Subjekt gives us a chance to review their very stylish Pulse Bluetooth Headphones. Does the quality live up to the style? Read on to find out.

Hardware

When you first pull out the Pulse headphones you will immediately notice the solid build quality they have. The headband is made of plastic but it’s a thick and solid plastic that feels study and slightly flexible. Each earpiece is shaped like a square which gives it a unique look and feel and can extend out which shows that inside the plastic there is a nice metal band.  The controls are on the right of the headphones and the overall look of the headphone give it nice space look and looks like something out of an early version of Star Trek.  Good hardware build from Subjekt.

Usage

Bluetooth connectivity was easy with no issues. The controls on the side allow you to do basic music functionality with skipping between tracks back and forth and turn the volume up and down. You currently can’t rewind or fast forward with the controls on the headphones. The track skipping currently doesn’t work with Apple products but will work with Android devices and works with my Cowon S9.

The audio quality sounds good for local content on the device. I did notice when going though Slacker for stream the audio volume level went down noticeably. You can use these headphones for making calls and you will see in the video with Thunder E the quality is good but sometimes it can sound as if its being enhanced too much and can come off loud on the other side.

Overall

Subjekt put together here a good pair of Bluetooth Headphones for those looking to cut the wires with their mobile devices.  Their comfortable and stylish and can work on everything from your iPhone/iPod to Android device to even your laptop.  At the mid price range that this is in. it’s a good buy.

Buy your Subjekt Pulse Bluetooth Headphones from

Amazon.com

Click the Picture to grab from Newegg.com

www.subjekt.com

BWOne.com is back in action and we have a brand new review and its the Zune HD. Microsoft has decided to take on Apple head on against the iPod dominance and the Zune HD focused against the iPod Touch.

The Zune HD is the latest portable media player from Microsoft in their Zune lineup. Its the first touch screen portable media player in the Zune HD lineup and packs some great features.:

• Mutli-Touch screen
• OLED Screen
• Nvidia Tegra Processor
• HD Playback up to 720p (With external docking station)
• Wi-FI
• Browser
• HD Radio
• Apps

With that list of specs you expect either great player or a hot mess and this is isn’t just a great player. Its an Awesome player. Starting with the size and the looks of the Zune HD which are great and feel good in the hand. The screen is solid and looks awesome which is on par and somewhat better than the Cowon S9 AMOLED screen. The menus system works great and is a refreshing and different interface than from the iPod which most people are used to so there will be a small learning curve but not much as its simple to navigate. The Audio quality is great and every sounds clear and crisp when playing music and videos.  There is a EQ on the Zune HD but its far below and lacking in customization that the Cowon S9 EQ settings have. Hopefully they will step it up in this department but it shouldn’t be  dealbreaker.

The Zune HD matches the iPod in every category with the exception of two which would be Apps and Browser.  The browser is a very good first start for the device but isn’t as good and featured as Safari on the iPod Touch or other mobile browsers but this should pick up with updates. There are some free available right now in the Zune Marketplace but its limited to about 8 or 9 right now and since the SDK for the Zune HD was released the same day it came out its going to take some time before we start seeing more apps. However the apps and games should be good as Microsoft has approached iPhone/iPod developers for porting their apps to Zune and Xbox live games can be ported over as well. The Zune desktop software is probably the best media player I have ever used. Its quick, simple, beautiful and has iTunes beat hands down.  With the Zune Pass which for $15/month you can download and stream all the media in the store and get to keep 10 songs free with no DRM. This is great for those that love music and want to get as much as that can and always have their player full.

That’s just a small list of features the Zune HD has and with the combination of Zune Desktop Software which is amazing and Zune Pass it makes it a complete portable media package. I believe this is a great competitor to the iPod and if your in the market for a new portable player check out the video review.

The 2.30 firmware of the Cowon S9 is now final you can check my review of the beta which goes over most of the features and also be sure to download it and check my video on how to update your S9. All this is on the S9 Page here.

Download the S9 2.30 firmware

Part 2 of my review of the Cowon S9. Includes new 2.30b firmware.  Also be sure to check out the Cowon S9 section as well.

