert when the earbuds’ charge is low.

The BackBeat Go 2 costs $80, and the case is another $20, which isn’t bad for Bluetooth-connected earbuds. They tuck nicely inside the case, which comes with a detachable USB charging cable. The earbuds also come with three sets of ear tips and a stabilizer to improve the fit and comfort. Plantronics also added a liquid repellent, P2i, that makes the earbuds handy for active, sweaty workouts.

The improvements are welcome, but the earbuds still need a little work. The flat cord that connects the ear buds is intended to loop around the back of your neck, but it kept getting caught on my collar and dragging on my neck. The buttons on the inline remote are tiny and face right instead of forward, making the controls difficult to manipulate. I chose to wear the cord dangling in front of me, which made the remote easier to reach.

I had a little trouble with the fit as well, but this will vary among users. Once I had a proper seal, the stabilizers helped keep the earbuds in place.

The biggest drawback, however, was the sound quality. Everything I listened to was flat and listless. And phone calls were worse, sounding distant and choppy, as if I were calling on a walkie-talkie.

Plantronics has a great concept here, but a little more time needs to be spent on development before the 3.0 version is ready.

Gadgetwise Blog: Earbuds Designed for Women, Not in Pink

When a company says it makes a headphone designed for women, it usually means it has taken regular headphones and painted them pink.

The Koss FitBuds. The Koss FitClips.

The audio company Koss has gone a step further, though, making women’s headphones that are one-third smaller than men’s headphones. And they’re not available in pink.

The line of headphones, the Koss Fit Series, has two models — the FitClips and the FitBuds, both priced at $30.

The FitClips are an in-ear headphone with a retention clip that goes behind the ear. They are made of a soft rubbery material that fit around my smallish (lady-size?) ears comfortably.

The FitBuds go directly into your ear canals and, like the FitClips, come with three sizes of ear cushions.

The headphones sound good for a $30 set. They are a little on the dynamic side, meaning the sound is a little exaggerated. The tone gives it a pleasing effect as though you are listening through a warm old analog tube amplifier. But songs with heavy bass can sound boomy.

One of the selling points of the headphones is that the Olympic swimmer Dara Torres helped design them. Although, do you know who I like to have design my headphones? Headphone designers. Koss said they used those, too. Female designers.

Although these headphones do not come in pink, they do come in purple, yellow, orange, blue and sea foam green. They are available in Walmart stores.