mobile phone - Tag Archive

SD10 Bluetooth Stereo Headset – Review

21 Replies Christopher Roberts

Previously I have reviewed the Pocket Boom, a cool little device which can turn virtually any device into a speaker. Recently the same people asked if I wanted to review a SoundWear SD10 Bluetooth Stereo Headset, so here I go!

Please note, like with the Pocket Boom Review, all the opinions in this article are mine, and are completely honest – I am not being paid to write this review.

The SoundWear SD10 Bluetooth Stereo Headset is a device which provides wireless headphones, which can synchronise with almost any Bluetooth device. This means that when you are out and about, you can take calls, and listen to music, without the limits of wires.

SoundWear SD10 Bluetooth Headset in packaging

Ergonomics

The headset very cleverly folds away quite neatly, which does mean that they can fit into your pocket without much of a problem, meaning they are portable, like you need them to be.


SoundWear SD10 Bluetooth Headset folded away

The headphones when they are folded up would fit in your pocket

So, are the headphones comfortable to wear? My answer would be it depends who you are. I have tried them on, and I have got other members of the team and some of my friends to try them on, and the responses you get are mixed. Some people have no trouble whatsoever, the headset fits snugly onto their head, and are very comfortable to ware. Other people have tried them on, and they do fit, they are just a bit more awkward. Maybe that’s something you might want to consider – especially as they are not retractable/adjustable.

Ease of Use

Like with the Pocket Boom, if you don’t read the instructions, you aren’t going anywhere very fast! Read what the small A5 (ish) sheet of paper tells you, and things become pretty simple.

With some phones you need to fiddle with some settings either with Bluetooth, or on audio tracks to get them to work properly with calls and music, but it does work!

Sound Quality

Obviously one of the most important things with all headphones is the sound quality. You can get the most amazing headset, but if it has poor sound quality, then there is little point to it.

So what about the quality of the audio stream produced by the SD10 Bluetooth headset? Well it is actually very good! The headphones fit very snugly around your ears, reducing any noise interference, and the audio quality is very respectable.

Obviously noise cancelling headphones, or recording studio ones would be better, but the quality is very respectable, especially as it is coming from a wireless stream. For the average music listener, I don’t think there is any need to worry about poor sound quality.

Instructions

The headphones do come with instructions, which are clear, and just require a small amount of common sense and logic to use. They are helpful, but could contain a little more info – possibly room for an FAQ’s section.

The SoundWear SD10 Bluetooth Headset packaging, instructions USB cable and headphones

The headset, along with packaging, instructions and USB lead

Power

From what I have seen of the headset, it seems to last a reasonable amount of time between charges. You don’t start listening to a tune, and then a call comes in, by which time the headset has given up and is needing a charge. The battery life seems to be pretty good, so no need to worry about that.

The issue I have with power is the way you charge the headset – via USB. You can only charge it via USB, and there is no alternative, no batteries you can replace etc. This can be a little inconvenient, especially as it doesn’t come with a USB plug adaptor, but I am sure it will work okay with the one I use for my iPod, or the one I use for my camera. Don’t take my word for that, I wouldn’t want to blow your headset – if you have one or are getting one!

Value for Money?

Here comes the killer question: is the SoundWear SD10 Bluetooth Stereo Headset value for money? I try to evaluate every product I review using value for money, so it is a good test. The headset retails at £24.99, which is reasonable, but I think it depends what you need it for. If you are going to be making calls wireless and listening to music, go for it. If you just want to listen to music (like me) then I am not so sure. There are different headphones more suited to music listeners, but this set does give you the added bonus of being able to make calls.

SoundWear SD10 Bluetooth HeadphonesInterested in buying a set, or just want to read a bit more? Check out the SoundWear SD10 Bluetooth Stereo Headset on Mobile Fun’s website.

As I said at the beginning of the article, this product has been sent to Technology Bloggers to review. Our thanks to Mobile Fun who provided us with the headset.

Eight tips to consider before building a mobile websites

8 Replies Kevin Ashwe

With over 75 million Americans accessing the web through mobile phones, we can conclusively say that mobile web browsing has come to stay. comStore statistics recently reported that 50 million people in the United States have an Android, iPhone or a BlackBerry phone.

The Logo of BlackberryWhat these huge numbers clearly mean is that your business can not afford not to provide a mobile website for a convenient browsing experience for your customers. Mobile websites are starting to become a ‘must have’ for any kind of business today.

