beer planet

When I was working in Radioshack 8 years ago, I remember selling the newest craze: gigantic wireless headphones that were awkward and bulky as shit. The only thing you could do with them is pose as the Verizon guy, running around screaming "can you hear me now?" If you stood at the wrong angle to the receiver, the signal cut out, or even worse, terrible interference turned the most patient people into fiery monsters. I suppose the quality and size of wireless headphones improved over time but they're still unusable in real life because they're completely immobile.

Recently Logitech released a bunch of semi-compromises, like these FreePulse loop-around headphones with a questionable rating and not so flattering reviews, mostly due to crappy sound and fit.

So what's next? Today, while watching Definitely Maybe (I swear, not my idea!), I saw Ryan Reynolds wear wireless in-ear buds, listening to his MP3s. After doing a bit of research, I found that wireless buds actually exist! They're not cheap at all, and if you have a weak heart, move away from the screen and close the browser now.

#1. Enter Sennheiser MX W1 at a whopping $600. I'm not confident these are the same ones Ryan was wearing, but they look quite nice and promising - they use the same technology as the ones in this Wired review from CES 2007. You can preorder the MX W1s on Amazon for $549. I'm not going to go into technical specs, which are pure marketing bullshit at this point but feel free to check out the links for youself.

#2, in even more of a concept stage: Plantronics Versa. The looks are OK but the availability is far from reality, it seems.

So there you have it - our future is wireless, small, and shiny. I'm still unsure what Ryan had in his ears though, if anyone finds out, be sure to share. If there's an even cooler pair of wireless buds that I missed, definitely leave a comment.