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Bluetake I-PHONO Cordless Headphone Review - PAGE 3
Anthony Roberts - Wednesday, August 4th, 2004

For sport, exercise, and play

Style wise the design of the i-Phono is actually pretty aesthetic. I don't care too much for the "flashing" lights while its active, but overall the design doesn't look too cheesy. The additional colour accent pieces that the headphones come with are actually quite nice. In the package I thought they looked too gaudy and was convinced no one would like them. However, having tried a few pieces on the headphones, I am pretty confident that these coloured plates actually ACCENTUATE the look of the headphones. These pieces, too, have a high quality shiny finish that adds a metalic quality to the colours. I took a few pictures to try and show you what they look like since neither the I-Phono site nor the other reviews I've found could give you the feel of how they look.

Nearly every review I've read so far mentions how great the i-phono would be for your exercise sessions. I REALLY doubt that any of those reviewers went to the gym with these things for a trial run. Certainly the cordless headphones do add that extra dimension of freedom and ease to exercise junkies out for a jog or hitting the gym, but there's a few things you might want to be aware of first.

1) These headphones, while nicely designed, are hardly inconspicuous in public areas, and are relatively LARGE compared to the earbuds that 99% of exercisers use.
2) The band that joins the two i-phono ear pieces sticks out enough on some people, that lying down on an exercise bench will cause the headphones to lift. This would affect any exercise where your head would have to rest on something.
3) When jogging outdoors, or working out in the gym, having the extra dongle is a DISADVANTAGE that you will definitely notice, unless you use a waist pouch or other device to carry the bluetooth dongle along with your MP3/MD/CD player.

Now in spite of these points, I did try to do some jogging, cycling, and exercising on machines, and I find the i-phono headphones offer some distinct advantages over a corded solution. Most importantly, if using an exercise machine, there's no CORD to get in the way. Nearly as cool: when jogging/cycling on a machine you can forego carrying your MP3/MD player altogether and leave it on the floor. These two factors make this device pretty ideal, assuming you don't mind the slightly different look of the headphones.

Having said all this about the style, I find the headphones to be pretty large - a little clunky for my taste. Certainly I felt selft conscious when seen in public with these. One interesting note: As I noted before, the phones look MUCH better on females than they do on males... even medium or shortish length hair ladies will find that the phones can actually look GOOD. On Men, I'd have to say that at best you can hope you don't get weird looks while pumping iron or taking a stroll in the park.


Article Index

1.Introduction
2.Package Contents and Impressions
3.For sport, exercise, and play
4.Range and Sound Quality
5.Areas of Improvement and Conclusion

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