Ears-on with Sony Ericsson MH907 Motion Activated Headphones
By Richard Lai 
posted Nov 4th 2009 11:25AM
posted Nov 4th 2009 11:25AM
What we have here today isn't just another pair of ordinary headphones: Sony Ericsson's MH907s are button-free, minimalistic headphones that activate upon the magical touch of your skin. Well, your ears to be precise. You must bear in mind that the MH907s are exclusive to Fast port-equipped Sony Ericsson phones thus excluding the forthcoming XPERIA X10 -- so chances are you're already not interested. That said, we shall see if Sony Ericsson is really going to change things forever with these gleaming buds featuring SE's SensMe Control technology, or by just stopping everyone from using their 3.5mm headphone jacks. Read on to find out how these €39 ($57) headphones fared.
First off we tried controlling music playback: we put in both earbuds and music started playing automagically, and similarly we took either side out to stop the music, which worked most of the time. We then tried some phone calls: to pick up an incoming call we just took out one earbud and put it back in, and to hang up we just yanked one out. This all seems very straight-forward but SensMe Control is a double-edged sword: there were times when we managed to accidentally pick up a call or resumed music playback by just touching the rubber caps, and likewise you can hang up by mistake if one earbud comes loose. Even if you master the art of avoiding this contact problem, you'll still be annoyed by frequent interruptions if your ears need the occasional itching -- although you might get used to things over time.
In terms of sound quality these are pretty good: plenty of bass and good clarity in the treble region. Compared to a pair of Apple in-ears -- which cost about twice as much -- the MH907s definitely give a better buck-per-performance ratio. R&B listeners who aren't picky about the minute details would love the stronger bass on it.
Wrap-up
Hmm..Now these seem kickass...AND affordable! Nice combo.
Proprietary plug...go to hell.
Awww wahhhhhh
Who cares that this is proprietary? The motion activated shit only works on SE phones anyways, whether it uses FastPort or 3.5mm.
Fuck this plug!!!! SPEAKERS ONLY NEED TWO WIRES.
I have a SE phone with the same plug and I HATE IT! If I forget to bring the adapter to plug my 3.5mm jack in, I can't listen to music. Seriously SE, stop it with the proprietary!
@NakedOldGuy
You listen in mono?
I know play/pause and answer/hangup controls can use 3.5mm but I'm not sure a normal 3.5mm jack can supply the current used for the capacitive magic.
a solution in search of a problem
Too bad it's proprietary and not 3.5mm. Win/fail. Sony Ericsson lagacy.
Proprietary sucks. Getting decent stuff (headphone, FM transmitter, etc) for my HTC Diamond has been a nightmare. It's definitely affected my next smart phone decision.
same thing with apple's stupid ipod cables and that dumb 30mm entry crap.
dumbest proprietary thing alive.
HTC proprietary hasn't really bothered me. I use bluetooth headphones so I'm not affected there, and when I get in my car I plug in one cable that charges my phone and plays my music. Proprietary isn't always bad, unless its per device.
It's to stop us Sony Ericsson phone owners from b&%$#ing about having to use an adapter with our headphones. :)
If it's one thing people love, it's another non-standard plug.
"Another"? Sony Ericsson has had their FastPort for years and most new phones still have it. I'm for one am glad they're not leaving their current customers out in the cold. There are thousands of 3.5mm head/earphones out there to choose from, thank you.
proprietary headphones...
this is so naive...
what's the point?
Sony Ericsson has the best mobile headphones, they should add 3.5mm jacks into their ph
phones*
ones?
alluses?
These are good for me because my ear wax is of a gold hue.
Fail x 3. White, fake gold, proprietary plug.
*sigh* Wasn't supposed to be a reply to. 4x fail if you include engadget comment system...
The...fuck.
Nuff said.
What FM tuning?
What [about] FM tuning?
No problem, almost all SE phones use Fast port earphones as antennae.