Available on Amazon.com is the 32GB version of the Cowon S9. Which should mean its not too long before it appears on the Jet mall.net website where Cowon sells its products directly.  With a $299.99 price point its definitely a worthwhile purchase for 32GB of pure PMP goodness.

via Amazon.com

Cowon has released its latest firmware 2.10 which touts improvements to the experience optional widget interface, Divx3 support, new landscape functions in movie mode and wallpaper background options to list a few

I have been playing with the beta and will hope to give you a review of the latest firmware.  Read on for list of changes and if you need any help on how to update your firmware please check out the the Cowon S9  by clicking here on how to update your Cowon S9 and the link to the update.

image via Cowon

List of improvements

New features

• Added a feature of subtitle synchronization in Movie mode.
• Added GUI buttons in Movie mode (subtitle synchronization, playback speed control, and JetEffect).
• Support DivX3 codec in Movie mode.
• Added to slide album art images when you tap screen toward right or left, even if the files don’t have album art in vertical Music mode.
• Added pitch correction for playback speed control in Music mode.
  Support Audible.

Improvements

• Improved battery life when high resolution (over 480*272) files are played in Movie mode.
• Continuous Playback hour is depends on files but it is improved up to 75%.(ex> 6hours -> 10 hours 30 minutes)
• Improved Widget GUI.
• Fixed the error that some image color was discolored in Picture mode.
• Fixed an exit button in calculator.

Update is here

The Cowon D2+ is the upgrade to the current D2 model line while it pretty much looks the same as the old D2 model. Specs for far are the same as the previous D2 model with the same outstanding 52 hours of battery life and such. A new user interface is expected (probably flash based like the Cowon S9) and new casing. 

Coming from my current D2 to the S9 I can’t see myself going back but i would recommend a D2 to anyone that is looking music specifically in their PMP. If you plan to use pictures or video often i would suggest the Cowon S9  for the lager AMOLED screen.

Link to Cowon S9 US Update Page

Review Part 1

Review Part 2

Review Part 3

Review Part 4

Gallery

Conclusion:

The HTC Touch Pro so far has been great for me.  The speed of the device is fine and is faster than the XV6800.  The screen is crisps and great to look at. Having full VGA resolution on it makes all menus and graphics stand out.

The addition of TouchFLO3D provide a great interface to help those that are new users to Windows Mobile find their way around a bit easier and introduce them to the Smartphone platform and it also works well for advanced users that are looking for a cool way to interact with the phone while still keeping their advanced settings and skills.

The Music Player that is included in TouchFLO3D makes using the phone as a MP3 player a good experience. Its much easier to use than the Windows Media Player mobile. I purchased an 8GB SD card to use for short trips and daily work travel. This however will no totally replace your MP3 Player as the battery life won’t be on the same level as a standalone MP3 player.  What this might do is push you more towards an portable media player(PMP) and replace your Music-Only player with this phone. But if you want more feature rich options such as a hi-res video and pictures you may want have a separate PMP player such as the Cowon S9.

The nice thing about the Verizon version is that there is not too many unnecessary preinstalled apps that can slow down the phone. Even though their Verizon of the Touch Pro comes with less Program Memory (192MB on Verizon versus about 288MB of Ram on the AT&T Fuze and Sprint Touch Pro) the phone runs smooth and application run without a problem. TouchFLO3D can take up more program memory when in use but also allows you to have to open less to access the same parts of the phone without TouchFLO3D. The phone does run however faster without TouchFLO3D enabled so if your all about quick speed on the phone you will want to disable it.

Pros:

• Hi-Resolution Screen
• Thick but light form factor with good in-hand feel
• TouchFLO3D
• Useful extra apps such as WorldCard Mobile and ClearVue Presentation
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
• Full QUERTY Keyboard
• Soon to be unlocked GPS from Verizon

Some Drawbacks:

• Battery Life with use of all features can be low but extended batteries are on their way soon
• Less Program memory than other versions of the phone
• Bit of a weird key arrangement with up arrow key between N and M key with can cause mistyping.

Overall:

This is a great phone and a perfect upgrade for those that are current XV6800 owner. For HTC device owners looking to upgrade the Touch Pro is the phone you have been waiting for with a great combination of features and power.  For new users TouchFLO3D does take some time to get used to but is a great way to introduce yourself into Windows Mobile.

Review Part 1

Part 2

How to Update Firmware on Cowon S9

Link to Cowon S9 US Update Page