http://www.amazon.com/TaoTronics®-P...&keywords=taotronics+bluetooth#productDetails
I've tried lots of portable speakers. Mostly of the "budget" category. Never bought beats, jambox or bose but usually went with the cheaper products. I have to say I was quite surprised by this speaker however.
*Build Quality*
It has a very rugged design that looks like an "egg". Holding it hand it has a good weight to it and feels rock solid. It looks like it could take some abuse from day to day use. Not once did I find anything flimsy or loose. It comes in two colors red and black.
All it comes with is a micro-usb charge cable. Which is fine with me.
*Performance*
Just like the build quality the sound quality is top notch. I was pleasantly surprised by it. A lot of the cheaper bluetooth speakers of similar size sound thin and starts to distort when the volume is raised too high. The Taotronic has a very nice full sound with more bass than I was expecting. I don't think its been noticed but there seems to be two speakers in the unit! EDIT - conformed via Taotronics support. There is 2 speakers! One for highs and one for bass!
One at the bottom facing up for the bass and a top speaker facing down for the highs. Please check the photos. I'll contact taotronics and find out.
It has a built-in rechargeable battery. So far I've used it for about 5 hours and its still going strong on a relatively high volume.
Connecting was breeze. Each subsequent connection is easy.
I did try to use the phone mic feature and while it was good when speaking with 3ft; anything past that and its pretty useless.
There is a aux 3.5mm jack if using an older mp3 player with no bluetooth.
There is a toggle switch that has multiple uses. It can play the next song, previous song, stop and play. Holding it to the left will lower volume while holding it right will raise the volume.
*Conclusion*
The sound quality can not be beaten in the price range IMO. It will surprise you I believe. Don't expect it to outdo the larger bluetooth speakers that are 10 times the price.
Note- I have been given a sample for a fair, unbiased review.
Jam Plus HMDX HX-P240 speakers I bought for £19 each
I bought two Jam Plus HMDX HX-P240 speakers. They are AWESOME. Great amazon reviews, each can work independently, about 4h battery life, comes in a jam jar case and color coded usb charging cable, works via bluetooth and aux in, can be paired with another jam plus to make it stereo speakers, volume is LOOOUUUD, no distortion, bass is good for a tiny speakers, they come in many different colours. Bought damaged box item from ebay for 19£ each from outlet stores. Only lid of jar was dented, speakers was as new and works great.
See my review on youtube working fine with the samsung galaxy S5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLjM_IPckHw very pleased with my purchase of £19 each as they work great alone or in pairs. Everyone at work who listened to them was asking me where i got them and how much and several were trying to buy them within a few minutes of listening to mine. People were borrowing it to take around to show their friends at work!
Please note that the old model is P230 and looks almost the same, but it cant be used in pairs, so if you want the pairing function and the new model is louder, then be careful which version you buy.
Mpow FreeGo
Over the course of the years I’ve tried many, many Bluetooth headsets and VERY few lasted more than a few days of use. A lot had poor performance, extremely uncomfortable or both.
I travel a lot and sometimes it’s just cumbersome having to hold the phone when talking and trying to multitask. So I gave the FreeGO a try and I’m glad I did.
Performance/Build Quality
When first looking at the unit; I was worried it was going to be too heavy with the size but I was pleasantly surprised when picking it up. It’s a lot lighter than I expected. Even though it was light weight it didn’t feel cheap in the slightly. Nothing flexed, or creaked to the point where I was worried about it falling apart.
The unit itself has a two toned looked to it. A shiny glossy part and matte soft rubber part. The soft rubber part is what actually is in contact with your ear. This makes it extremely comfortable to wear. So comfortable that I’d forget I had it on to be honest. The silicone ear tip that creates a “seal” for sound doesn’t really create a seal as the tip is oddly “flat” shaped. It’s not like the tips on earphones/earbuds where you would jam them in your ear canal. It simply hovers over the opening. This worried me at first that calls or sounds would be difficult to hear. Once again it surprised me. Calls still came in crystal clear, music sounded good and never missed a notification sound. I think the odd shape and not shoving them in the ear canal is what makes the headset so comfortable.
Can be used on either ear. The earpiece has a 180 Degree Flip-boom arm for both left or right ear. Which is really convenient depending which ear you want to use it on.
The unit has 3 buttons: Volume up, volume down and answer call. All were easy to access when worn and always responsive. Pairing it to my phone or tablet was a cinch and took no longer than 2 minutes for initial pairing and subsequent pairings took seconds.
