Twitter: 1; Beats: 0
That is, according to Fletcher Babb of VentureBeat.
To be honest, I didn’t know about the new headphones until I read Babb’s article. Called “Convertible”, the headphones are made by Muzik, a startup backed by Twitter.
What’s the connection between a social media platform and headphones, you may ask.
No-brainer answer…
The more important question, I believe is how the Bluetooth Twitter headphones – Convertible – compare to others out there. We don’t even need to include Apple earbuds in the equation, but Beats, well okay.
While they have appeal to the some, audiophiles don’t exactly pay any attention. As Babbs says, “Beats offers a mutant, bass-distorted signal and a garbage build quality. In a pair of Beats headphones, 30 percent of the weight comes from four metal parts that only exist to add weight. Beats feel weighty and solid, but it’s a sham. They sound thunderous, but it’s nowhere near the original audio signal.”
From that, you can already imagine how easy it could be for Convertible to beat Beats.
But what’s interesting are the details Babbs shares about Convertible.
- 40mm drivers provide a “balanced, panoramic soundstage”
- the headband doesn’t cause that annoying feeling after hours of use
- the headphones use precision screws and not plastic, like Beats
- it’s “insanely flexible”
How insanely flexible exactly?
Perfect if your head is too big. (I meant that literally, of course. In the classic sense of the word.)
Another cool feature is that Convertible uses gestures for control.
Swipe and tap and you can change the volume, skip tracks, play and pause, and even bond with Siri.
It also has hotkeys, which are customizable. Just use the app to configure your preferred settings.
“Pair our headphones with the Muzik app and easily assign your Hot Keys. Want to discover what’s playing? Share a song from any music service? Share your moment in real time? This and much more will now happen instantly from your headphones.”
Of course, we come to the social aspect. You can use the headphones to share “what’s playing” on Facebook and Twitter. Other social sharing features are expected to be released as well.
How about this?
With a hotkey, you can tell Convertible to capture data such as Google Street View, your music, location, weather and time, which you can then share. “Moments” is what it’s called. Perfect for the “always have to be connected” person.
What I am looking forward to, however, is the other model, Muzik Sport.
Soon to come, Sport is perfect for walking or jogging and is compatible with all fitness apps that use standard heart rate protocol.
Convertible starts shipping in May with the price tag of $299, while Sport has no release date yet but is expected to cost $199.
Considering all of the above, Twitter seems to have made a good investment on Muzik, don’t you think?
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