Jaybird SB2 Sportsband Bluetooth Headphones

In the past I've written about a number of things that make running easier and more fun (RunKeeper and ArmPocket SPORT i-20).  Today I will share my review of the Jaybird SB2 Bluetooth Headphones.  I got these last year after doing a fair bit of research on different options.  Previously, I had used a pair of wired sport earbuds, which often needed to be adjusted while running because the combination of the movement & sweat would shift them around.  Every now and then one of the wires would swing around and get stuck in my ponytail or hands, and sometimes even cause the earbud to fall out entirely.  Not to mention that the little space above my ears was getting mighty crowded, what with the sport earbud hooks, my sunglasses, and my cap!  Having a set of Bluetooth headphones seemed like a great way to deal with the problem of wires getting tangled while running, but since they are not exactly cheap, I wanted a set that were designed for fitness, that were likely to last even when getting a bit sweaty from time to time, and of course, they had to be stylin' as well!

The Jaybird SB2 Sportsband is all of these things, and then some.  With a LIFETIME sweat-proof warranty, I felt confident that they would withstand the rigours of a good workout.  They come in 9 different colours, each of them nicer than the last (I opted for the Runner's Red).  The controls are easy to operate as they are just silicone covered buttons over the right ear.  The top two control the tracks (next/previous) and the bottom two control the volume (up/down).  The center button turns the earphones on/off, and allow you to enter voice control mode on your iPhone.  The headphones expand to fit a range of head sizes but fit comfortably and don't require adjusting while exercising.  I use the smallest setting, but I know a couple of guys that have them and they just expand to fit perfectly.  They even fit nicely over my running ball cap.  They come with two spare pairs of foam earpiece covers, so you can swap them out while one set dries... or you can just save them as backup pairs for when your current pair wears out.  The audio quality is excellent on these headphones, which is important when you need your RunKeeper audio coaching prompts to come across clearly.

One thing I noticed is that the earpiece has little mesh fabric covers, presumably to help keep moisture out.  I only have one of these covers left as it has come detached from the earpiece itself (probably came off inside one of the foam pads at some point...).  It doesn't seem to interfere with the audio at all, and now I just make a point of removing the foam pads after exercising so that the moisture doesn't stay in contact with the earpieces.  My husband also has a pair of these headphones, and he loves his as much as I love mine.  He actually did have a situation where the battery stopped holding a charge (they charge using a simple USB cord) and he worked with the vendor to get a replacement pair, as the problem was covered under their lifetime sweat-proof warranty.  The replacement pair came fast and without any hassle, we were very pleased.

If you want to learn more about the Jaybird SB2 Sportsband Bluetooth Headphones, go check out the information and selection on their website at http://www.jaybirdgear.com/sb2/.  They sell for less than $100 at various online retailers.

Review: Skype

I've been using Skype on and off for years now, first for computer to computer audio, then computer to land line audio, and more recently, computer to computer video chat - now that my parents are on high speed internet, it makes sharing parts of our life much easier, and they get to "see" the kids more without having to make the long drive up to visit.  So when my husband told me that Skype is having a sale on paid subscriptions (half-price on all Premium subscriptions til end of July, or 15% off 12 month subscriptions of regular service), I did the math and realized that the cost of two months of our current long distance plan costs could pay for an entire year of unlimited calls to anywhere in Canada and the US.  We decided to give it a try.  We canceled our long distance services and signed up for 12 months of Skype.

Having Skype applications available both on our computers and our iPhones makes it easy and accessible, so I am not tethered to my computer screen to make a long distance call.  We have a wireless network in our house so I'm not using any of my data plan bandwidth when I make calls from home.  Even when making long distance calls away from home, it's still way cheaper to use Skype than it is to pay the long distance rates with the cell phone provider.

Now it's a bit early for a full review, since we just signed up yesterday, but I made two phone calls and had mixed success.  The first call was around noon, and the call quality was fantastic - my mom couldn't even tell I wasn't calling from a land line.  The next call was around 8pm, and it started out OK but about 10 minutes into the call, the audio connection failed - I could hear my dad, but he couldn't hear me.  Looking at the screen there was a message indicating my network quality was poor, but I couldn't tell why that would be, since my wifi connection had full signal strength, and my 3G connection was showing three out of four bars.  I called them back from my cell phone itself since I do have them in my "Fab Five".

I am hopeful that this was a one time issue, and honestly for the money I'm saving, a few glitches here and there are understandable.  You can use Skype free for computer to computer audio and video calls, or you can buy credits (pay-as-you-go) or a subscription to add the ability to call land lines as well.  Check out your options at http://www.skype.com/ and let me know your experiences with Skype in the comments.  Depending on how things go, I may post a follow-up review in a few months after having more time to evaluate the service.