Perhaps they're activated by contact with the tackiness associated with wanting headphones that have this particular appearance, combined with the poor judgment necessary to buy headphones based on a proprietary plug design on a cellphone.
What about cyclists wanting to ride with only one ear listening to the music?
Also, SE do make really good price/performance headphones. You can get these with a short 3.5mm jack for ~£2 on amazon, and then just get a short extension cable
ah ah ah!!!
I'm just visualizing the ad featuring Will Smith: "Just nod your head, yeah, like this"!
Why do I keep reading "canal extension" as "anal extension" :(
Because you're a freakin' pervert
Fk everyother audio port. If it isnt 3.5mm fk it. The least some phone companies can do is to include a 3.5 mm in their expensive smartphones.
This makes so little sense I cannot even fathom it. Why do I want to replace formerly easy methods of music control (click a button on an inline remote or press a button on my phone/dap) with the more time-consuming task of removing and re-inserting an IEM? How do I place a call, a morse-code-like insertion and removal process to key the phone number?
And then I get to use them only with certain specific SE phones? W.T.F.
Thats easy for you coz u are used to those ways since ages. This is really easy and innovative stuff. Stop posting comments before trying it. Surely, then your button methods will be long outdated and hard to FATHOM!
Or maybe, u being a unix systems engineer, labor is your way then!
Love the Sony Ericsson logo, and I love what they do. I have a RAZR now and I often pine for the days of my first phone: The T616 with the bluetooth all but the techies had never heard of and thought was incredible. If I weren't such an Apple whore, I'd probably buy another SE handset, but if I'm going to pay big bucks for a data plan, I'm probably gonna go iPhone.
It makes sense for SE to use the fastport since majority (almost all excluding a few) use the fastport till date. These earphones have no use on the 3.5 mm jack coz they won't work with other phones/devices and SE doesnt have 3.5mm fones that would be out of counting. Sure 3.5mm is the way to go and even i wud love it if it was 3.5mm. But for a company whose financial figures are not fascinating like those of apple, they better invent things that give them current figures rather than futuristic sales.
Fastport - millions of SE users around the world ready to buy
3.5 mm - count thousands with SE fones
3.5 mm - other devices on which these won't work (only works with senseME)
Now u see why it makes sense to use the fastport.
People should understand the dynamics of business before jumping on what they wan't in everything.
It seems like they are really just testing someting out.
If the idea works, Im sure they will work on a 3.5 and more stable and better features.
With millions of SE users (Fast port users) seems reasonable for them to bring it out as a Fast port connection headphones, if the idea works good, if it does not, then no big loss.
Im happy they are getting back on the innovation side of SE rather than the "lets do the same just with a different color" side of them.
Now please bring the X10 to NAM and I will love u again SE =P
You you *have* to put the one 'phone back in to take a call or can you leave it out? I use Sony rubber cupped headphones with my A2DP receiver and I have to take one out when I'm on a call.
To all those complaining about this being proprietary - a standard TRS jack wouldn't work because
a) no return path for the mic or to control playback
b) SE phones don't have 3.5mm jack sockets.
You could probably use a 4 or 5-pole jack but
a) that would be a proprietary solution anyway
b) see point b above.
It is just these kinds of decisions that lead to Sony/SonyEricsson's also ran status in the markets it where it competes. I don't know who it is who thinks that these "locked-in" proprietary products is a good idea for the company, but the market has spoken and Sony continues to get spanked for just these types of things.
I do own Sony Ericsson phones with that dumb fast port, so believe it or not, I'm one who could be interested if these fit my ears and sound good. The adapter for SE phones is a big PITA.
I prefer to use my own headphones too, but anything to get rid of that %$#@ adapter!!! SE really should just go 3.5mm all the way around on anything they release in the future. It appears they're being selective on what phones they allow it on. The Aino specs don't seem to mention it, looking on Sony Style.
SE like every one else should be switching to micro usb connectors and one can be pretty sure they will launch these magical ear phones that connect to usb micro.