Ever since I hurt my hands using the PS3 Dualshock 3 controller for extended periods, I've been on a (desperate) quest for a DECENT third party PS3 controller that is COMFORTABLE. When I saw the dreamGEAR Phenom PS3 controller on sale at the Futureshop website, I took a bite. There's not that much choice for third party PS3 controllers out there.
The package includes the controller, 2.4GHz USB dongle (the controller is not bluetooth), and a USB charging cable that is slightly longer than the one included with the PS3 console.The controller can be used while connected to the cable during charging.
The dongle sticks out of the PS3 USB port, and obviously while using it, it occupies one of the only 2 available ports. There is a red light on the end of the dongle that flashes if there's no controller connection or stays solid red when connected. Having a dongle jutting out of the front of PS3 is a little bit ugly, but it may not be a huge deal. What is more of a big deal is that because it's not bluetooth, the controller can't turn on the PS3 like the Dualshock 3 can. But it can turn off the PS3. And when the dongle is plugged in, the controller ALWAYS takes controller 1 slot, even if it's not used. Sometimes a bit annoying.
The dreamGEAR (yes that's how they spell their company name) Phenom PS3 controller uses Immersion technology (aren't they the company that sued Sony?) for rumble, but the controller is missing "six-axis" motion sensors. I don't know of many PS3 games that use six-axis, but it's definitely worth noting.
The controller is bigger than the Dualshock 3, but it feels more comfortable in the hands. I don't have large hands, but it fits very well even in my small little mitts. However, it could be a bit big for little kids, as I've had that problem with my Xbox controllers. Speaking of Xbox controllers, yeah, it looks a lot like one, doesn't it? But make no mistake, this is no clone. It's not as ergonomic as my Xbox controller S.
But it does feel good to hold. The controller (and oddly enough, dongle) is coated with an almost rubbery surface, it feels really good; grippy without being too sticky. The analogue sticks are stiffer and more clicky when you press them in, again, boils down to personal preference but I find the Dualshock 3 analogue clicks (L3+R3) a bit too easily.
The shoulder buttons have a really good placement, the L2 +R2 stick out more and are more responsive than the Dualshock's triggers.
I've read accounts of people complaining about dead zones
in the analogue sticks. I personally like the sensitivity of them
myself. I find the Dualshock 3 analogues to be jittery sensitive. So
that might boil down to personal preference. The D-pad is ok. I don't think it's quite as good as the Dualshock 3? But very close, maybe.
Even though it might look like it, the buttons don't light up or anything. Just the controller number at the bottom.
But there are some major flaws in this controller. The buttons are all clicky and not as smooth as the Dualshock 3, but the face buttons are the worst-- the X and O buttons on my controller stick; sometimes they stay down, pressed in after pressing them. Very bad. I don't know if it's just my controller or a general build quality issue. Futureshop only sells this controller online, so it's not as easy to get an exchange.
Unfortunately, I will be returning it to the store. The stuck face buttons are too much of an impediment, I've been trying to play it some more but the stuck buttons issue is not going to go away.
A real shame as it feels much better than the Dualshock 3, especially when using four fingers for the shoulder buttons.
So I've paired my PS Vita with my various bluetooth headphones... with mixed results. Generally the PS Vita firmware seems to be a work in progress-- basic functionality is there but everything feels unfinished and maybe subject to revision. Hopefully the bluetooth feature will get some upgrades soon.
I first paired my PS Vita with my Creative D100 bluetooth speakers. The Vita speakers--despite their poor placement, it's way too easy to cover them with your thumbs while holding the Vita-- have fairly good sound quality... but they aren't all that loud (also a common problem of all the iterations of the PSP, as many may remember)
So my Creative D100 bluetooth speakers are great for a volume boost, plus they sound good (though a bit bass-heavy)
It's very easy to pair bluetooth headphone devices with the PS Vita. But I find that whatever bluetooth profile Sony has equipped the Vita with, it's very basic, probably low-power to save battery.
There is a noticeable at least 1 second audio delay with both my Creative D100 speakers and my HeadRush Adrenaline bluetooth headphones. It's a longer delay compared to using my HTC Legend phone (no delay) and my PSPgo (no delay with the D100 speakers, possibly slight delay with the Headrush Adrenaline headphones )
PLAY/PAUSE FF/RW controls on the bluetooth headphones will work on the PS Vita *only* during music playback, and the music has to already be playing-- pressing the PLAY button on your bluetooth headphones won't start the music if the PS Vita is in a music list, for example.
