Am I being dumb?
how am I supposed to drive the touch screen while I'm wearing these cans?
OK, coping with volume controls might be possible, but searching through tracks?
Being able to stare into your own ear isn't a normal human characteristic.
Android-powered touchscreen Wi-Fi headphones offered
With approximately 106 headphone manufacturers battling for mindspace in the marketplace, Nox Audio has come up with a gimmick that hooked our jaded eyes and ears: headphones that run Android. "The Admiral is a product like no other," said Julie Ma, Nox Audio's president, in a press release promising that her hefty cans will " …
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Re stare into your ear
I'm sure, there's an app for that too. Alternatively, use a head-mounted mirror system.
how am I supposed to drive the touch screen while I'm being fried
Fixed that for ya
There is _NO_ _WAY_ _IN_ _HELL_ I am going to wear a WiFi streaming device on my head. What's next? Stick head into microwave?
Maybe this is their thinking
http://www.dpjs.co.uk/litanies/chopsticks.html
Oh, good
I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed that.
On a more serious note, this is the illogical conclusion of the trend toward merging all devices into one. All it needs now is an internal GSM aerial (actually, of course, external might be feasible here) and a mike, and you have an all-in-one device: headphones, MP3s, WiFi chat, and an Android smartphone.
Of course, as noted, it's hard to see the screen when it is on your ear, and I don't fancy the idea of showing the world who is calling me, etc.
If you ask me, it's just a (misguided, duh) way of jumping on the "see, we use Android" bandwagon.
You're not dumb, it's an ergonomic mess.
Maybe if they had a 'controller application' that ran on an Android phone, it could use Bluetooth to control the headphones. The possibilities are endless.
I want to know how they deliver 7.1 surround sound with only two audio sources. :)
Car use
You're not thinking clearly enough - they must be being made for the car commute...
You know... you can look into the rear view mirror and use the reflection to see what you're doing.
At least that's how most women (sexist I know - sorry) driving in the morning seem to be doing whilst applying their makeup. So it can't be that tricky to implement?
Absolutely...
...unless they're assuming that we're all drawn by Picasso or something. Seriously, why would anyone think this is a good idea?
Er, 7.1? In cans?
Last time I counted, I had 10 ears, but only in binary.
Let's have one sounder that's properly positioned to couple efficiently to the ear please. We could call it, oh, stereo.
p.s. where's the central bass driver fit?
You only need 8 ears for 7.1 surely?
Seven for the speakers and one for the sub.
That said, the 'phones do not look terribly well designed to meet the ergonomic needs of the eight eared consumer. Whilst I imagine this to be a fairly niche market there is no excuse for shoddy design....
I refuse to enoble a simple forum post....
Actually, I have a pair of 5.1 surround headphones that I use for online gaming (they have a boom mic as well) and you can hear the different speakers quite clearly when you fiddle with the controls; of course, when they're set up correctly, you just just get one enveloping sound.
so Its not such a big leap to find a pair of 'phones that have 7.1 in them.
I do agree about the rest of the stuff re touch screen but a bluetooth control pad you wear around your neck would solve that problem. Or even a wired controller.
And having a single device to listen to anything no matter what its source? doesn't seem like such a bad idea to me.
Like all prototypes it needs a bit of refinement but I think the fundamental idea is sound.
Medusas?
"Actually, I have a pair of 5.1 surround headphones that I use for online gaming (they have a boom mic as well)"
Are those Speedlink Medusas by any chance? Superb just-above-budget headphones.
I refuse to enoble a simple forum post....
yes indeedy!
I was slightly sceptical about them but a couple of my clan mates had them and were raving about them so I took the plunge and jolly pleased with them I am too.
comfortable to wear for hours on end and excellent sound quality, in gamers terms.
I concur
I liked my Gamer editions so much I took them to the office and bought a new set of Home editions for..well...home. Now I don't just ignore everyone around me*, I ignore them in 5.1. :-D
*Little dig at Mr Tut, there
no no, you misunderstand
this is for those of us that have our eyes out on stalks
re:Am I being dumb
Yes !
think about it, the product will be delivered with two mirrors of course ! silly you :D
@Dazed and Confused
surely it's as easy as standing in front of a mirror and holding a hand-mirror at an angle: hey presto, you can see the screen on your ear.
Much bigger worry is that anyone else might see you with one of these on and think that you look a right twit.
With the non-optional HUD glasses, silly - Duh!
There will be a small camera mounted on a stalk that will cover the screen on one ear, and you'll wear glasses with a repeater display.
Simples!
And the best bit? totally unobtrusive (if Apple were selling them they would be magical and revolutionary of course - and bit like a Stirling engine) you would just look so cool!
:-)
Spotify
These would be awesome with spotify and an 8gb card in them.
That slapping noise to be heard in Cupertino is ...
Jobs expressing his frustration for not having thought of these first.
He could have called them the iCans.
I expect...
that if they're successful there'll be a fruit-themed version on the market soon enough accompanied by a statement that they've 'invented' a 'revolutionary and magical' new headphone product.
Legal threat probably on the way to you now JaitcH for suggesting an iProduct name in a non-jobsian-approved situation.
Standard issue -- Would be good in public transport!
Finally, you can just switch off the annoying music without having to dig up the other person's PMP
A flaw in your theory
The reason you can hear the other person's shitty repetitive RnB cover of a better song from 30 years ago is that the sound isn't contained in their shitty headphones. (These are normally, in my experience, shitty *white* headphones...)
I've never got why, but 95% of people will go spend hundreds on an iPod because the tellybox told them to, then use the crappy headphones that came in the box. So those guys won't buy this, and you won't be able to turn off their shit.
(Android handset + jabra halo + liveview) > this
I love my Jabra Halo bluetooth headphones which play music over A2DP from my droid, they're the best.
I've been thinking about chucking a Sony-Ericsson LiveView bluetooth wristwatch into the mix so that I could (potentially) control my music from my wrist, without having to take my phone out of my pocket or hold on to anything.
I think that's a much more elegant solution than putting the whole thing on your head where you can't even see the screen, and when the first android wristwatch phones come out, even better as you wouldn't even need the brick in your pocket.
Been waiting
...for a set of headphones with built in mp3 player (and removable storage). (No wires!) But a touch screen interface is a royally stupid idea, as others here have pointed out. I would want to be able to control the whole thing using only tactile feedback (i.e. fingertip control), so I can keep the damn things on and keep my eyes on the road/tv/legs of the girl on the escalator while I skip around my music.
Why is the tech industry obsessed with graphic displays? We have at least 4 other perfectly good senses (or 11 more, if you follow Rudolf Steiner). It's like the ipod you now have to take out of your pocket and look at, in order to operate it.
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