Having headphones or an earpiece wedged in your ear is great. You can make calls without faffing with your phone or MP3 player and you can block out the world. However, the trouble with these is that… you can block out the world.
Now these AfterShokz Bluez headphones will let you listen to tunes and it won’t cover your ears. For £99.95 the music gets into your head by firmly vibrating your bone. They sit snugly on your head and are ideal for you sporty types who like to listen to tunes whilst running but like hearing traffic too.
Clever “ear bone conduction” technology means that your music is fed into your ears magically without the need to wedge anything into your lug-holes.
AfterShokz Bluez, the World’s First Open Ear Wireless Bluetooth Headphones, Now Available in the UK
Customers in the European market can purchase the highly anticipated wireless version of the company’s unique open ear headphones for £99.95.
Manchester, England ─ 2 nd July 2013 ─ AfterShokz, the global brand known for its unique open ear headphones powered by patent pending bone conduction technology, is pleased to announce that the highly anticipated wireless Bluetooth version, Bluez, is now available to the European market via Pinpoint Consumer Electronics. Public demand for a wireless Bluetooth version of their globally popular open ear sport headphones fueled the development of Bluez, which debuted during the 2013 International CES at the Las Vegas Convention Center this past January.
The AfterShokz team is thrilled to be the first to market with a product they believe is on track to change the Bluetooth headphones category, in suit with how their wired headphones have evolved the sport headphones category. By reimagining the standards of headphones, including disregarding the traditional requirement for headphones─the ears─AfterShokz has revolutionized headphones of the future. That unique open ear design offers more than just increased comfort when worn at length; it allows users to hear ambient noise, heightening awareness and fostering safety, particularly critical during outdoor activity. AfterShokz Bluez headphones offer a similar open ear design and utilize bone conduction technology in the same fashion, yet add the benefit of wireless Bluetooth capability to deliver the most comfortable and safe option for wireless voice communication and music play.
“Our creative use of bone conduction technology to transfer stereophonic sound without covering or plugging the ears is innovation that really is changing the way the world listens,” said Rodney Annet, Managing Director of Pinpoint Consumer Electronics, the UK distribution partner for AfterShokz. “The health and fitness market in the UK has shown incredible support for our Sportz headphones since day one, so we worked quickly to bring our wireless version, an everyday solution, to the region.”
AfterShokz open ear bone conduction headphones are the safest and most comfortable Bluetooth headphones one can buy, and perfect for wireless music listening and voice communication.
AfterShokz Bluez garnered significant attention even prior to consumer availability in the U.S., earning a prestigious CES Innovations 2013 Design and Engineering Award in the headphones category in January 2013. More recently in May 2013, Bluez earned the ‘Most Innovative Product’ Award at the Electronics Retail Summit Europe, sponsored by ECRM and Levin Consulting, in Rome, Italy.
About AfterShokz Bluez
AfterShokz Bluez open ear wireless Bluetooth headphones deliver the most comfortable and safe option for wireless voice communication and music play. Unlike conventional Bluetooth devices that use the eardrums to transmit sound and are designed for use in one ear, Bluez are stereo headphones that rest comfortably in front of the ears and utilize bone conduction technology to transmit sound through the cheekbones to the inner ears, bypassing the eardrums completely. With both ears open, users wearing Bluez can remain alert to ambient noises─from traffic sounds when in use outdoors or while driving, to a nearby colleague in the office.
The elegant and simple design of AfterShokz Bluez wireless headphones consists of an ergonomic, extremely stable, one-piece wraparound headband. This headband wraps over the ears and features an adjustable (and removable) inner tension band to comfortably accommodate a wide range of head sizes. The open ear style and light overall weight make Bluez far more comfortable than traditional Bluetooth headsets, especially when used over extended periods of time. Those that find conventional Bluetooth accessories to be uncomfortable to wear, or are frustrated by products that fall out of the ear during even mild levels of activity, will be pleased by how stable Bluez feel. A make/take call button on the left transducer, an advance/pause button on the right transducer and volume controls on the back of the headbandgives users total control over their music, podcasts and phone calls right from the unit.
Notably, blind and hearing-impaired persons have reported that pairing AfterShokz headphones with assistive devices such as screen readers, global guidance technologies, cell phones and audio players, provides them the opportunity to remain acutely in touch with surroundings.
Wierd, so the little pad things don’t sit over your ear opening but in front and on your cheek? I’m currently using some in-ear jobbies on my train commute. They are great, they block out the sound of other commuters and work really well (Sennheiser 300s), the only thing is they are bloody horrible for anything but sitting still. When I walk or on occasion run they create a really awful sensation and I have to take them out. I don’t like the ones that sit on the ear, (like the ones you get with an iPhone) as you have to have them pretty loud on a train to be able to hear them and that just annoys the other passengers. I’d get a set of full over ear cans but I’d look like a right twat (yes even more than normal), these look like they could be the ideal compromise. I bet they have to press into your cheek pretty firmly to transmit the sound well enough though.
I ummed and ahhed for ages before finally getting some Bluetooth headphones, and for convenience and size I ended up going with Plantronic Backbeat Go’s. Pretty small and short cable means you don’t get the rubbing noise transferred, they charge via micro usb socket behind a flap on the right earpiece, and pair well with both my work iphone and personal nexus 4….only a shame is they’re not multipoint.