Also, all my other devices, PSPgo, phone, netbook-- use their native volume output PLUS the bluetooth device volume. As I've written, the volume in bluetooth headphones can boost the PSPgo volume quite a bit. But the PS Vita DOES NOT use its own volume when connected to a bluetooth device, if you press the volume buttons on the Vita while in bluetooth mode they don't do anything. It ONLY uses the volume on the bluetooth headphones itself, so that means whatever volume power the bluetooth device pumps out, that's all as high as it goes. Often I have to crank up my bluetooth headphones full volume to get decent sound, whereas with my other devices I use maybe half volume on the bluetooth headphones themselves. That will suck up more power of the bluetooth device, making it provide all the volume all the time.
There is one saving grace: the PSPgo Bluetooth remote PSP-N270. There are 2 modes for that Bluetooth device, regular and a low-latency mode which takes up more power but provides a more stable connection to reduce audio delay. Using the PS Vita with the PSP-N-270 low latency DOES reduce/eliminate the audio delay.
Overall, I hope that a lot of these issues can be fixed via firmware rather than a hardware limitation. I'm not sure.
I'm surprised after seeing these angle shots how curved & ergonomic it is. It's shaped like a console controller. Actually, it kind of reminds me of the accessories for the DS/PSP that tried to replicate the console controller feel-- like the PSP one I reviewed awhile back.
It also looks like it takes slight cues from the Wii U controller. But it's cool that it's curved & meant to fit in the hands at least a little, unlike the rectangular DS Lite design, which is more about looks than practicality.
And the shoulder buttons look robust! The bottom L + R buttons are big.
If anything, now that I've seen the controller from a couple angles, I'm less convinced that a 3DS redesign would come from it. This looks like an accessory-- not a direction that the actual handheld would take in design. I can't imagine Nintendo releasing a 3DS followup that would look like a console controller. Still, what do I know? Anything could happen, I guess...
I really hope that this accessory makes it out of Japan. For $19.99, and Resident Evil: Revelations, Monster Hunter 3G, Ace Combat: Cross Rumble supporting it (which I also hope makes it in the localized versions of the games)... and of course I'm hoping that a Star Wars Battlefront game gets announced someday, and other games support it too.... if these things come to pass, I'll honestly be first in line for this thing. I hope it comes in blue.
Leave it to Nintendo3DSblog to spill the details on the 3DS 2nd analogue nub accessory.... they've posted the updated page for the Nintendo Japan 3DS accessories list, which now includes the slide pad expansion.
Here's what it says courtesy Google translate:
Nintendo 3DS special enhanced slide pads
[CTR-009]
Suggested retail price 1,500円（税込） 1,500 yen (tax included) Release Date 2011/12/10 December 10, 2011
When installed in the Nintendo 3DS, a wider range of playing styles slide pad and buttons have been added.
AAA alkaline batteries ※ (operation status) with 1.
※ extended slide pad alone will not work. Slide the pad can be used only with compatible software extension
※. The corresponding software has an icon on the right in the package:
List of planned listing of supported software
December 10, 2011 Monster Hunter 3 (tri) G Capcom
2012 Early 2012 BIOHAZARD REVELATIONS Capcom
This winter METAL GEAR SOLID SNAKE EATER 3D KONAMI
This winter ACECOMBAT 3D CROSS RUMBLE Namco Bandai
2012
2012 Dynasty Warriors VS Tecmo Koei Games
Undecided
KINGDOM HEARTS 3D [Dream Drop Distance] Square Enix
Six major games slated to support the accessory, though only Monster Hunter Tri 3G has a solid release date.
And the slide pad expansion takes 1? AAA battery? It's going to cost 1500 yen, which is $19.32 Canadian dollars. So if that's any indication for a Canadian price, maybe $19.99? Not that there's even any indication at this point that it'll be released outside of Japan. I remember having to buy the Play-Yan Micro imported because there was no worldwide release for that.
