{"id":2381,"date":"2014-01-30T16:49:11","date_gmt":"2014-01-30T07:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2014-01-30\/2381"},"modified":"2014-01-30T16:49:11","modified_gmt":"2014-01-30T07:49:11","slug":"a-couple-of-mini-bluetooth-reviews-braven-710-speaker-and-mpow-sport-headphones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2014-01-30\/2381","title":{"rendered":"A Couple of Mini Bluetooth Reviews: Braven 710 Speaker and Mpow Sport Headphones"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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This post is a mini review of a couple<\/span> of bluetooth (wireless connection) speakers I've been using recently, one small “<\/span>brick”<\/span> speaker for the home,\nand a pair<\/span> of earbuds for the gym.<\/p>\n\n

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Above we have the Braven\n710<\/a>. I lifted<\/span> the (almost-certainly CGI) image from their web site; if\nI would<\/span> have not been lazy and instead taken a photo<\/span> myself, I would<\/span> have\nput something there for context so that you can see that it's small... it's\nabout the size of a sort<\/span>-of-squished hotdog bun.<\/p>\n\n

We like it. It's got great sound from such a small<\/span> package. I've\nconnected all our phones to it so that we can each use it when we like. It's splash<\/span> resistant so we can bring it in the bath, and it's easy to\nbring with us as we do tasks around the house.<\/p>\n\n

It has a lot of extra features, like acting as a portable<\/span> power brick\nfor small mobile devices, bridging to a non<\/span>-bluetooth stereo, NFC support,\nand more. For lots of<\/span> details, see this\nreview at AppAdvice.com<\/a>, which is the review that prompted me to buy\nit. Or, perhaps, this overview video<\/a>\nfrom the company.<\/p>\n\n

I recommend it, but I must point out that the Braven 710 suffers from the same\nproblem that every bluetooth audio device I've ever tried suffers from:\n“<\/span>stupid”<\/span> where “<\/span>smart user-interaction design”<\/span> should be. For example,\nthere's no simple on\/off switch that you can glance at to see whether the\nthing is on... you have to press a rubbery<\/span> button for several seconds and\nlisten for a weird<\/span> deep rumbling “<\/span>chirp”<\/span> from the thing... the nature of\nthe “<\/span>chirp”<\/span> tells you whether you just turned it on or off. Wanted to\nensure it was on but just turned it on? Repeat.<\/p>\n\n

It overloads its many functions onto just a few<\/span> buttons. You can see<\/span>\nfrom the image above that there are four buttons on the side: plus, minus,\npower, play. Yet by combinations<\/span> of press\/hold timing and magic\nunicorn-horn context, functions these four buttons perform include volume\nup\/down, volume mute\/unmute, track skip forward\/backward, play\/pause,\nanswer a phone<\/span> call and hang up, pair the unit with a new<\/span> device, and of\ncourse to turn the thing on and off. It's very unsatisfying<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

Still, every bluetooth audio device I've encountered suffers from the same problem, so\nI don't<\/span> think you'll find anything better.<\/p>\n\n

Pros<\/b><\/p>\n