Jaybird set a new bar for the competition with the incredible Freedom Wireless earbuds (launch and review)

Jaybird is a company that was founded in 2006 with a goal to bring us the best wireless earbuds. It’s founder and CEO, Judd Armstrong, has made sure to hold his company to that goal. Today Jaybird met the goal again with the Jaybird Freedom Wireless buds. Jaybird continues to innovate and push the limits of wireless technology just like the athletes it partners with.

Judd Armstrong knew, a decade ago, there was a need for accessories that could keep up with our lifestyles. While many of us were happy with our wired headphones, Judd was not. From Crossfit, to beach volleyball, to training in a gym, Judd wanted wireless headphones that would stay out of our way while still maintaining durability and sound quality above all else.

Since 2006 Jaybird has defined what all wireless headphones should be given the limits of technology. A new definition has been set with the Jaybird Freedom Wireless buds which officially launched today. All other manufacturers will be telling their designers to keep up or else…

Features

• Wireless music + calls
• Micro-sized premium metal buds
• Eight hour playtime
• MySound App
• Sweat-proof
• Voice prompts

Design

The Jaybird Freedom Wireless earbuds are smaller than any wireless earbuds you have ever seen. Jaybird redesigned wireless earbuds with the Freedom by moving all of the electronics inside of three button in-line remote. This redesign allowed for the extremely small earbuds that can fit anyone’s ears. They’re also small enough to be worn inside of a motorcycle helmet, another first for wireless earbuds.

What is also nice is the feel of the earbuds which are mostly made from metal. They are extremely sturdy and even cold to the touch. The three button in-line remote control has five openings on the back which allows for charging through a clip on connector.

The clip on connector is where you will find the microUSB charging port. Other wireless earbuds have a rubber cover over the microUSB charging port which makes for difficult charging since you have to pry it open. The Jaybird connector is a nice touch for those who are just getting home from a workout, and simply want to drop their wireless earbuds into a charger. If you’ve ever pushed yourself hard enough, you would know that after a hard workout your hands are probably shaking and plugging in a microUSB cable into a small port is not easy to do.

Better yet, you can even bring the charging adapter along as it has enough power in it to get you double the advertised play/talk time. It’s a micro sized portable battery.

Even the cable that connects the earbuds together is high-quality. It isn’t as thick as other cables I have seen or used before, but it is durable with a nice tangle free rubber coating.

Included in the box are silicone ear tips, which come in S, M, and L. There are also sport foam ear tips from Comply which provide a more comfortable fit depending on your preference. Clips to shorten the cable are in the box as well as a clip to pin the cable to your collar. Jaybird thought of everything even with included ear fins which hold the earbuds firmly in place. Although these earbuds are so small and light-weight that you might not need them.

Jaybird literally thought of everything with the Freedom, from build to accessories, you won’t find a better designed set of wireless earbuds.

Usability

Up until now, all wireless earbuds packed all of the electronics into the ear pieces. This has made for large earbuds that require hooks or fins to stay in your ear. It’s also limited them to people with average to large sized ears, leaving those with smaller ears and ear canals to fend for themselves.

The Freedom wireless earbuds are so small and light-weight that you can keep them in your ear without anything to keep them in place. If you’re going to use the Freedoms in a beach volleyball setting, you can wrap them around your ear or use the included ear fins. You will not find a better designed and built set of earbuds on the planet.

With as much focus on the build that Jaybird put into the Freedom, it’s easy to think the engineers may have sacrificed sound quality to jam pack everything into such a small package. Yet Jaybird may have made the best sounding wireless earbuds with the Freedom.

Sound over Bluetooth can be underwhelming, and has been for the most part over the past decade. Bluetooth was not originally developed for music, instead it was designed to transmit voice calls with minimal data to preserve power. There has been recent developments like the aptX driver which improves sound quality, but Jaybird decided to one-up the competition again. It developed an Android and iOS app called MySound which allows users to control the EQ settings on their Freedom wireless buds.

If you’re the type who loves bass, simply touch your mobile device EQ and drag up on the low range. Or if you prefer detail and clarity, you can emphasize the mid and high range. No matter which setting I tried, I actually felt like I was listening to wired headphones. Jaybird gives users multiple EQ presets – modes like Bring the Bass, Workout, Warmth, or even Kerri Walsh’s preferred settings are all available if you don’t want to custom set your own sound.