Sound quality was just amazing. Never did I feel like it wasn’t clear. The mic also performed superbly. The person on the line never had a problem hearing me or asked me to speak louder. What else can you ask for?
Last; it stayed in place. I’m sure everyone had that headset that was just impossible to keep in place and you ended adjusting it all the time. Not this one; I had it on the ENTIRE day and not once did I have to adjust it.
Packaging
It comes in a simple box. Has 3 different ear tips, a small faux leather pouch and a micro usb cable (flat cable which is a nice touch). The micro usb cable is of decent quality which is a plus in my book. It did not come with a wall plug though. So either use your phones or plug it into your computer to charge it.
Conclusion
It’s a no brainer for me if you’re looking for a great value Bluetooth headset. Good performance, good price and comfortable. I’d recommend it to anyone.
Nice review, but what do you use this for?
I have a pair of wireless Jaybird bluebuds I wear for running/working out, and flip them over for conference calls.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using xda app-developers app
ampm325 said:
Nice review, but what do you use this for?
I have a pair of wireless Jaybird bluebuds I wear for running/working out, and flip them over for conference calls.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got the jaybird freedom, it wasn't cheap, but it was worth the price. The fit is good, sound is good too, battery lasts long, and sweatproof. Perfect for workout.
Only letdown that it is not good for phonecalls, they said my voice was very quiet when I used the jaybird freedom for phonecalls.
Im looking to buy a bluetooth headset for phonecalls, hope Mpow FreeGo will be good. Though i have the experience, when I am in a noisy enviroment, if I use a one-ear headset, I can't hear the other person on the phone. Not because the headset is not good, but because my other ear is exosed to the noisy enviroment. I guess that wouldn't be a problem for a 2-ear headset.
Good review, but i don't think it is worth buying, because the design and the specifications, the tronfy iwork mini 4.0 is better than this one, only $16.99, but longer battery life and more different earbuds.
Also has 15% Coupon now: GBJC7XNK
I own the Mpow also. Funny I thought I had lost my Mpow and pulled out 3 of older brands I've tried but didnt like. After a week with the older one, I quickly ordered 2 new Mpow's then found the missing Mpow in the trunk of my car LOL. I'm a big fan of the Mpow FreeGo
Couple dollars off with 5BGLQBOE
Mod Edit: Selling site link removed
Pros
long battery life.
Great Sound Quality.
Extra pieces
Cons
maybe the color? i would like other options
Included:
1. Box
2. Ear pieces (fitting for your ear/ customization)
3. User Manual
4. Charging Cable (MicroUSB to USB)
5. MPow Seashell Earbuds
I have always been interested in the "cheap bluetooth headphone market" because i was curious as to how good a pair of $20 bluetooth headphones could be. My answer is, they're GREAT! These headphones from MPOW far exceed my expectations. As a bluetooth earbud user, these earbuds fits in my ear very comfortably with the customization ear pieces. The multifunction button is very sleek and works very well, it controls the volume, bluetooth and power. Although it may seem that the earbud itself is big, it actually is very comfortable when you put it in your ear. It will fit very naturally given the good design of the earbud. This earbud is overall a very good pair of bluetooth earbuds. The sound quality is absolutely amazing albeit there could be more bass, but for the price you cannot beat these. I have not used them at the gym yet so i cannot comment on the waterproofing, but i'm sure it work without a hitch. the battery life has been great so far, with me listening to them for a couple hours out of the box without charging!
If anyone is on the fence, do yourself a favor and try these!
I received these headphones from MPOW in exchange for an unbiased review.
Link:
Mod Edit: Selling site link removed
I'm thinking of ordering 2 for Sister/BIL. Possibly 3 if I decide to replace them with my wired Urbanista Rio which I'm more than satisfied with them.
From the reviews I read mostly are positive especially battery wise and I prefer the controls on the cord instead on the earbuds like their Swift model.
I'm trying to decide between the MPOW Seashell and the Wolverine atm.
yeah having the controls on the cord is much better than when they have them on the headphones themselves.
i am not sure what is different between the seashell and the wolverine
also, i updated my review with a coupon code for a couple bucks off
Mpow Magneto Bluetooth Headset Review
I was sent a free review sample of this bluetooth headset to review, below are my impressions, for those looking to pick up a nice and pretty unique headset.
