Microsoft Is Jumping Onto the Wireless Earbud Bandwagon, Says Report (arstechnica.com) 38
According to a report by Brad Sams at Thurrott, Microsoft is going to expand its range of audio hardware with the introduction of a set of wireless earbuds. They will accompany the Surface Headphones, a premium-priced pair of wireless headphones that Microsoft released last year. Ars Technica reports: Microsoft has shipped earbuds before: the Zune media player came with earbuds with a feature that sounds simple but is actually ingenious: the earbuds were magnetic and would stick together back to back. The result? Much less cable tangling when you put them in your pocket or bag. Surface Headphones seem to be competitive with other noise-cancelling over-the-ear headphones: their wireless range is great, the noise cancelling is solid, and their volume and noise-cancelling dials are a joy to use, but their battery life and Bluetooth audio standard support are both weak. As such, Microsoft is not totally without experience in this area and has shown that it can engineer thoughtful, compelling designs. How the putative earbuds will stand out from the crowd remains to be seen, of course.
The existing Surface Headphones were codenamed Joplin, raising the question: Janis or Scott? The earbuds make the answer to that question clear; they're apparently codenamed Morrison, as in Jim, meaning that the over-the-ear headphones are clearly named for Janis. Sams says that "Surface Buds" has been mooted as their retail name, with a possible launch in 2019.
The existing Surface Headphones were codenamed Joplin, raising the question: Janis or Scott? The earbuds make the answer to that question clear; they're apparently codenamed Morrison, as in Jim, meaning that the over-the-ear headphones are clearly named for Janis. Sams says that "Surface Buds" has been mooted as their retail name, with a possible launch in 2019.
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"Plays for sure"
"For a limited time only"
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To be fair it's not as much copying as much as it is a bloody obvious idea. I mean what a gigantic leap of the imagination to go from bluetooth headsets to bluetooth other device that plays music in your ear. /s
You can hardly criticise companies for waiting for someone else to do market research for you. If Apple actually knew what the word meant they would call it courage. Others just call it common sense business since headphones are not devices that generally benefit from first mover advantages.
it is easy to stand out (Score:3)
Easy way to stand down (Score:3)
Just provide a convenient and cost-effective means of replacing the battery when it fails.
Except your concern is not even a thing for most people, so how would it stand out?
An AirPods user can just have Apple replace batteries when needed a few years down the road. Why make a product suck (which it would using any kind of common battery) for something you may need to do once every few years?
Or maybe they make some kind of super custom Microsoft battery. Honestly how is a user having to change out tiny supe
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They could standardise on an 18650 cell!
That would be perfect to hang from each ear...
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Please share a link to the survey that you are referring to.
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It isn't "a thing" with generic $30 bluetooth earphones with a wire between them and a control / battery hanging from the wire. They only have 8 hours of listening time, so I just use two sets and swap when the battery is dead. They usually live about a year before the batteries are annoyingly short-lived, and I don't feel terrible about throwing a $30 set of earphones away. That's the cost of cutting the cord.
But, it is a thing when the price is over $100 and they only have 5 hours of listening time when b
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Why is it so hard to understand that some of us *loathe* wires? One of the best things that's ever happened to me is wireless headphones, though I'm still plagued with a cable for my headphones at my desk. I catch wires on things as I walk around, routing the cable while I work out was always a pain, all of my headphone failures had to do with either the cable housing cracking from normal use, or the jack itself going on the fritz. My wired headphones haven't lasted any longer than my wireless ones—ab
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Just provide a convenient and cost-effective means of replacing the battery when it fails.
Look.We all want ponies and unicorns. And we may get them through careful genetic engineering and cloning. However a device that last (insert number that will never be enough for some people) hours, is completely wireless and fits inside your ear, while at the same time being the bestest quality ever is just the stuff of fantasy.
You want repairability? Go Samsung. Their earbuds use an off the shelf battery with a clip together design, and yet it still only gets a 6/10 from iFixIt due to the fact that you're
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He can even make amazing tunes [modarchive.org].
About time! (Score:5, Funny)
My Zune could use one.
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I own two really nice Microsoft Bluetooth mice.
Now that's a good practical use for Bluetooth.
hurray (Score:2)
Of course (Score:2)
Cool (Score:2)
I’d like the brown ones, please.
Earbuds? (Score:2)