7 of the best in-ear headphones: Wired, wireless and wire-free

Most smartphones will come bundled with a pair of free in-ear headphones, but more often than not they’re not exactly high-quality. For occasional music listeners they’re fine, but if you want to get the most out of your tunes then an upgrade is in order.

When looking for a new pair of in-ear headphones, you’ll want to make sure they’re comfortable, fit snugly in your ears to provide a tight seal and thus better bass and improved noise isolation. 

You will also need to decide if you want a wired or wireless pair. Wired pairs tend to sound slightly better on the whole, but wireless offer convenience. So what are your options if you want to upgrade? Read on to find out.

Bose QuietComfort 30

Buy from Amazon UK / US

Bose is a brand synonymous with good quality sound and even better noise-cancelling. For years the company’s over-ear QuietComfort models have reigned as some of the best cans to block out external noise. The QC 30s take that tech and put it into an in-ear pair, with fantastic results.

You’re able to adjust how much ambient noise is blocked out using the companion Bose Connect app. If you need to be aware of your surroundings, when you’re cycling for example, but still want to listen to music, the QC 30s are an ideal choice. 

Whilst we do like a neckband design, the way Bose has designed it and the controls to change tracks or adjust the volume could have been thought out a bit better, as it can occasionally tug on one of the ear pieces. But otherwise they’re a tremendous pair of in-ear headphones.

Read the full review: Bose QuietComfort 30 review

Sennheiser Momentum In-Ear Wireless

Buy from Amazon UK / US

The Sennheiser Momentum In-Ear Wireless also employ a neckband design, like the Bose QC 30, but we feel it’s been carried out in a much more effective way. The earpieces themselves have enough slack thanks to the cabling, and all the electronics are housed in the neckband, leaving little to no weight in your ears.

Sound quality is excellent and on par with the company’s on-ear and over-ear models in the Momentum range. It’s well-balanced, detailed and clear and worth every penny of the asking price.

Read the full review: Sennheiser Momentum In-Ear Wireless review

Bragi The Headphone

 Buy from Amazon UK / US

Odd naming aside, the Bragi The Headphone is a completely wire-free pair of in-ear headphones. Bragi was among the first companies to launch a truly wireless pair of in-ears with The Dash, but they’re more sports orientated. The Headphone are a more stripped back affair, focusing solely on sound.

The wireless connection to your phone, and between each ear piece is superb, and we didn’t notice any dropouts when testing. We’d suggest taking care when putting them in your ears, as you’ll want to get the most snug fit you can to get the best possible sound out of them. Once they’re in though, you’re rewarded with a well-balanced sound that’s easy to listen to. 

Read the full review: Bragi The Headphone review

Rockjaw Resonate 

 Buy from Amazon UK

The RockJaw Resonate are a simple pair of in-ear headphones, or as Rockjaw likes to call them, “over-ear in-ear monitors”. This is because the cable is designed to go over and around your ear before you put the earpieces in. We’re not entirely sure why Rockjaw has done this, and we did find it a little uncomfortable, but it didn’t detract from the sound on offer.

There’s no noise-cancellation, Bluetooth or companion apps with the Resonate, but you are able to attach different filters to adjust the sound profile. All of them worked well under testing and combined with the wide range of eartips available to ensure a secure fit, we were very impressed with the sound the headphones produced, especially for the price.

Read the full review: Rockjaw Resonate review

Denon AH-C821

Buy from Amazon UK / US

If it’s booming, powerful bass you’re after, but with all the high-frequency detail thrown in too, these Denon in-ears are well worth a listen. They exude a premium feel thanks to aluminium housings and a thick, silicone cable that doesn’t tangle. 

Turn the volume up on your phone or music player and the Denon in-ears will give you big, powerful sound that doesn’t distort. They have good rhythm and even better detail too, so you need not worry that your music will get drowned out by low-frequencies.

A companion app will let you adjust the sound profile and play your music collection, provided you have your own files on your phone and not any from a streaming service. The only downside is that you have to pay for this on top of the cost of the headphones themselves.

Read the full review: Denon AH-C821 review

Beats X

Buy from Amazon UK / US

The Beats X wireless in-ear headphones also have a neckband design, but it’s entirely cable that runs around the back of your head and not a housing for electronics. These aren’t a noise-cancelling pair of in-ears, but they do have some clever tech inside nonetheless. They’re fitted with Apple’s W1 chip which, for the benefit of iPhone owners only, will instantly pair them with your phone when they’re placed nearby.