The rate at which people are accessing the web today throughout the world from their mobile phones is becoming increasingly clear that any business that wants to remain in business must leverage the opportunity of mobile browsing. It is easy, cheap and quick to do it today; in fact, some web design companies render this service for free. But before you decide modifying your existing website to make it compatible for mobile handsets, put these things right:

1. Page Size

It is important to assign a simple style for all mobile websites, the page size also small. Remember that 20KB is the maximum page size for all mobile friendly pages. If you can use less than 10KB making everything nicely fitted for any kind of phone, considering that users are charged per KB of mobile data you will be doing your business good.

2. Coding

There is actually no special coding required for mobile websites. Using XML or XHTML for your mobile friendly site is much easier and faster. Using basic HTML and CSS is also good. Carefully craft with target key words the filenames, title tags, heading tags and description meta tags to fully maximize the optimizable content present.

3. Content

There is actually no special way to arrange content for mobile websites. The rule is simply-all mobile websites should be readable and easy to navigate, since your visitors are on the go and may not want to waste time on something difficult to read or surf. As for the content typography, it is preferable to use headings to control the font size.

4. Images

Most mobile phones take longer time to load images. Use graphics and images as little as possible only where necessary, this will aid easy navigation for your mobile website users. Jpeg, gif or png are best formats for mobile images because they are very much light–weight. Compressing your pictures to avoid zooming is something you must not forget.

5. Layout

Mobile browsing is quite time consuming, so ensure you put all the most important information you want your mobile website users to see on the top of the page your company logo should be included as well. Left and right navigation should be minimized because it is difficult navigating with a phone.

A better option is to arrange all your content in a single column. Tables should not be used, but if necessary no more than 2 columns, rows and column merging should be avoided.

6. Page links

Back buttons and links are features of all good mobile websites. Providing them will help visitors escape dead ends, though, not all phones are designed with back buttons.

7. Domain Choice

Ensure to use a mobi domain which clearly indicates a mobile friendly experience instead of .edu, .com, .org etc, which generally stand for desktop browsing.

8. Test Run

Your mobile website should be tested on multiple devices. This will help you know if your site will provide a good mobile experience for users.

Should You Create a Mobile Version of Your Website?

8 Replies Jonathan

Chances are if you walk through your local town centre today, you’ll see somebody accessing the internet on their smart phone. It’s almost become a second nature.

Gone are the days of simple WAP access, people are now using their phones to browse their favourite websites and even shop online. In fact, it’s reported that netbook sales are down 40% so is this a sign that smartphones and tablets are overtaking PC’s as peoples preferred browsing method?

So should you create a mobile version of your website? In short, yes, and here’s some reasons why.

Mobile internet use is growing rapidly

According to some figures mobile internet access is now at 8.09% of all UK website traffic (up from 0.02% in 2009) so whether you like it or not, people are going to access your website from a mobile browser.

It’s not that difficult to create a mobile version

Of course it depends on how your website was built in the first place, but if it’s not archaic then usually incorporating what’s needed to make your website mobile friendly isn’t too difficult and doesn’t require starting from scratch.

Most websites don’t work well on mobiles

The fact is, the majority of websites don’t well on mobiles, in fact some of them are impossible to use, so it’s a great way to steal a competitive advantage and get in early ahead of others in your industry. That said, if you run WordPress or another blogging platform, there are plugins that can make your site ‘mobile friendly’.
Google's mobile website being used on an iPhone

Mobile users have different intent

When people use the internet on their phones, they usually have a different intent to a user sat at a PC. It’s usually on the move, and they don’t have much time, meaning they’re looking for something to solve a problem fast. If you do a quick search on mobile conversion rates for ecommerce you’ll find they’re very high. So if you design your site to cater for those needs you’re onto a winner.

It’s way more important than having an app

Since mobile apps became the latest novelty, many businesses have wasted good time and money on developing their own mobile application, of course these apps have their uses, but for the majority of businesses they are a waste of money and wallow at the bottom of the app store.

A mobile website doesn’t require separate development for Android, iPhone, Blackberry and doesn’t need promoting via an app store so is clearly a better choice for getting a return on investment.

Mobile browsing is still very new

Even though lot’s of people are browsing the internet via mobiles, it’s still a relatively new concept, and one that realistically can only every grow upwards due to how technology is advancing. Historically early adopters are the ones that reap the reward, so why wait till everyone else is a step ahead of you?

What about you?

How many of you have optimised your site for mobiles or considered it? Do you think it’s more important for blogs to or ecommerce sites to opimise for mobile? Or is it equally important for both?