Wired headphones typically have more detail and power, but Jaybird managed to get all of that with the Freedom buds. The test songs I like to use as references are Get Lucky by Daft Punk, and Jack of Speed by Steely Dan, and they sound extremely clean with the Freedom buds. The Freedom buds also have a great sound stage, which is difficult to get with such small enclosures. The song Melody by the Rolling Stones separated the instruments and vocals incredibly well, and I could imagine the group on stage playing just for me. Brass Monkey by the Beastie Boys, and Morning by Beck were used to test the bass capacity of the Freedom buds, and they performed extremely well. Those two songs have incredible amounts of bass, and can sound annoying on headphones with too much emphasis on the low end. But the Freedom buds separated all of the low range cleanly and ultimately sounded as good as anything I have listened to wirelessly.

Overall, sound quality is top notch and covers a wide range of music.

Within the MySound app, you can also see exactly how much power you have stored in the buds. That’s extremely nice to have as the last thing you want in the middle of your workout is to run out of power. Nothing gets you out of your groove when lifting weights or running when your music cuts out. Jaybird advertises four hours of usage on a single charge, yet I managed to get 5-6 hours on a regular basis. When I did run out of power, I simply connected the included charging cradle, and got another 5-6 hours without connecting it to a wired microUSB cable. I got through a full week of use without actually needing to charge the Freedom buds from a wall outlet.

One last nice feature is the great call quality I got with the Freedom buds. I usually call my parents at night when I go for a walk with my dog. On the walk there are usually cars and wind I have to deal with, but none of those sounds came through on the other end of the call. The Bluetooth connection the Freedom buds have with my S7 edge is extremely strong. The only time they cut out on me are when I left my phone in the office and I left the house.

The Freedom buds have set a new bar for its small size, top notch sound quality, and excellent battery life.

Summary

When technology makes advances like this it totally geeks me out. There’s maybe one or two times a year where mobile products make changes so dramatically that they set the standard for the competition. Jaybird did just that with the Freedom buds.

The incredible build quality, small size, great battery life, and excellent sound reproduction don’t come cheap with a price tag of $199.95. Yet if you want to free yourselves from wires, you will not find a better set of earbuds than the Jaybird Freedom Wireless buds.

Get the MySound app from the Google Play Store here.

You can purchase the Jaybird Freedom Wireless buds exclusively through Best Buy, BestBuy.com or at Jaybirdsport.com. They come in four colors, Gold, Carbon (Black), Blaze (Red), and Ocean (Blue).

The Rock Clock: Lay the Smackdown to your goals (Review)

Overview

Do you need a little motivation to get your candy ass out of bed, or maybe to lose that extra five pounds? Well, say no more, The Rock has you covered. He has released his second project out of four called The Rock Clock: a simple but fun alarm clock.

Developer: 7 Bucks Entertainment
Cost: Free

Review

When it comes to alarm clocks, they only need to do one thing: wake me up. There are many on the market that require you do silly things, like take a selfie, or spin around a couple times. The main theme of this one, of course, is that everything is The Rock.

Main Screen

It has your basic features, such as setting an alarm for a specific time, or setting a ringtone featuring The Rock in some format. However, it’s missing a couple of features, such as labels for the alarms, as well as being able to set them for pre-determined days. So, if those are a must, this isn’t for you.

The main feature of the app is to set a goal and the date you want to accomplish it. When you finish the goal, you can start a new one. To have a clear visualization of your goal can be a great motivator.

This app also features a neat motivational video every day from The Rock himself. It’s always something positive, but be warned, if it’s anything like his Instagram, there could be offensive language. I’m not sure that it will motivate anyone to accomplish their goals, but diehard fans of WWE will love this feature. The Rock giving you messages every day, how can that not be awesome?

Motivation Video Screen

When it comes to different alarm sounds you may notice there are limited options, with no way to set your own from an outside source. Some may see this as a drawback, but I don’t believe this app would be near as cool if you didn’t hear The Rock every time.

Last but not least, there is one alarm that is preset to wake you up when The Rock does. That’s right, it lets you know when he is gonna wake up so you can when he does too. However that sets the alarm to 4:45 AM, so I’m not sure you want to. At least, the option is there.

Conclusion

This is an app with limited features when compared to other alarm clocks, but where it lacks features, it makes up for in charm. It’s a fun app that’s worth using to meet some goals. You would have to be a Jabroni not to use this app. So download it, wake up and SMEEEELLL, what The Rock, is cooking.

Download and install The Rock Clock from the Google Play Store.

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[Review] Keep a charger in your wallet with TravelCard

Recently, I was able to get my hands on a portable battery pack called the TravelCard. It’s an amazing battery, and it has already saved me a couple of times. I’m no longer worried about my iPhone 6s dying when I’m out and about. Here are my thoughts.

