My last review of Zagg was for their InvisibleShield screen protector here. I loved the product but hated the hyper inflated cost of shipping on the replacements. Today I will be reviewing their ZAGGsmarbud earphones.

I have been testing these for the last 6 months and wanted to share my opinion. For the record, I purchased these myself for this opinion is completely unbiased.

Packaging

The earphones come in a triangular easy to open box. Within this pyramid, you find the earphones, a small zippered carry pouch and 5 eartips.

Audio Quality

I have 2 types of headphones:

High quality (expensive) audiophile earphones that I listen to through a high quality headphone amplifier and where my music in is the Apple lossesless audio codec (ALAC) format.
Everyday earphones that I carry with me all the time and use when at work, at the gym, shopping or doing chores around the house.

The ZAGGsmartbuds are of the second category. For about $50, they are much better than the gargabe headphones Apple (or other manufacturers) provides but they arent $500 audiophile earphones either. Over the last 6 months, I tested these with all kinds of songs from soca to rock to heavy metal and they handled it all excessively well.

Comparing them to my high end Etymotic or Ultimate Ear earphones, I noticed that some of the more subtle nuances were lost or washed out with the ZAGGsmartbuds. Same issue with some very high notes. This is to be expected from $50 earphones but overall I found their sound reproduction very pleasing and satisfying enough to use as my everyday earphones.

Ear Tips

I have standard ears and most standard manufacturer provided ear tips work well for me. The Zagg provided tips where no exception. They were comfortable and blocks external sounds well. Halfway through my testing, I installed Comply Foam tips and this made the experience so much better. I liked the Zagg tips but the Comply tips were that much more comfortable and they blocked out even more external sound. A worthwhile investment.

Volume Slider and control button

The ZAGGsmartbuds have a volume control slider and this worked as advertised. Moving the slider did not introduce and static or audio artifacts. This is an analog controller so exact control is out of the question. I found that turning my devices volume to 80% then using this slider control yielded the best results.

The control button works fairly well with my iphone to hang-up on a call, start/stop my music, change to the next song, change to the previous song or initiate SIRI. I wish they adopted a 3 button model instead but this isn’t half bad. I could easily perform the above functions when running or working out at the gym. The nest/previous song functionality even works with apps like Pandora, Slacker Radio and Stitcher Radio. This button functionality (or a part of it) worked on many other Android and Windows Phone 7.5 devices I tested it with.

Call Quality

Since this was my everyday earphones so I sometimes used these to make calls. I usually hear the caller fairly well in moderated noisy environments but callers regularly asked me to repeat or said I sounded muffled. If you will be making a lot of calls then this may not be the product for you. For casual calling use, it isn’t terrible.

Tangle free cord

The promise of a tangle free cord was very intriguing. There is nothing worse than spending 10 minutes trying to untangle your earphone cable and here the ZAGGsmartbuds performed as advertised. The cost did get into a mess but untangling it usually took 30 seconds or less. Zagg says this is because the cord “features a tough polyurethane coating”.

Hangin Tight

At first I thought this was a gimmick I would never used and took a while for me to figure out but once I started using this feature properly, I wanted this on all my earphones. By following the enclosed instructions and using it with their hangin tight feature, the buds are always accessible on your sides and never fall to the ground.

Conclusion

Overall I like this product and it performed well enough to become my everyday earphones. I can through it in my back, pocket and gym bag and not worry about it breaking. It has proven to be extremely durable. Sound quality was good for a product of this category but I wish the microphone performed a little better.

Shop around because you can find this product for around $30 at various large online resellers (so don’t buy it directly from Zagg).

Dell Voice (Follow-up)

March 26, 2012ReviewEdward Kiledjian

On February 10, I wrote about a free VOIP telephone service being offered by Dell to Canadian consumers. While travelling (Europe and Asia), I tested it to call home and had mixed results. 1 out of 5 times the call quality was very good, 2 out of 5 times the call qulity was OK and the other 2 times it was unusable. After everyone of the Dell Voice tests, I tested call quality with Skype and it consistently offered a cleaner more enjoyable call.

I also wished that they offered free SMS messages. This isn't something I needed when at home (since my monthly package includes more than enough) but I would have appreciated this when travelling.

I then tested their customer service to inquire about my call quality issues and received a vague non-helpful response about 48 hours later.

Overall you still can't beat the price of free and performance was usually good when in Canada. It is likely an app I'll keep on my cell but will likely fallback on Skype (even if it is not free) for calls when overseas.