UNBOXING, INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
The Magneto comes in a nice and slim box, the entire front of the box doubles as a flap that is held closed by a magnet. Swinging it open reveals the Magneto very tightly nestled inside of a velvet covered plastic holder that has been precision cut to fit the headset. Removing that reveals the included accessories, which are:
MicroUSB Cable
Small and Large Sized Eartips (Medium sized tips are already pre-mounted on the headset)
Small, Medium, and Large Rubber Ear Stabilizers
Manual Card
I was disappointed to see a lack of a carrying pouch or case of some sort among the accessories. Moreso because the Magneto headset itself is stunningly finished, with a very nice circular polished metal finish on its front face. I would hate to see it get scratched, so I do wish a carrying pouch had been included.
The headset itself is surprisingly large, much more so than I anticipated initially. It's also rather heavy, which isn't necessarily the best "feature" for an earphone to have. However as I discovered later, this wasn't really an issue.
The control pod is nicely made, with a full rubber coating, and 3 very clicky buttons.
CHARGING, BLUETOOTH PAIRING
The right earpiece contains a small rubber flap on top of the earpiece, which you flip open to reveal a microUSB port. The Magneto already comes pre-charged, however, it's still a good idea to top it off. A full charge takes 2 hours, which gives a playback time of 8 hours, and 175 hours of standby time.
To pair the headset, simply turn on bluetooth on your device, and hold down the central button on the Magneto's control pod. You'll hear a "Power On" prompt...continue to hold down the central button, and do not let it go. After 7 seconds, you'll hear another prompt say "Pairing", and a light will begin blinking orange, after which, you should see "Mpow Magneto" show up on your device. I didn't need a password, however if you do need to enter one, simply enter "0000". I found pairing to be effortless and very easy. The bluetooth spec is bluetooth 4.1.
Note that you can pair the Magneto with up to two devices. To pair a second device, make sure your first device's bluetooth is turned off, and then follow the pairing instructions again for the 2nd device. I was able to pair a 2nd device no problem.
PHYSICAL COMFORT
As mentioned, the Magneto is a rather bulky earphone, and there's no getting around the fact that it will stick out quite a bit in your ears. However, thanks to the inclusion of the rubber stabilizers, the Magneto's weight surprisingly disappeared, once in the ears. The 3 included tip sizes are all very nice and soft, and I had no issues using the Magneto for over an hour or longer. You can also wear the Magneto with the wire dangling below your chin, or behind your neck, to get the wire out of the way.
OPERATION
Once you've connected your device, to play music, press the central button on the control pod to play or pause the music. Next song is activated by long pressing the '-' button, and previous song is activated by long pressing the '+' button. Volume up and down involves short pressing the '=' and '-' buttons. There are no operations that allow you to fast forward or reverse through a song, you can only skip songs.
For phone calls, simply press the central button on the control pod to answer a call, and press the central button again to end the call. You can also hold down the central button as a call comes in, until you hear a "toot toot" prompt, to reject a call. Voice dialing is possible by holding down the central button and the '+' button simultaneously. Lastly, holding down the '+' and '-' button simultaneously will mute the microphone during a call.
The Magneto also has another very cool feature, from which it draws its name. The earpieces both have magnets embedded within them, and if you simply stick them together, your music will automatically pause (or your call will automatically end). Pulling the earpieces apart will play music again, or allow you to automatically answer an incoming call. My only concern with this feature is possibly scratching the nice metal finishing on the housings.
SOUND QUALITY
And here we have the most important part of any earphone: audio quality. I do consider myself an audio enthusiast, and this was my first time ever trying a bluetooth earphone, mostly because I've always assumed they just simply didn't sound as good as wired earphones.
At first listen, I was surprised at how clear the midrange to treble sounded. The treble didn't sound harsh or bright at all, and the midrange was smooth. As one might expect however with fairly inexpensive, sealed tip earphones, the bass can become rather overpowering at times. Strangely enough, I found this to be somewhat source material and volume related, rather than simply a permanent aspect of the Magneto. At lower volume levels, and when listening to more acoustic, instrumental material, the bass came across as defined and tight, without too much bloat. It was mostly midbass oriented however, and the bass doesn't get very deep. If I played tracks with more exciting basslines however, the bass could quickly get very boomy and overpowering, especially if the volume is turned up.
I also found that the Magneto tended to do instrumental music better than vocals, as vocals had a strangely laid back property, as if the singer were singing from a great distance from everything else. A bit jarring at first, but something that I got used to the more I listened to the Magneto.
CONCLUSION
I found the Magneto to be a very nicely made bluetooth headset, and was surprised by how good it sounded for a bluetooth earphone. Especially cool was its magnetic play/pause feature that has been built into the earpieces. At low to medium volumes, it has a very balanced sound, but the bass can get a bit overwhelming if you crank up the volume.