They’re typically bassy for Beats headphones, but it’s not overly dominating and they provide a good fit too, which aids noise-isolation. Overall, they’re an accomplished pair of in-ears and well worth a listen if you’re an iPhone owner who listens to music on a regular basis.

Read the full review: Beats X review

Apple AirPods

Buy from Apple

The AirPods did what other Apple products have typically done in the past; take something that’s already out there, evolve it, and make it popular. They’re not the first completely wireless pair of in-ear headphones, but they were the first to introduce the W1 chip which allows for instant pairing with iOS devices. It really is very clever.

The look of them may divide opinion, but they’re unmistakably Apple. Sound quality is decent, although we wouldn’t say it’s the best in this list. However, for the majority of on-the-go listening, they’ll do the job well.

Read the full review: Apple AirPods review

Twitter plans to broadcast live videos all day, every day

Twitter wants to air more live videos on its platform, and it wants to air them all day every day. In an interview with Buzzfeed News, the company’s COO and CFO Anthony Noto said Twitter plans to show live sports, news and entertainment videos in its apps and desktop site 24/7. It recently lost the right to broadcast NFL games to Amazon, but it’s apparently “working on many, many things” to make its vision a reality even without Thursday night football in its repertoire.

“We will definitely have 24/7 content on Twitter,” Noto told Buzzfeed. “Our goal is to be a dependable place so that when you want to see what’s happening, you think of going to Twitter.” He also revealed that showing live videos helps boost conversation on the platform and gives the company a new source of profit: 15 to 30 seconds of unskippable ads, much like TV commercials. It helps that (unlike Netflix programming) you don’t always have to give them your undivided attention — you can just let them auto-play in the background.

The Twitter exec said:

“We think that is a great way to have the programming carried along with you during your day. Focus in on it when you hear something that’s of interest, but then maybe not be 100% focused on it when it’s not of interest. I did that myself during the debates.”

Despite losing NFL to Amazon, that deal was instrumental in getting more companies interested in airing videos on the platform. They include both premium and rougher non-premium shows that Twitter needs to keep live videos running all day. It will take some time for the company to make this plan a reality, though, and one of things it still has to do is figure out is how to patch the hole the NFL left behind. Based on what Noto told the publication, there’s a chance you’ll be able to watch mixed martial arts on Twitter’s apps and website in the future:

“We have a really big audience when there’s a pay per view UFC match. Should we provide that content to the audience on Twitter that’s not watching it, but might like to after seeing tweets about it? That’s something we’d consider.”

Source: Buzzfeed News

Check out the ‘world’s first spherical drone display’ from Docomo

Why it matters to you

Choreographed drone displays are becoming a thing and Docomo’s creation could pave the way for some truly dazzling events.

We’ve already witnessed Intel’s ambitious bid to excite us with its drone display at Disney Springs, and marveled at the astonishing “drone ballet” performed in the shadow of Mount Fuji. Heck, those bizarre “dancing drone umbrellas” even had us sitting up and taking notice. But NTT Docomo’s contribution to the field of drone-based entertainment is surely the most impressive effort yet.

The Japanese telecoms giant has developed what it claims is the world’s first spherical drone display that shows LED images on an omnidirectional spherical screen while in flight. If that already sounds a bit bonkers, then take a moment to check it out in the video above. You’ll be amazed.

Docomo’s machine consists of a quadcopter inside a spherical protective cage. Just inside this you’ll find the all-important LEDs mounted onto eight curved strips that extend from top to bottom on a lightweight frame.

As the drone fires up, the LED frame spins rapidly, with the lights forming an afterimage that creates the illusion of a solid sphere of light. The operator can program the on-board computer to show any image they like, for example an illustration or a message.

Docomo

The company said it faced several challenges while building the machine, including how to prevent the rotating display’s air flow from interfering with the drone’s propellers, and how to keep the cage and frame as light as possible to reduce the strain on the drone.

It settled with a mainly hollow display that’s not only very light but also allows air to flow through to reduce resistance for greater efficiency.

With an eye on commercializing the technology, Docomo points out that its drone can be operated “virtually anywhere, including venues such as concert halls or arenas where it can fly around as part of a performance or deliver advertising messages [and] event information.”

Disney has been looking at the idea of sticking projectors on its drones and flying them in its parks, but we can well imagine plenty of potential customers knocking on Docomo’s door eager to learn more about the opportunities that its own very cool technology appears to present.

Google Wifi review: Whole home internet coverage done right

Having spent some time over the pond in the US market, Google’s smart home networking system has now landed in the UK.

It’s not the only Wi-Fi-extending product of its kind available (and there are lesser alternatives, like powerline extenders), but it’s comfortably one of the easiest and most efficient ways to create a network that’s consistently strong and easily accessible throughout your home. 