Ace Combat is one of my fave game franchises. Having it on the initial 3DS games list when the handheld was first announced, that game alone pretty much cemented my decision to buy a 3DS.
And honestly, the one game I want the most on 3DS is a *NEW* Star Wars: Battlefront game.... like Renegade Squadron & Elite Squadron that were on PSP. That's kinda the reason I'm so hyped for a 2nd analogue nub, I'm secretly hoping for a new Star Wars Battlefront game that would be cross-released on 3DS & Playstation Vita. A PS Vita version would use both analogue sticks so the 3DS needs the 2nd nub.
But the new Ace Combat game, I would get the slide pad expansion for that alone, though I'd also use it for Monster Hunter 4 & Resident Evil Revelations...
Oddly enough, I don't know why I'd need a 2nd nub for Ace Combat, it controls just fine on the PSP with only 1 nub.
Also a bit ironic: The slide pad accessory is meant for Monster Hunter 3G. Pretty clear that this accessory makes using any 3DS extended battery add-ons impossible. And if there are ANY games that *NEED* a lot of battery power to play, it's the Monster Hunter series.
UPDATE: IGN posted these better pics of the slide pad accessory... it looks better than the original pic, which made the 2nd nub look smaller.
So... Nintendo has tersely confirmed that the Slide Pad Expansion i.e. 2nd analogue nub, is a real accessory coming to the 3DS. From the sounds of it, there is only 1 game scheduled so far that will use it: Monster Hunter 3G.
Nintendo has stumbled into the same controversy that dogged Sony's PSP for the life of that handheld. Will making a 2nd analogue nub split the console userbase between those who have it & those who don't? That's the reason Sony always gave to not put a 2nd nub on the PSP, they didn't want some games to only be playable with a 2nd nub making them unplayable to those who have older PSPs. By making the 3DS one an add-on, it's possible for all generations of 3DS's to play games that may require it. I suspect that Nintendo will revise the 3DS to incorporate the 2nd nub. Maybe that $80.00 price drop is starting to make more sense now, hey?
But... one of the main questions has to be, how many games are actually going to use this 2nd nub? I've already talked about the many add-on peripherals for the Wii. I own the Balance Board, Wii Motion Plus dongle (x2), Wii Zapper, Wii Wheel, & the Classic Controller (a third party one anyway)
And most if not all of them only have a few games that support them.
Closer to home, look at the peripherals released for the DS:
The most famous one might be the Guitar Hero button controller. But as far as I know, only the game it came packed with supports it.
It did have the unfortunate luck of coming out just as Nintendo released the DSi which eliminated the GBA slot it needs to plug in to. Activision must've been pissed about that.
Here's one I was sorta interested in, the paddle controller. It seems like it would be really cool to play Space Invaders Extreme with it.... but again, as far as I know, only 2 games support it (Arkanoid being the other)
Here's one that I actually own! This was such an oddball peripheral, when I saw it + the game on sale at Play-Asia a while ago, I bought it for a cheap price. It lets you slide the DS across a flat surface like a mouse to interact with the game. I actually haven't tried it yet.... it's all in Japanese, but when I have time....
So again, with all these peripherals for Nintendo consoles, all of them have one common factor: very few games support them. Perhaps the widest accepted one is Motion Plus which is now incorporated into all Wii remotes. But personally, I only have like maybe 2 games that need it.
Judging by this history, how will this "Slide Pad Expansion" be any different? Obviously, Monster Hunter 3G will support for sure. Right now it isn't even confirmed that game is coming to North America (I hope it does) but what else? If any third party developer wants to support the 2nd nub add-on, they'll also have to provide alternate controls for those 3DS owners who don't have/don't want/can't get the 2nd nub add-on. I bet even Monster Hunter 3G will have alternate controls to allow this.
Although this is the one peripheral I might say I want-- or feel that we as gamers have a need for-- the most, the track record for peripheral support isn't very good. It will be interesting to see if this one has more success than all the past ones.
Ok, Nintendo 3DS Blog first mentioned this a week or 2 ago, and now IGN actually mentioned it too... there's rumours that Nintendo are working on a 2nd analogue nub peripheral that will somehow attach to current 3DS systems, and that future 3DS's will have the nub built-in.
