Okay, so everything isn't perfect in geekland! We get it. We're fallible and forgetful (insert old age jokes here).
With that in mind, we dove into our piles of gadgets and discovered we unintentionally left four noteworthy items out of our past blogs. There are probably more, but we haven't yet worked our way down to the deepest depths of the piles of boxes in our office.
The GOgroove BlueSYNC Wud Retro Wood Bluetooth Wireless Speaker ($59.99) from Accessory Power resembles an old-fashioned, walnut wood-encased stereo radio, but looks can be deceiving. This retro device not only sounds great, but offers many of the features you'll find in it's higher-priced, digital brethren.
The first thing you notice when you take it out of its box is a leather handle and a knob at the top, which actually turns the speaker on and off and controls the volume. But, once it's turned on, the functions become a bit more high tech:
- It is Bluetooth and NFC (near field communications) compatible
- It boasts a wireless range of more than 30 feet
- It's truly portable, weighing in at a hair more than 1.5 pounds
- It has an auxiliary port to accommodate devices without wireless connectivity
We tested its wireless range moving from room to room, trying to detect a crackle, pop or loss of signal and were pleased to discover it never lost connectivity with our devices.
Next is the Minx Go ($199) from Cambridge Audio. This is a smaller version of the Minx Air 100 we wrote about last week and is much more portable.
The Minx Go may be small in stature, but it contains an array of five speakers: two titanium tweeters, two two-inch woofers and a subwoofer. Also we found that, although the sound was a bit "bass-heavy," it was able to adequately handle the full range of audio we pumped through it. Truthfully, the booming bass can be a bit overpowering at times, but this seems to be a chronic condition found with most speakers in this price range.
Other features include:
- Eighteen hours of battery life per charge
- Bluetooth compatibility
- An auxiliary input for non-wireless devices
- A Bluetooth range of 33 feet
- A small, built-in stand that flips out from the bottom of the case
ShareBrands Stereo Headphones ($65) combine comfort and decent sound plus 25 percent of what you pay goes to one of five charities, depending on the color you choose: green helps the environment, blue donates to men's and children's health causes, pink for women's and children's health, yellow for education and red to help fight poverty.
These were the only headphones we tested that didn't feature any form of wireless connectivity. They do, however come with a 5.7-foot cable. Plus there's a control button that lets you answer phone calls.
Last is the MoovMic Detachable Boom Microphone ($19.95) from Headset Buddy.
This is an attachment for headsets that come without microphones and, although a bit cumbersome to use, easily convert older headsets into fully functioning multimedia devices.
The MoovMic attaches to the earpiece of over-the-ear headsets using a magnetic clasp and a wire adapter kit that combines the wire from the MoovMic and the wire from the headset into one 3.5 millimeter plug that fits the microphone port on most computers. Unfortunately, the combination of the magnetic clasp and the wires can sometimes be a bit unweildly resulting in the clasp falling off of the earpiece. This, according to a person that "reviewed" the item on Amazon, can be fixed by simply using a piece of scotch tape.
The microphone itself worked perfectly, with no distortion or cutouts. We were able to use it to chat online without a hitch.
Other features include:
- An adjustable gooseneck "boom"
- It filters out background noise
- You can purchase adapters to allow it to work with any device, ranging from smartphones to tablets
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