If you’ve got Wi-Fi weak spots and want to extend your router’s internet reach then Google Wifi really is a neat, non-geeky and elegant-looking solution.

Google Wifi review: Setup

• Google Wifi app for iOS and Android
• Automatic detection and QR code

Before simple mesh networking became a reality, creating a whole-house wireless network would often be a chore. Setting up routers to act as repeaters of your existing Wi-Fi required knowledge and patience. It’s also boring as hell.

With Google Wifi it couldn’t be much simpler.

Pocket-lint

The first step is downloading the Google Wifi iPhone or Android app from their respective app stores, then going through the step-by-step process.

Hardware-wise, it’s as easy as plugging in the power supply, then connecting the Wifi to your modem using the included Ethernet cable. Once you’ve done that, the app will then tell you that it’s found your new router, and lead you to create a password for it before asking if you want to add another Wifi unit to the network.

If you choose to add another Wifi to create the mesh network – and Google sells them in pairs, which is where Wifi’s major strength lies – all you then have to do is plug in the second unit into a power outlet in another room (preferably no more than two rooms away from the main unit). Once that is powered up you use the app to tell it to connect wirelessly to the first unit, and it’ll take care of the rest itself.

As soon as it’s setup, the app performs a test to ensure that the connection between the two units is strong enough and that the mesh network is working. Ours was up and running first time, with no issues whatsoever.

Pocket-lint

The entire process of unboxing, plugging in, setting up and adding a second unit took no more than 10 minutes. It’s incredibly user friendly.

The only frustrating part of setup was entirely down to the non-simple process of reconnecting our smart home products to a new router.

Google Wifi review: Design

• 106mm (Di) x 69mm (H)
• Weighs 340g
• 2x Ethernet ports

Unlike some all-powerful beastly antenna-laden routers from the likes of Asus, D-Link and Netgear, the Google Wifi system is designed to be as inoffensive as possible, without being too dull on the eyes. The units are completely round, with a slim band around the middle playing home to a white LED. They’re simplistic, and fill fit pretty much anywhere in a house without looking out of place. That means the antennas are all internal.

For those planning on having one in the bedroom, rest assured, you can change the LED brightness, or switch it off completely, so it won’t keep you up at night.

Pocket-lint

On the underside, recessed into the base, is where you’ll find the collection of ports. Sadly, there aren’t many here. There’s a Type-C port for power and two Ethernet ports; one for connecting it to the modem, and the other for connecting other peripherals to that Wifi point.

There are no USB ports for attaching hard drives and the like. This is internet only – but that also helps to keep it simple. If that’s a major concern, there are solutions, like using a quality Ethernet splitter. You can pick those up relatively cheaply on Amazon UK.

Google Wifi review: Features and app

• Easy management and testing
• Family Wi-Fi for device pausing

As well as making setup a breeze, the Google Wifi app also makes managing your mesh network control almost stupidly simple. The app comprises three main screens.

Pocket-lint

The first is a Google Now-like card system which shows snippets of important information. It tells you the current condition of the network, the last speed test results and any software of firmware updates that have been installed.

The second screen shows you an overview of the network, including whether the internet is connected, how many Wifi products are online and how many devices you have using the network. Tapping on the first will show you the current usage and a breakdown of automatic speed test results from the past few days. Tapping on the second shows the strength of the mesh network, while tapping on the devices lets you see which gadgets you have connected to the network. You can also set a priority device, based on which you use the most.

The last screen is your portal to all settings and shortcuts. In the shortcuts section you can do a quick speed test, set a priority device and show your password. Other options become available when you activate other features like Family Wi-Fi.

Pocket-lint

Family Wi-Fi is an interesting new feature, particularly for parents wanting to restrict their kids’ online time. Essentially, you can pause the internet at specific times (like bedtimes) or pause specific devices within a group.

For instance, if your kids all have smartphones or tablets, you could tell Google Wifi to pause their access to the internet from a specific time by just tapping a button onscreen – right on your phone through the app. Just go through the Family Wi-Fi setup process, add specific devices to a group (or groups), which avoids other devices (like yours) being affected by any restrictions.

Google Wifi review: Performance

• 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies
• AC1200 2×2 Wave 2 Wi-Fi
• Quad-core ARM processor
• 512MB RAM + 4GB eMMC flash memory
• TX Beamforming

“We do the hard work, so you don’t have to,” is what Google claims on its Wifi product page. In our experience, that’s exactly how it’s been. We’ve had two Wifi systems installed and tested (one a review sample, the other purchased). One with two units (£229) in a large-ish bungalow, the other with four units (£458) in a two-storey house with an outside office. In both cases, the consistency of the network in both strength and speed has been brilliant – including reach across the garden.