Thanks for the review. Can you address call quality? I'm mainly concerned how I would sound to the caller, talking through these.
By the way, I use this case for my current Aukey Bluetooth ear buds, which look to be about the same size. (It's less than $2)
http://www.amazon.com/Cosmos-Black-bluetooth-handsfree-headset/dp/B0057MLBLS/ref=sr_1_6
Elsydeon said:
Mpow Magneto Bluetooth Headset Review
I was sent a free review sample of this bluetooth headset to review, below are my impressions, for those looking to pick up a nice and pretty unique headset.
UNBOXING, INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
The Magneto comes in a nice and slim box, the entire front of the box doubles as a flap that is held closed by a magnet. Swinging it open reveals the Magneto very tightly nestled inside of a velvet covered plastic holder that has been precision cut to fit the headset. Removing that reveals the included accessories, which are:
MicroUSB Cable
Small and Large Sized Eartips (Medium sized tips are already pre-mounted on the headset)
Small, Medium, and Large Rubber Ear Stabilizers
Manual Card
I was disappointed to see a lack of a carrying pouch or case of some sort among the accessories. Moreso because the Magneto headset itself is stunningly finished, with a very nice circular polished metal finish on its front face. I would hate to see it get scratched, so I do wish a carrying pouch had been included.
The headset itself is surprisingly large, much more so than I anticipated initially. It's also rather heavy, which isn't necessarily the best "feature" for an earphone to have. However as I discovered later, this wasn't really an issue.
The control pod is nicely made, with a full rubber coating, and 3 very clicky buttons.
CHARGING, BLUETOOTH PAIRING
The right earpiece contains a small rubber flap on top of the earpiece, which you flip open to reveal a microUSB port. The Magneto already comes pre-charged, however, it's still a good idea to top it off. A full charge takes 2 hours, which gives a playback time of 8 hours, and 175 hours of standby time.
To pair the headset, simply turn on bluetooth on your device, and hold down the central button on the Magneto's control pod. You'll hear a "Power On" prompt...continue to hold down the central button, and do not let it go. After 7 seconds, you'll hear another prompt say "Pairing", and a light will begin blinking orange, after which, you should see "Mpow Magneto" show up on your device. I didn't need a password, however if you do need to enter one, simply enter "0000". I found pairing to be effortless and very easy. The bluetooth spec is bluetooth 4.1.
Note that you can pair the Magneto with up to two devices. To pair a second device, make sure your first device's bluetooth is turned off, and then follow the pairing instructions again for the 2nd device. I was able to pair a 2nd device no problem.
PHYSICAL COMFORT
As mentioned, the Magneto is a rather bulky earphone, and there's no getting around the fact that it will stick out quite a bit in your ears. However, thanks to the inclusion of the rubber stabilizers, the Magneto's weight surprisingly disappeared, once in the ears. The 3 included tip sizes are all very nice and soft, and I had no issues using the Magneto for over an hour or longer. You can also wear the Magneto with the wire dangling below your chin, or behind your neck, to get the wire out of the way.
OPERATION
Once you've connected your device, to play music, press the central button on the control pod to play or pause the music. Next song is activated by long pressing the '-' button, and previous song is activated by long pressing the '+' button. Volume up and down involves short pressing the '=' and '-' buttons. There are no operations that allow you to fast forward or reverse through a song, you can only skip songs.
For phone calls, simply press the central button on the control pod to answer a call, and press the central button again to end the call. You can also hold down the central button as a call comes in, until you hear a "toot toot" prompt, to reject a call. Voice dialing is possible by holding down the central button and the '+' button simultaneously. Lastly, holding down the '+' and '-' button simultaneously will mute the microphone during a call.
The Magneto also has another very cool feature, from which it draws its name. The earpieces both have magnets embedded within them, and if you simply stick them together, your music will automatically pause (or your call will automatically end). Pulling the earpieces apart will play music again, or allow you to automatically answer an incoming call. My only concern with this feature is possibly scratching the nice metal finishing on the housings.
SOUND QUALITY
And here we have the most important part of any earphone: audio quality. I do consider myself an audio enthusiast, and this was my first time ever trying a bluetooth earphone, mostly because I've always assumed they just simply didn't sound as good as wired earphones.
At first listen, I was surprised at how clear the midrange to treble sounded. The treble didn't sound harsh or bright at all, and the midrange was smooth. As one might expect however with fairly inexpensive, sealed tip earphones, the bass can become rather overpowering at times. Strangely enough, I found this to be somewhat source material and volume related, rather than simply a permanent aspect of the Magneto. At lower volume levels, and when listening to more acoustic, instrumental material, the bass came across as defined and tight, without too much bloat. It was mostly midbass oriented however, and the bass doesn't get very deep. If I played tracks with more exciting basslines however, the bass could quickly get very boomy and overpowering, especially if the volume is turned up.