WANDERLITE DAYPACK (Follow-up)

March 26, 2012ReviewEdward Kiledjian

I posted my review about the Wanderlite daypack bagpack on February 8 here. If you haven't read it, I recommend you check it out.

As promised, I took the Wanderlite with me and wanted to see if I would use it while travelling. I am happy to report that the bag was useful.

First it packs real small and light, which makes it the ideal secondary bag for a onebag (carry-on only) traveler. It easily fit into the Red Oxx Airboss' middle compartment along with my shoes, bathroom kit and socks/underwear.

When in Shenyang and Shanghai, I decided to do a little shopping and this was the bag I took with me to carry my items around.

Overall I still like the Wanderlite and would recommend it to any light packing traveller that may need a temporary second journee bag.

Wanderlite daypack review - A light packable backpack

February 8, 2012ReviewEdward Kiledjian

As many of you already know, I am preparing for a 2 week business trip to China and will be reviewing some of the products I will be taking with me. In a later post, I will talk about my main luggage (the Red Oxx Air Boss) but in addition to that, I will be carrying with me a “special” backpack made by the fine folks at Barefoot (called the Wanderlite Packable Daypacks).

The Wanderlite is a very affordable ($US 27) packable backpack that can be rolled up into a tidy little package, making it very easy to pack. Unlike many of its competitors, the Wanderlite is made in Colorado.

In the above picture, you can see how small it rolls up. It is a standard teardrop shaped backpack with one main compartment and another smaller pocket on the front. The main compartment offers a considerable 32L of storage capacity, yet the entire bag weights slightly less than 9 ounces. This carry capacity coupled with the small pack size and low weight is why I like it.

It is built using a decent 420 denier material and the interior is coated with a water resistant polyurethane coating to keep your belongings nice and dry. I generally want my bags to use the heavy duty YKK brand zippers, but the Wanderlite uses a much cheaper, no name brand, one. To be honest, I tested the zipper, roughly opening and closing it about 100 times and didn't encounter any issues and the zipper is still as good as new.

The shoulder straps are unpadded yet comfortable for short day trip use (even when fully loaded). It also has a grab handle on the top making it easy to pickup.

I actually loaded the pack with close to 20 pounds of clothes, electronics and accessories and wore it for about an hour. The bag was easy to carry and it held up extremely well. I wouldn’t use this bag for a hiking excursion, but for the purpose of an easily packable, lightweight secondary day-trip bag, the wanderlite can’t be beat.

How to travel light with only a carry-on

February 1, 2012Airlines, Blog, One Bag, OneBag.com, Red Oxx, ReviewEdward Kiledjian

Travelling is usually an amazing adventure full of wonderful memories and experiences you will cherish for life. Only one thing stands in the way of your trip: air travel. Airlines seem to be charging more for less and nothing seems to exemplify this better than checked in luggage fees. Many airlines now charge fees from the first check-in bag. Add to that the fact that your luggage gets treated like a football, subject to theft by shady baggage handlers, usually takes 20-30 minutes to find its way on the conveyor belt and sometimes sent to the wrong destination.

One packing expert, Doug Dyment, says he has a solution for all of our luggage frustrations, travel with a carry-on bag. He shares his years of experience on his blog.

The packing list

OneBag.com is dedicated to the art and science of travelling light. The secret is creating minimalist travel lists, finding the right piece of luggage and using efficient packing techniques.

Most travellers tend to over pack because they try to cover every possible eventuality that may occur during their trip. The fact is, most of the clothes you take with you likely go unused. Be honest and think of your last couple of trips. Onebag.com stresses the importance of creating realistic lists and then sticking to it when packing. The site also provides a series of lists that Doug created based on his years of travel experience.

How to pack

Once your list is created, prepare all your clothes and pack them using a method called bundle packing. This method uses space efficiently and minimizes wrinkling (it is even better than rolling). If carrying shoes, use them to store socks, underwear, etc.

Packing template created by OneBag.com for Red Oxx. Click to see original

Where to pack

The third secret to efficient packing is using the right luggage. He spends lots of time explaining what well designed luggage should look like (depending on the reason for your trip business, leisure or a mix). In summary, he recommends rectilinear luggage (anything else wastes space) without wheels (wheels take packing space and add weight).

I will be taking a business trip to China in March and decided to buy a piece of luggage called the Air Boss by Red Oxx. This piece of luggage not only meets all of Doug’s recommendations but was actually designed in consultation with him so you know it’s good. I will write a review of the Air Boss as soon as I get back from my trip (with pictures and videos).

Long term testing and review of ZAGGsmartbuds