The performance is down to various bits of technology Google has utilised to make it one of the most hassle-free mesh networks around. Using what it calls Network Assist, your phone, tablet, laptop or other gadget will always be connected to your closest point. If you move from one room to another, you’ll invisibly switch to the next router that’s closest. As far as your device is concerned, it’s still connected to the same network.

Network Assist also ensures that your device is connected to the least congested channel to make sure that you keep a speedy connection, even when multiple devices are connected. What’s more, it also automatically switches between the two available frequency bands (2.4GHz and 5GHz) depending on how far you are from your nearest Wifi point, to ensure you have the best connection.

Pocket-lint

We did multiple speed tests and found that regardless of which Wifi point we were connected to in the mesh network, speeds were consistent across the range. It was as fast in the bathroom (one room away from a second Wifi) as it was in the lounge right next to the central point.

The other main benefit of this over using a solution like powerline extenders is that it doesn’t drain your phone battery as quickly, since your phone isn’t constantly searching and linking to a new source of internet. 

Verdict

If you’re looking to patch-up Wi-Fi weak spots or extend the reach of your internet around the home, then a mesh network solution such as using multiple Google Wifi units is a great way of doing it.

It’s hassle-free, you don’t need a Master’s degree in computer engineering to figure it all out. Plus Wifi looks good, wherever it’s sat, which is a rare thing for connectivity products indeed. It’s unobtrusive design and easy-to-use app makes it a fantastic product.

The only downside if you have a large home is that you’ll need to spend money to make it worthwhile. A single Wifi unit costs £129, a twin pack is £229. If you want three of them, that’ll mean buying a single unit plus the twin-pack (£358), or for four of them it’s two of the twin packs (£458).

Although it’s not cheap, we think it’s worth it as the convenience and benefits are worth the outlay. You might cringe at initially handing over the money, but once it’s Google Wifi is up and running, and you have a solid Wi-Fi network throughout the home, you’ll forget that rather quickly.

Verizon’s $80 prepaid plan is unlimited but not perfect

Verizon has launched a new prepaid plan that sounds more enticing than many of its competitors’. At $80 a month, it offers unlimited data, talk and text in the country. The carrier also tacked on unlimited text to 200 other international destinations and unlimited talk if you’re calling numbers in Mexico and Canada. However, it’s not as “unlimited” as we all would want: to start with, it can only stream videos in 480p, putting your new phone’s HD screen to waste. More importantly, tethering and mobile hotspot aren’t part of the package — you won’t be able to share your phone’s connection with your other devices.

In addition, if you take a look at the fine print on Verizon’s prepaid page, it says “once high-speeds data allowance is used,” you’ll get “128 kbps speeds for the rest of the month.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t say how much data allowance you’ll get for $80.

The carrier’s new prepaid offering takes cues from the unlimited postpaid plan it revived back in February. Verizon relaunched the option since it lost hundreds of thousands of customers in a short span of time after killing its unlimited plans. As soon as it revived the offering, over 100,000 customers immediately signed up, illustrating why wireless competition is a good thing for subscribers.

Source: Verizon

Man arrested after knocking over a 300-pound security robot

Sure, the K5 isn’t the cutest robot making its first steps into human society, but that doesn’t mean drunks get to knock it over. One of the five-foot droids took a tumble last week in Mountain View, when a drunk man took umbrage to its whistlin’, patrolling ways. (Knocking it over is a bit of feat in itself: the thing weighs 300 pounds.) It’s not the first robot to suffer: Softbank’s — more adorable — Pepper has felt the cruelty of mankind while working in a phone store, while Hitchbot lasted just two weeks when it tried to cross America. It suffered a vandal attack in Philadelphia that cut its journey short.

Police say Jason Sylvain knocked down the Knightscope droid while it was patrolling the parking lot, last week. The man faces prowling and public intoxication charges, but it appears the robot gets some credit for arresting its attacker. Stacy Dean Stephens, Knightscope’s VP of marketing told CNET that: “The robot did exactly as it was suppose to do. The ‘assault’ was detected and immediately reported. The alarms on the robot sounded, the suspect attempted to flee the scene and was detained by one of my colleagues and me until the Mountain View Police arrived.”

Sylvain apparently wanted to test the security of Knightscope’s patrol drones. We’re more intrigued as to how he toppled 300 pounds of robot. That might prove useful in the future.