I also found that the Magneto tended to do instrumental music better than vocals, as vocals had a strangely laid back property, as if the singer were singing from a great distance from everything else. A bit jarring at first, but something that I got used to the more I listened to the Magneto.
CONCLUSION
I found the Magneto to be a very nicely made bluetooth headset, and was surprised by how good it sounded for a bluetooth earphone. Especially cool was its magnetic play/pause feature that has been built into the earpieces. At low to medium volumes, it has a very balanced sound, but the bass can get a bit overwhelming if you crank up the volume.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im thinking of getting these but im worried about what i have read in reviews about poor bluetooth connectivity and that the connection dropped quite easily (for example, running with the phone on the back pocket or something like).
Did you experience poor bluetooth connectivity and range?
Thanks
Good review. Careful though. Some cool guy mod on here thinks its spamming to post a review for mpow.
The worst part is that these Mods dont´s seem to be consistent about looking at the reviews. Some guys are punished while others are still allowed to post reviews (with eg. Amazon links) inside.
My reviews have been considered to be "spammy", closed and all the links removed. I didn´t even have a chance to remove the links and did not receive a PM before where I was asked to kindly edit my work.
Instead I got a rather rude PM like this:
"Don't bother creating any more of your spammy reviews here thanks.
Your threads have been closed and the links to Amazon / Choetech etc. have been removed."
Gorgtech said:
The worst part is that these Mods dont´s seem to be consistent about looking at the reviews. Some guys are punished while others are still allowed to post reviews (with eg. Amazon links) inside.
My reviews have been considered to be "spammy", closed and all the links removed. I didn´t even have a chance to remove the links and did not receive a PM before where I was asked to kindly edit my work.
Instead I got a rather rude PM like this:
"Don't bother creating any more of your spammy reviews here thanks.
Your threads have been closed and the links to Amazon / Choetech etc. have been removed."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah they are actually pretty rude about it. Takes away the fun of being on these forums. Keyboard warriors on power trips taking down legitimate reviews to products.
griffin_1 said:
Im thinking of getting these but im worried about what i have read in reviews about poor bluetooth connectivity and that the connection dropped quite easily (for example, running with the phone on the back pocket or something like).
Did you experience poor bluetooth connectivity and range?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep 3 ft poor bluetooth
zarocks said:
yep 3 ft poor bluetooth
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats really a shame. Im finding a lot of conflicting reports on the range, some say its okay or something like 20 to 30 ft, but a lot of people also complain about poor range and distances like the one you get.
The magneto are already the most expensive ones of the selection of headphones im looking at and so to pay extra and get a bad headset wouldn't be good.
griffin_1 said:
Thats really a shame. Im finding a lot of conflicting reports on the range, some say its okay or something like 20 to 30 ft, but a lot of people also complain about poor range and distances like the one you get.
The magneto are already the most expensive ones of the selection of headphones im looking at and so to pay extra and get a bad headset wouldn't be good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google traslate
With only save in your pocket start to lose connection :crying:
Con Solo GUARDAR en el bolsillo empiezan a perder Conexión :crying:
Versión magneto
Just to give some feedback (havent been active here for a while). I ended up going with the mpow swift and they work perfectly and i don't have these issues of dropping the connection right at the slightest change.
I would recommend the mpow swift as an alternative, they are not as stylish or compact but they are still light and work well.
Hate free sample reviews. How could you be unbiased/impartial if you don't even mention things like "oh btw, if your pocket is too far away they'll drop connection"?
That's kind of a big deal.
I bought the magneto and returned it the second day. a few issues:
1. poor sound. Well, can't expect too much from cheap bluetooth earphones anyway.
2. earphones are too heavy, so tend to fall off, or at least feels like they're about to fall off all the time.
3. bluetooth with my phone drops too frequently, I can't enjoy the music. This is probably just individual issue.
4. changing the soft earbuds is waaaaay too exhausting. The fitting is too tight to put on, it took me 10 minutes and lots of sweat to put them on.
I understand your issues. I asked myself if it is possible to reprogrammed the doubletab on the main button. Who the **** needs "Last number redial" on a short link. Better put there nothing or make it programmable as a selfie shutter :laugh: or start "OK Google" what ever but not redial :laugh: