Plantronics extends its BackBeat family of products with BackBeat FIT a new wireless stereo headphones product. As its name indicates, this product has been designed for people who exercise, so the over-the-neck headband provides a very stable fit that should be less distracting than wires. The same head band also makes it very easy to just put the whole thing in your pocket without worrying about tangling wires, and issue that I have bumped into with nearly every wired headphones that I ever owned.
Of course, being a Plantronics product, BackBeat is a wireless audio device, but I was surprised when Plantronics told me that the battery life was 8-hours of music playback. That’s pretty impressive for a product where the location of the battery is not even obvious at first sight. Additionally, I have been assured that BackBeat would keep its charge for up to six month after a full charge.
The Plantronics BackBeat also has a microphone which is great if you get a phone call during your workout or jogging: there is no need to remove it. Since it is designed (among other things) for running, it is sweat and rain resistant (you can’t actually swim with it, since it’s not water-proof) and more importantly, it does not completely isolate your from external sounds, which means that you can still hear cars and other things that would require your attention. Another idea to improve safety is that its reflective material will glow when lit by cars lights at night.
The BackBeat stereo headphones comes with a pouch that also serves as an armband case for your phone: this is a great idea given how expensive those armbands can be. when I eyeballed the pouch, it seemed to me that it would fit 5” handsets like the Galaxy S4 and can easily house an iPhone. The LG G Flex didn’t fit, and I’m not sure that the Galaxy Note 3 would.
Overall this looks like a great audio product if you are ready to spend $129.99 for having high-performance, rugged and wireless headphones.
Filed in . Read more about MWC, MWC 2014, Plantronics and Wireless Headphones.