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Tracks Air Bluetooth headphones by Motorola and SOL Republic can pair with two devices at once
We've seen plenty of Bluetooth hardware with dual modes, dual channels, dual mics and even dual sub-woofers, but dual device connectivity? That's a little less common. It's a feature on the new Tracks Air headset from Motorola and SOL Republic, and it means you can listen to music or a movie on your tablet while still being able to receive a call from your mobile, rather than being forced to pair with just one or the other. Tracks Air cans won't come cheap, at $200, but they'll bring a bunch of other practically-minded specs, including a 150-foot range that could, according to the guys at SOL, potentially let you leave your phone in the gym locker while you listen to it on the treadmill (although we imagine a huge number of factors and reinforced concrete walls might get in the way of that). Battery life is claimed to be 15 hours, but there's a back-up cable so you're not left stranded on long journeys, and the "PowerTracks" headbands will be interchangeable with future colors and styles coming next year. Meanwhile, expect availability of the headset itself at major stores from early November.
Deck Bluetooth speaker by SOL Republic and Motorola offers 300-foot range, fits in a pocket
Remember that SOL Republic Bluetooth speaker that made a sneak appearance at Verizon's Droid event? Well, it's actually official now and the company wants to ensure its first foray into audio outside headphones is a success. Dubbed the Deck, the speaker is the result of a team-up between SOL and Motorola, with SOL providing its audio know-how and Motorola handling the wireless connectivity bit. The $200 speaker features a flat design that might fit into a pants pocket. Vertically positioned drivers and a side-facing port provide 360-degree sound, and an outdoor mode boosts the highs and cuts the lows if you need to fill open areas with sound. Additionally, deck boasts a usable range of 300 feet, a sprawling distance compared to the the usual 30-foot line-of-sight limit you'll encounter on devices like the Beats Pill and Jawbone Jambox. Its Heist setting lets up to five devices connect without needing to enable a pairing mode and, like the name suggests, any user can steal the speaker by hitting play on their device. Rounding things out, you can expect roughly 10 hours of battery life, water-resistance (via a sonically-transparent bag), speakerphone functionality and a 3.5mm input / output. Interested? It costs $200 and is up for pre-order today in yellow, blue, red and "gunmetal." Shipments are expected to begin before August is over. In the meantime, you can join us after the break for our initial impressions. %Gallery-195167%
Engadget Giveaway: win one of three SOL Republic Tracks headphones, courtesy of ColorWare!
The giveaways don't stop coming, and why should they? Everyone loves the chance to win free stuff. This week we have three pairs of custom-designed SOL Republic Tracks HD headphones up for grabs, thanks to our friends over at ColorWare! These guys are all about coming up with cool designs, as you can probably tell just by scoping out the units we're giving away (seen above), and they can add their touch to plenty more than just headphones: laptops, phones and gaming consoles are a few examples. So check out the rules below, and leave a comment to get entered!
SOL Republic intros Amps and Tracks headphone lines, we go hands-on
Oh my is this interesting. Monster Cable's VP of marketing Kevin Lee (a key figure involved with its Beats by Dre headphone line) has co-founded a new headphone company dubbed Soundtrack Of Life Republic, and we were able to get a very brief hands-on with some handmade prototypes. It's no secret that we're not fans of Monster around these parts, but being that SOL Republic isn't directly tied to it -- and because the headphones bring with them some interesting features without being crazy expensive -- we've decided to give them a quick whirl. It's all detailed just past the break. %Gallery-131400%
