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RCA's S2501 Jet Stream gets reviewed
Although we already had a chance to briefly try out RCA's Jet Stream DAP / wireless earbud setup at CES, the folks over at PCMag were able to get ahold of a finalized product and put it through paces of their own. Interestingly, they found a lot less to love when using 'em for more than a few moments on a crowded show floor, and while they did admit that gym rats could possibly fall in love, the average joe / jane probably won't. On the upside, the DAP proved durable and the wireless headphones exhibited strong reception, but reviewers found that they didn't fit well enough to really show off their talents. Additionally, the menu navigation was deemed "terrible," and they weren't exactly keen on plopping down over $130 for just 1GB of storage. 'Course, we're sure those who spend the bulk of their listening time on the track (listening to just a few CDs on repeat) could find room to argue, but for the rest of us, it was suggested that we wait for "a better implementation of Kleer's wireless technology to come along" before buying in.
RCA Jet Stream, Kleer wireless headphones hit the FCC
We got a chance to check out RCA's Jet Stream MP3 player and accompanying Kleer wireless headphones way back at CES in January, but it looks like they've both now finally landed in the FCC's hands, which means we should be seeing an actual launch before too long. The player itself is a pretty basic deal, with a tiny OLED screen, 1GB of storage, an FM tuner, and a promised 12 hours of battery life -- not to mention a less than eye-catching design. The real interest is in the headphones (check 'em out after the break), which use Kleer's proprietary technology instead of Bluetooth to wirelessly shoot tunes over a distance of 5 to 6 feet. As we found out for ourselves at CES, the quality turned out to be surprisingly good, with no interference even in a place flooded with RF signals. What's more, assuming nothing has changed in the past few months, you can expect to pay just $129 for the combo. Still no official word on a release date though.Read - RCA Jet Stream FCC filingRead - Kleer headphones FCC filing
Brainic shows off VW-500 player with Kleer Audio headphones
RCA wasn't the only manufacturer this week to adopt that Kleer Audio OEM headphones design, it looks like Brainic is getting in on the fun with its VW-500 player. The hand clipped player isn't anything new, with its whole "Beat Sonic Vibration Function" gig for simulating a "subwoofer" in your hand, but the wireless headphones were those exact same little battery-conserving numbers that RCA was bragging about with its new Jet Stream player. If you're digging the player and the odd sensations it provides, you might be interested to know it comes in 1GB and 2GB flavors, manages codecs aplenty -- including photos and video on its teensy 0.95-inch screen -- and will be released at some random time for some random price and in some random place. Be prepared. Oh, and make sure you peep the gallery below. Brainic shows off VW-500 player with Kleer Audio headphones
Kleer wireless audio claims 10x battery life advantage over Bluetooth
The days of Bluetooth-based audio headsets that run out of juice halfway through a tune (or for that matter, the Engadget Podcast) could soon be over if a company called Kleer is successful. A few days ago the company announced its Kleer Audio -- see what they did there? -- range of RF wireless modules that send CD-quality audio over the air using so little power as to give a claimed ten times battery advantage over comparable Bluetooth solutions. Currently the technology is only available to interested consumer electronics OEMs, meaning that it could be a while until we see the technology in any sort of physical product, and bringing with it the prospect of having to adopt another wireless standard at some point in the future. Hopefully you'll forgive us for even thinking of mentioning this, but for anyone who fancies a quick lapse into the land of outlandish iPod / iPhone rumors, then might we suggest you take a quick peek at the location of Kleer's headquarters -- ring a bell? Yeah, we already said we were sorry!