Source: ABC 7

Google Maps Now Remembers Where You Parked Your Car

Google yesterday announced a feature to help Google Maps users remember where they’re leaving their car once they’ve arrived at their destination.

The feature is simple enough to activate once you’ve parked up, and like Apple Maps, if you have your iPhone connected to your car via USB audio or Bluetooth, Google Maps will automatically tag your vehicle’s location on the map when you disconnect it.

If your iPhone isn’t connected to your car, you’ll have to do this manually: Open up the app, tap the blue location dot and then select “Set as parking location” to add it to the map.

Tapping on the parking icon that remains on the map also opens the parking card, which includes options to share the location with friends and view pictures of the parking area.

Google Maps can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Tag: Google Maps
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Verizon just announced a prepaid unlimited data plan for $80

Why it matters to you

It’s been a busy few months with the leading carriers working to refine their unlimited data offerings, and here’s another one to throw in the mix.

Verizon rolled out a new unlimited data offering for prepaid customers on Tuesday with an asking price of $80 a month.

The deal includes unlimited data, talk, and text across the U.S., unlimited text to more than 200 international destinations, and unlimited talk to Mexico and Canada. And the fact that it’s prepaid means no messing about with a long-term contract or credit check.

Small print? You’ll only get video streams of up to a paltry 480p, and mobile hotspot and tethering aren’t included, either. In addition, Verizon points out that it “may prioritize your data behind other customers during times/places of network congestion,” so best prep yourself with a few meditative techniques to prevent a meltdown should your super-fast smartphone occasionally slow to a crawl.

Verizon’s latest offering joins its assortment of other prepaid plans, namely its 2GB deal that launched in February for $40 a month, 5GB for $50 a month, and 10GB for $70 a month. The carrier also offers a $30 basic phone plan with unlimited talk and text.

Commenting on the new deal, Tami Erwin, Verizon’s executive VP of operations said, “In just months, Verizon has transformed its prepaid offerings to make it easier and more affordable for customers to get access to the best network at a great value, no matter how much data they need.”

Erwin added, “This plan is all about giving our prepaid customers more choice. With data plans from as little as 2 GB to unlimited data, we’ve got a plan that fits your needs.” Or so she hopes.

Verizon’s latest prepaid plan aims to boost its customer base following a lackluster first quarter that saw the carrier lose 307,000 subscribers. It stemmed the losses midway through the quarter by introducing a postpaid unlimited plan in February, a move that prompted a flurry of activity among rivals that saw them refine their own unlimited data offerings in a bid to compete.

Considering Verizon added 640,000 subscribers during the same quarter a year earlier, and seeing how its postpaid plan reduced subscriber losses midway through its latest quarter, the motivation behind the launch of this latest unlimited plan is clear to see.

Bloomberg: Google co-founder Sergey Brin has a ‘secret airship’

A couple of days ago we got a good look at a “flying car” backed by Google’s Larry Page, and now Bloomberg reports that Sergey Brin has a project too — it’s a zeppelin. The airship “which isn’t an Alphabet project” is being built in a leased hangar at the NASA Ames Research Center, although it’s unclear if there are any plans to make a business out of it. The report points to former NASA director Alan Weston as leader of the project, citing a radio interview where he described a helium-filled (it’s actually flame-retardant) vehicle for cargo hauling and a LinkedIn profile that momentarily listed him as CEO of “Ltare.”

Source: Bloomberg

Chrome casting tweak streams all videos directly to your TV

As a general rule, you send an entire Chrome browser tab to your Chromecast (or other Cast-ready devices) as a last resort. The quality is lousy enough that you only really want to use it when a service doesn’t have native casting support, like Amazon Prime Video. Google may soon give you a good reason to use this option more often, though. The latest developer version of Chrome includes rough support for a feature that preserves the quality and performance of video when you cast a tab. If you choose to take a video full screen while casting, the software now sends the video’s raw bitstream to your TV. You shouldn’t get muddy, stuttering video as your PC struggles to deliver content you don’t need to see.

In this crude implementation, you’ll have to enable the video improvement through a flag (chrome://flags/#media-remoting). Google’s François Beaufort suggests using Vimeo to give it a try, but Android Police has managed to get it working with Amazon, the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim website and other services. There’s no guarantee that this will reach more polished versions of Chrome in a timely fashion, or at all. However, it’s easy to see Google pushing for this feature as a way of filling a conspicuous gap in Cast support — imagine seeing almost any video on your TV without having to wait for the video’s provider to get with the program.

Via: Android Police, The Verge

Source: Francois Beaufort (Google+), Chromium Code Reviews