It sounds a bit crazy... but Nintendo can be crazy sometimes, can't they? My question is, how will a 2nd analogue nub attach to the 3DS? The 3DS doesn't have a data/USB port... so how would such an attachment communicate with the system? I've heard some talk that it could cover the XYAB (face) buttons.... the PSP has a few great shooters that use the face buttons for camera control: Resistance: Retribution, the Syphon Filter games & my faves, the Star Wars:Battlefront games. Closer to Nintendo, the DS game MechAssault: Phantom War also uses this control scheme.
But would we really need a nub to cover those buttons? I'm personally ok with just pressing the face buttons themselves.
Now that I think about it, a peripheral could possibly cover the touchscreen, and sort of jut out to the bottom right side for the analogue nub placement? It sounds nutty but.... I dunno. I can't see any other form of interface other than those 2 methods.
I photoshopped that image above a while ago, I was planning on doing a rant about the lack of a 2nd analogue nub on the 3DS. It was the single biggest mistake Sony made with the PSP, and Nintendo did it again with the 3DS. Sure it's a different company, but how could they miss all the hostility toward the PSP for not having a 2nd nub??
But now... while I do think that having a 2nd nub is better than not having it... it is not simply a matter of "if you build it, they will come". Third party game developers are incredibly lazy-- they do NOT want any deviation from the status quo. Any add-on peripheral, whether it's Motion Plus, the Wii Balance Board, or Wii Zapper/Wii Wheel... third parties do NOT want to develop for them because there's no guarantee that the majority of console owners will have these peripherals.
So while a 2nd nub would enhance some games, just because Nintendo decides to retro-fit one in to the 3DS, will that spur third party devs to create games that cater to it???
I picked up the Creative D100 Bluetooth speakers today at Staples for $39.99... it was also that price during a Dell.ca sale a couple months back... I wasn't ready to part with the $$$ back then but when I heard about it being on sale at Staples, I couldn't resist again and took a bite.
CNET has a video overview of it:
The front has the appearance of one "uni-speaker" and in the center is the Bluetooth button, a light (blue when connected, green when not connected) and 2 buttons to control volume.
A closeup of the buttons (sorry for blurry picture)
The back has a hole that could be used as a handle maybe (if you have small hands)... I think it's for the sound quality? There's also an AUX port for wired audio in, but you *can't* increase the volume for that on the speakers, you can only do it from the source device. Also AC adapter port and ON/OFF switch.
No, I didn't peel the plastic off the back yet... yes, I'm one of THOSE types of people.... my Neuros Recorder II+ still has the plastic on it, 3 years later.....
On the bottom there's a panel for 4 AA batteries. The speaker looks like it would be really light & cheap feeling, but it has a surprising sense of weight to it; it's not too heavy, but won't easily tip forward or anything. There are also 4 rubber feet on the bottom for grip.
The sound quality is very good. My favourite earbuds are the Creative EP-610s, so I knew that the sound would be good. The speakers are a nice compact size, not overly small but still easy to lug around especially when using battery power.
I paired it with all 3 of my bluetooth devices: HTC Legend, PSPgo, and Toshiba NB-205 netbook. Initial pairing was easy. The BIG problem is switching between the devices. The manual says that you hold down the CONNECT button for 1 second, the light is supposed to blink then go solid blue, and then you can reconnect to another previously paired device. However, I can NOT get it to blink & go solid blue, thus, it WILL NOT reconnect..... it's very annoying.
I plan to use it mostly with my HTC Legend, so I will try to keep the multiple device use to a minimum. BUT AGAIN... when I disconnect from my HTC Legend and come back to it later, I need to manually go into my BLUETOOTH SETTINGS on my phone, and hit CONNECT. Both of my other Bluetooth headphones connect AUTOMATICALLY with my HTC Legend when I turn on the Bluetooth. So it's not as smooth a process.
UPDATE... after a day of using it, I ended up resetting it to factory default & pairing all my devices with it again. And now it does seem to switch between devices as advertised... just have to give it about 20 seconds to connect. That's one of the problems with Bluetooth-- depite being a "standard", every system seems to have its own quirks: some you have to turn on one first, then the other device-- or vice-versa. Just a matter of understanding the Creative D100's idiosyncrasies...
Pros:
sound quality is good if a little bass-heavy.
