Sony DR-BT 30Q

...newer model coming out or Sony ending the line, I don't know, but I took the plunge and bought one because they were advertised as being 70% off the RRP. Which is quite true, even now, they are being sold for only £13 delivered at play.com. Which is a bargain considering the technology used for these.

Packaging

They come very well packaged in a shrinkwrapped blistered plastic box, the same type that pretty much all ...
...pair it. I use a Sony Ericsson P990i. Set off the phone to search for devices to pair, and i turned on the earphones. The power button is located onto the right earphone, as are all the controls. I was able to pair it easily, there are only about 5 buttons on the earphones themselves.

Next, all I had to do was put them on. These earphones aren't like your convetional earphones. They are wireless, but also very compact. The two earphones ... more

I got this not so long ago because they went down big time in price for some reason, I think it may be due to a newer model coming out or Sony ending the line, I don't know, but I took the plunge and bought one because they were advertised as being 70% off the RRP. Which is quite true, even now, they are being sold for only £13 delivered at play.com. Which is a bargain considering the technology used for these.

Packaging

They come very well packaged in a shrinkwrapped blistered plastic box, the same type that pretty much all headphones come in. What you get are the earphones themselves, a charger, a warranty pamphlet thingy and the instruction manual.

Initial Impressions

They do look very snazzy indeed. The earphones have a mirror like blue finish on the outer shell, with foam padding. The ear clip thingies rotate about the joined axis but spring back to the "closed" position, probably to clip onto your ear. The charger is very small but the lead is very long, the cable is very thin and looks like it could be torn apart, but it hasn't yet.

Using the earphones
I've never been a person to read the instruction manual. Its not because "I'm a man and instruction manuals are for lesser people", its because i have used hundreds of technological products and have generally figured out how to use them. I also feel that this is a test of ease of use!

The earphones have a built in battery and need to be recharged before i can use it. Which is normal for any rechargable product. So I left it on overnight charge. Plugging it in and a nice blue led stays on, indicating that it is in charge.

The next day, it comes to actually using the product. First things first with all bluetooth products is to pair it. I use a Sony Ericsson P990i. Set off the phone to search for devices to pair, and i turned on the earphones. The power button is located onto the right earphone, as are all the controls. I was able to pair it easily, there are only about 5 buttons on the earphones themselves.

Next, all I had to do was put them on. These earphones aren't like your convetional earphones. They are wireless, but also very compact. The two earphones are held together with a retractable cord. Pull them apart extends them, and pressing the plate on the left earphone winds them together. A great innovation for storage. Putting them on does take some getting use to however, I found the easiest way was to pull back the clip all the way and then release it to curl around my ear lobe. I think i've got quite small ears so it takes quite a while to get them on sturdy and to stay on. At first, they seem to flop about, and shaking my head rattles the earphones like a cockerspaniel dog ears. But i've managed to have them on really stable now and they don't shake about at all.

The controls on the earphones include a forward/backward rocker, volume up and volume down button and the power button. All very straight forward and work first time and everytime to control the music player on my phone.

The sound quality is really good too, the "tighter" they are on your ears, the louder they are of course. They're very good quality too, what you expect from sony really. Not as wholesome as in ear earphones but they do the business.

When you get a phonecall, the earphones cut in leaving you the option to answer it or not. The sound quality is very good in call and the person on the receiving end has no problems hearing me either! You can use these earphones just like any other bluetooth headset. Very useful indeed. So yes, you can make voice activiated commands and calls etc.

*Overall*

I really like these earphones. They look the business and do the job. If you're a music nut like me, they go very well with music phones, being able to control the music by "touching your ear" and making and taking phonecalls without having to detatch yourself is very good. The battery life is good, i can get about 2 days of on and off use, as expected if the bluetooth is constantly on. For the amount they're going for, a massive bargain to be had. 

...less