Truly wireless.
Apple
might have nabbed a bunch of press with the announcement of their
AirPods wireless earbuds, but – as with most of Apple's products –
they weren't the first and nor will they be the best. We've been
testing that theory by playing with the Motorola VerveOnes Music
Edition wireless Bluetooth earbuds.
As
with all Bluetooth headphones, these connect to your phone or media
device wirelessly. However, both of the earbuds are completely
wire-free also, meaning the entire package does not contain or use
any wires at all. Except the charging cable, mind. The small earbuds
are designed to fit in each of your ears, pair with each other, then
pair with your phone. No tangles and no dangles.
The
Motorola VerveOnes Music Edition comes with a twist-closing charge
case, which not only charges the earbuds when plugged into a USB
socket, but also holds a charge itself, allowing you to recharge on
the go. The case is small, lets the earbuds fit very snugly and
securely into it, and is no bigger than an asthma inhaler.
Once
charged, pop out the buds and stick 'em in your ears. They
automatically detect when they're in and will link to each other,
awaiting a connection to your phone or Bluetooth device. Obviously,
this all worked very well, but you're probably wondering how well
they stay in there, right?
So
did we, and after a week or so of use the results are positive...
kinda. The Motorola VerveOnes Music Edition come with three different
sizes of gels which will help to get a decent enough fit into your
ear canal itself, but after that you're at the mercy of the shape of
your ear. The main body of the buds aren't small, so we discovered
that men (or people with typically larger ears) tend to be fine,
while women (or, again, those with naturally smaller ears) had
issues. You need them to be well in there and surrounded by your ear
cartilage to guarantee a good seal, so bigger eared people won out.
The
Motorola VerveOnes Music Edition are waterproof and everything about
their look and design would suggest they are great for fitness and
exercise use. But almost every time we took them out for a run one of
them popped out. Again, this will happen depending on your ear type
and size, but as there is no wire 'safety net' linking it to the
other, it'll fall to the ground.
Fortunately
all the times this happened the earbud wasn't damaged, and should you
loose one of them completely you can use the Mototrola Hubble app to
locate them. The app, which we've reviewed before on a couple of
other products, keeps a track of the last location that your earbuds
were connected to your phone, giving you a rough idea of where they
should. And as they're white, finding them shouldn't be too much of a
bother.
And
the actual sound? Well, okay we guess. The sound quality reminded us
of Bluetooth headphones (the more traditional kind) of a few years
ago, with a price range of £50-100. The Motorola VerveOnes Music
Edition are brand new, and a lot more than that cost-wise, so it
seems there are downsides to the portability and freedom they offer.
For casual listening they were fine; times when you're not toverly
bothered about the quality, and more interested in a bit of music to
block out the world somewhat. Like when commuting to work. You're
never going to lounge back at home to hear the intricate details of
your favourite tracks on these, as they are more about rough and
ready use.
The
batteries on the buds lasts about three hours between charges –
which isn't great – but the case provided extra power to keep them
going for around eight hours. Popping them into it to charge up till
full doesn't take too long either, but you can't use them as you
charge them, as you can with some other, more conventionally
designed, Bluetooth headphones.
All
in all, the Motorola VerveOnes Music Edition come down to personal
taste. If you want something that is definitely futuristic and
innovative (at the expense of a few annoyances and lower quality of
sound) go for it. If you're an audiophile who needs every thing to be
perfect, steer clear.
£149