Battery life is rated at 25 hours(?) for 4 x AA. If true, that's impressive.
Small & portable though not too small.
Easy to pair devices (if not as easy to switch between them)
Cons:
Power switch is on the back. Would have been easier to access on the front as all the other buttons are there, especially if you have this placed on a recessed shelf.
Front is just fabric "speaker cover material" which feels like it could puncture easily.
No low battery meter.
Casing is a rough matte finish-which is good- but somehow, it STILL manages to be a massive fingerprint magnet! How does that work?
The cons are fairly minor ones, with the power switch placement being my biggest gripe. Also, it could use a proper handle, that would have been nice. But so far this is a pretty sweet Bluetooth speaker if one is looking for that sort of thing.
One of the things I love to do with my HTC Legend android smartphone is watch video.... same with my PSPgo. And one of the big frustrations with doing so on either of those devices is trying to prop it up when I want to go hands-free.
So I was scouring the web back in late December 2010 & came across these mobile phone stands at DealExtreme. They come in packs of 2, I ordered 2 packs (4 total) and keep them around the house & in pocket so I always have one at arms length when I need it.
They're a very simple design, made of thin metal but very light & easily strong enough to hold a small gadget like a phone. I was using my homemade paperclip stands, but the good thing about these sandi stands is they're easy to pocket, which I can't do with the bent-up paperclip ones. When I'm at Tim Horton's or wherever, I can whip it out as I need it & pack it away quick & easy.
Each stand comes with 2 rubber pads with adhesive bottoms, but they don't explain where exactly they're supposed to be placed. I'm not sure if it's visible from my pics but I tried to put them where the device would meet the metal so it doesn't touch it & scratch them. But I needed 3 pads and they only come with 2, so I cut the big one into 2 pieces (very easy to do so) and that worked great. For the 2 that I already stuck the pads to before realizing I could've cut them, I used electricians tape as a very light third pad.
The stand is just a shaped strip of metal, I think anodized aluminum, not sure about that. And there's a cute devilish face with one fang pattern cutout in the metal. Reminds me of a Jack-O-Lantern.
These stands work awesome with my HTC Legend, the angle is great for me. They're best for looking down on a table rather than propping a device level with the eye; basically they angle the viewing angle upward.
The PSPgo is a bit of a different story. It will only fit it when the PSPgo is open. If it's closed it will not fit on the stand.
These stands are great if the device is small. Though oddly enough, my 8.5"x 6" Aluratek Cinepal media player fits on the stand-- precariously. Seems strange that a big PMP player like that fits but my PSPgo (when closed) is too thick? Very weird. But yeah, these stands are really only good for SMALL devices like a phone, iPod touch, etc. Regular-sized PSPs, PSP-2000/3000 and sure as hell not PSP-1000 series... will NOT fit on these stands.
I ordered these from DealExtreme, but I wouldn't advise ordering from them anymore. They took a LONG time to ship these to me. I think 2 months..... I saw the same ones at Focalprice for less and I've had a good past experience with them so if I had to order more I'd probably get them from there.
So why do they have "sandi" written on them anyway? I have no idea. I thought if I found the lettering too distracting I'd just rub it off, but I actually don't mind.
Yeaahhh.... ordered on Monday, shows up on Thursday! I love how fast Nintendo Canada sends me stuff!
True to Nintendo form, it came in a very basic package-- just the pouch in a clear plastic bag, but with one addition: a little thank-you note from Club Nintendo:
It says, "THANK YOU for your feedback! We hope you enjoy your Club Nintendo reward. Your valuable input helps us create new opportunities to bring smiles to our fans."
The pouch is a bit big compared to my DS Lite, but it's not freakishly so.
This is what it looks like with my DS Lite inside:
The pouch is reversible. As can be seen in the pics, the red side has a little 8-bit Mario and the word "Nintendo" on a patch that is stitched onto the pouch. The inside is a beige-ish colour that has the "Club Nintendo" logo printed on the corner. I think the Club Nintendo logo actually looks a bit better than the Mario one...
Both sides feel very velvety & soft. It's simple but this is what a gadget pouch should feel like. I can't wait to put my 3DS in this thing.
Wooo... a few months ago I was cleaning up around the house, sorting among other things my games stuff, like Gameboy Advance cartridges & PSP UMD games paraphernalia that was laying around.... and some of that was a bunch of Club Nintendo game registration codes.