First Impressions

Not to be confused with the London Travelcard, the TravelCard battery is a slim battery that is roughly the size of a credit card. While it is technically thin enough to carry around in your wallet, I would be concerned about accidentally sitting on and breaking it as it’s made out of aluminum and plastic. As I covered in a previous article, aluminum is a very soft metal, even when treated.

It’s thin (did I say that already?) and light, and I barely noticed it in my pocket, even when it was attached to my phone. The Travelcard has two versions covering iPhones and Android phones, with a Lightning port and microUSB port respectively. The iPhone Travelcard is MFi-Certified.

Specs

• 1500 mAh
• 5 Hours Of Talk Time
• Size: 3 3/8″ x 2.13 x 3/16 inches
  (85.9 x 54.1 x 4.7 mm)
• Weight: 1.9oz (57 grams)
• Pass-through Charging
  (Charge the TravelCard
  and Your Phone Simultaneously)

Pass-through charging is cool and lets you plug the Travelcard into a USB port and charge it and your phone at the same time, great if you forgot your charging cord. The 1500mAh capacity means it won’t charge your phone to 100%, especially if your phone as a huge 3000mAh or greater battery. It will charge your phone most of the way, which is really all you need in a last ditch effort to save your phone from dying anyway.

It takes roughly 45 minutes to an hour to fully charge the battery. The charger can be turned on and off with a simple button on the side. When the Travelcard is fully charged, the indicator light above the power button will be blue. As you’re charging the phone, the indicator light will turn amber to indicate that the Travelcard’s battery capacity has fallen below 80%. When the amber light starts flashing the capacity is below 10%.

The Travelcard comes in five colors: black, silver, red, blue and carbon grey. The regular price of a charger is $49 with an introductory price of $29. This is a premium price as I’ve seen portable chargers with much greater capacity sell for less money, so you’re mainly paying for high portability with the Travelcard.

Final Thoughts

I think the Travelcard is a great product, and I recommend it to everyone. It might not be the portable battery you take with you on a long camping trip, but it’s perfect for those nights at the bar or using it on an airplane.

Travelcard Charger

Travelcard Portable Battery

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For your consideration: Scosche’s MagicMount Pro line make for great vehicle accessories

Do you find yourself spending a lot of time driving to and from work or as part of your job? What are you doing with your smartphone when you’re behind the wheel? Surely you aren’t texting, right? Where do you put the handset when not in use? What about when you need turn-by-turn navigation?

If you’re the type of person who needs their phone to be within reach or visible for GPS use, you’ll likely want to pick up a dashboard mount of some sort. One brand we’ve had the pleasure of reviewing over the years, Scosche, currently has some pretty great options to consider.

We recently spent time with a few of the products in the MagicMount Pro line of car accessories. As of today there are three designs to choose from, each with its own unique feature. All, however, offer the same functionality at their core.

Each comes with MagicPlate options that add a very strong, magnetic backing to the phone. Be it under the battery cover or under the phone case, it sticks together quite nicely with the magnetic mount (MagicMount) plate. Even on bumpy roads or railroad tracks, the phone stays secure and in place.

As to the differences between the various MagicMount Pro series, it’s pretty straightforward. Do you want to place your phone on the dashboard, hang it from the windshield, or over top a vent? Once you know that, you have but one option to consider. But, while they do have a particular design, they are flexible and, to a degree, customizable, too.

MagicMount Pro Vent: This vent mount is the perfect on-the-go solution within the MagicMount family. Not only does it easily slide from vent to vent, this mount also doubles as a kickstand. Approx: $30

MagicMount Pro Dash: Being able to angle your smartphone just how you want it is easy. With a 360° swivel mount and soft rubber locking nut, adjust your MagicMount precisely to the angle of display that works best for you to view. Whether on your car dashboard, work desk or nightstand, get the perfect position. Approx: $30

MagicMount Pro Window/Dash: The window/dash mount suctions to nearly any surface with the suction cup. The StickGrip suction cup creates a secure hold on windows and textured dashboards so you can mount your device wherever you want it. If the StickGrip ever loses its grip, simply rinse the suction cup off with lukewarm water, shake and let air dry. Approx: $40

We’ve tested each of these out across various smartphones, cars, and configurations. Suffice it to say, each works as expected and complements the vehicle at the same time. In fact, we’d say almost too good in some cases.

Yep, Scosche has power solutions, too.

Do know that once you’ve placed the magnetic backing under your case or battery cover, it’s not coming off very nicely. We’ve bent ours into all sorts of strange shapes trying to remove it. Keep this in mind if you plan to upgrade soon, or often.

For those of you who don’t like the grey and black trim rings, Scosche does offer some other colors that match the iPhone. And, yes, each of these kits are interchangeable; feel free to mix and match across multiple vehicles.