So last week I pulled some of those out of the drawer and entered them into my account. Yesterday I went back into my account to fill out some followup surveys for those games I registered (had to wait 7 days) so I could get some more Club Nintendo coins. And yesterday I had enough to get the pouch they're offering!
250 coins for it. I ordered the red, and it's reversible. I ordered it to go with my upcoming Nintendo 3DS that I'll need a pouch/case for since I don't think it comes with one... it does come with a charging stand though......
The only thing about this pouch is that it says it's for the DS Lite, DSi, DSiXL..... DSiXL? The pouch must be big if it fits that thing. I think the pouch dimensions are listed as 8" x 5"... so that does seem rather large. I'd prefer it be more sized to go with my upcoming 3DS, which from what I can tell will be about the same size as the DS Lite. Sure, that means I could probably use a DS Lite case for it... but at least this one's free. And kinda snazzy.
I really like my PSPgo PSP-N270 Bluetooth headphone remote, it's good quality and compatible with all my BT devices, but it still needs a wired set of headphones. Sure, they don't have to be tethered to the device but they're still tethered to the remote... and they get in the way sometimes. I've been looking for a true wireless BT headphone solution for some time.
I saw the HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones[listing at The Source] on sale at The Source... I tried to research them to see if there was any review information out there but all I could find was Marc Saltzmans' Youtube video (which I will post at the end of this review).... apparently The Source has a no-return policy on headphones, so I ended up taking a chance-- plopped down my $39-something (including tax) to try them out and give a review!
What's in the box:
Headphones
proprietary power adapter-to-USB cable
2 sets of rubber in-ear bud thingies
instruction foldout
nylon carrying pouch which feels really gross & smells funny
Product specifications (from the instruction foldout):
Bluetooth V2.1+EDR
Support profiles: Headset, Handsfree, A2DP, AVRCP
Operative range: Class 2, 10 metres (approx. 30 feet)
Battery: 170 mA rechargeable lithium
Talk time: up to 9 hrs
Music time: up to 8 hrs
Standby time: up to 16 days
They have a really small form factor. They fold up nicely, I could see these being very pocketable and in that respect even more convenient than my PSPgo bluetooth remote... I usually clip that to my shirt and wrap the headphone cord around my neck. With these, just take them off & slip them in my pocket.
The yellow stripe separates the 2 parts of the "cup". The outer side has a bit of a soft rubber feel which is comfortable when touching, say, while operating the controls or whatever. The inside of the cup that faces your head is hard plastic, but it doesn't actually touch your ears so it doesn't affect comfort.
I thought the band that connects the ear pieces was just a regular cable, but it's not-- it's a stiff flexible band that pulls the ear pieces toward your head keeping them in your ears. This is the direction of the pressure when it's stretched as if wearing it:
Despite that squeezing, it's fairly comfortable and feels very secure on the head.
As mentioned, the HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones come with 2 sets of (medium & large size) rubber in-ear buds that you place over the actual headphone speakers:
They are soft rubber, but they kinda stab into your ear canal... like if you take a single sheet of paper, it's soft & flexible, right? But if you roll it up into a tube and push the end against something, it's quite rigid. That's sort of how the tube part of the buds feel.
Even though the rubber buds do a fairly ok-to-good job of outside noise isolation, for some reason the audio quality through the headphones is not as good.... it is amplified though.
So I've been using these foam covers I got from the Dollar Store years ago, for my PSP-1001(!) headphones.
They feel a lot more comfortable, the audio quality seems a bit better but there is no outside noise isolation.
I like the stylish control buttons, they kinda remind me of the Sony Walkman logo...
The buttons are easy to press, and are very clicky. In fact, they are a bit too clicky-- it's good that they are tactile enough to know you pressed them without being able to see them, but as they're right up against your ears, the clicking of the button presses is quite loud. There's also a lot of travel to them-- as in you have to press down on them quite a bit to register a press-- so you can't just press them with an index finger alone, you need your thumb to pinch the headphone cup when you press a button.
The bluetooth light flashes very infrequently, it seems like every 10 seconds or so. I suppose that's good for those that don't necessarily want to be a big flashing beacon while walking down the street or whatever. The instructions say that when the battery is low, it will flash red once every 15 seconds... once every 15 seconds??? Like who's gonna even notice that?? Not that you can even see the light while wearing them... so it may be difficult to tell when the battery runs out before it's too late.
Hold down the POWER/PLAY/PAUSE button for 4 seconds to turn the headphones on/off. Hold it for 7 seconds to pair the headphones with a device. I've paired them with all 3 of my BT devices: my Toshiba NB-205 netbook, Sony PSPgo, and my HTC Legend Android smartphone.
The right side has a port for a proprietary power adapter-to-USB cable. There's no wall adapter, you can only charge via USB out of the box. I suppose I may need to get a USB wall adapter some time, but for now I'm using my PC to charge it. And don't lose that proprietary cable... or uh-oh!
The power port on the headphones has a flimsy rubber stopper to cover it, but it never seems to stay in. I also think it will break off after a short time. It feels cheap.
Connecting the HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones to my devices was fairly easy. I did have a bit of a hiccup when first pairing it to my HTC Legend, which is odd because it's the easiest of my devices to deal with bluetooth headphones-- the PSPgo remote had no trouble pairing with it. But it wasn't a big deal at all and eventually the HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones paired with it fine. The only issue I have now is the PLAY/PAUSE button doesn't work with the HTC Legend-- it worked ONCE, but since then it doesn't seem to any more. Odd.
I paired the headphones to my PSPgo, and all the button functions work well with it. Had no problems pairing it. Of course the PLAY/PAUSE and TRACK+/- buttons don't work in SensMe, but I think that's more a problem on the PSPgo end as the other remote has the same issue.
And when I need to re-connect the HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones to my PSPgo after using it with another device like my phone, when I connect it it gives me this error:
But it still connects. Go figure. I have similar/worse problems with the PSPgo BT remote after using it with other devices also, so I also chalk it up to another PSPgo BT issue rather than the headphones.
I haven't used the MIC on the HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones yet, so I can't comment on the quality of it or the phone functions. In his video, Marc Saltzman says something like "there's a MIC, but these are primarily headphones" which sounds like the MIC is probably nothing to write home about. Still, with it's placement it might be better than the PSPgo remote's MIC.... I haven't used that one either but I can't see it as being very effective. At least this one is close to your face.
So the sound quality of the HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones.
Unfortunately, sound quality is mediocre.
They don't sound BAD necessarily, but I've been rocking my Creative EP-630 earbuds on my PSPgo Bluetooth remote, and those sound really good. They are my favourite earbuds, I have 2 pairs of them. Maybe I am spoiled since I rarely use average sounding earbuds anymore.
The audio from the HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones is a bit muffled. Yes, bluetooth audio in general is not as good as through regular cables, but I'd say the PSPgo Bluetooth remote audio has better fidelity... but it also have a bit of background hiss, like Sony's Mega-Bass system used to. The HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones don't have any hiss at least. And using foam covers rather than the supplied rubber ear buds slightly improves the audio quality.... but again, at the cost of lack of noise isolation that the rubber buds provide.
The range is advertised as 10 metres, about 30 feet. With my PSPgo, I find that the HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones do work at that range (with a some audio cut outs) but with my HTC Legend, the range is much much shorter. I'm not sure why, because my PSPgo remote also has the same range and it's the same with both the PSPgo and the HTC Legend.
I bought the HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones on sale for like $34.99... apparently their regular price is $70.00? $70.00 is way too much for these, but if you're looking for some affordable bluetooth headphones in the under-$50.00 range, there's not much selection in Canada. In the U.S. they seem to have much more choice like from Amazon.com or wherever, but here in Canada I've rarely (maybe never) seen bluetooth headphones for $35.00. Don't expect too much from them, but they're compact, easy to use, fairly comfortable (when using foam covers) and work as advertised.
If you only need one bluetooth headphone device, I might the PSPgo remote over these because it's pretty good and works surprisingly well with other devices like my HTC Legend... though I haven't tried it with an iPhone/iPod touch and can't guarantee it'll work with all devices. But for a budget set of bluetooth headphones, this isn't bad... not that we in Canada have much choice.
Marc Saltzman's HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones video overview :
