Otterbox's waterproof iPod cases and matching waterproof headphones promise funky sing-along swimming sessions and untroubled kayaking to music, so do they work?
Otterbox oPod - First Look
|
Price: £19.99
(case), £29.99 (headphones), £12.95 (armband)
£49.98 all three.
|
|
Weight: 75 grammes
(case)
|
|
Features:
Waterproof, dustproof, dirtproof case for iPod Shuffle,
flexible rubber control area on front, battery check button
at rear, removable neck lanyard, waterproof headphone outlet
fits standard plugs. H2O Audio waterproof headphones with
behind ears design and neckband, silicone earpieces for
watertight fit, coiled cable to avoid tangles. Designed for
submersion up to one metre.
|
|
Waterproof and tough.
Quite expensive
and heavuer than the Shuffle itself.
|
What's It For? You're the sort of person who wants to listen
to their music or podcasts while... canyoning, swimming, paddling, running in the
wet, jey-skiing and so on without your expensive iPod drowning. The
new oPod range from Otterbox is designed for just that and there's a
version to fit most iPods. In conjunction with H2O Audio's waterproof
headphones you should be able to boogy on down to your fave tunes
unless you want to scuba dive... They only work down to one metre or
so.
The Techy Bits Tough transparent case with waterproof
headphone socket and sealed speakers etc on the headphones. There's a
gasket to keep the water out and the iPod in. That's it really, just
thoroughly waterproofed.
How It Works So far the oPod has done everything it says on
the box. It's a little heavy at 75 grammes compared to a mere 21
grammes for the Shuffle itself, but we've used it in wet conditions
and the Shuffle's still working. We shuffled in the shower and it
still worked. We chucked it in a basic of water, no problems.
Controls are easy to use through the rubber front piece, while out
back you can check charge levels, but you can't turn the unit on and
off or swicth from shuffle to ordered play, so you have to do that
before you pop the Shuffle inside the case. It's no problem as
there's a pause function anyway and most iPods will becontrollable
with the front controls.
The headphones have a neck-band/ear grip design and are
comfortable and stable enough unless you get really sweaty. In
semi-submersion, shower conditions the silicone ear pieces work fine,
but how they'd do in the pool we don't know - we're going to ask
someone else to find out as we don't 'do' swimming.
The coiled lead does work really well, avoids tangles and doesn't
drag in use like some leads. We don't claim to be audio experts, but
the sound is average at best and a bit thin, but it's listenable and
you're buying these because they're waterproof and stable when moving
not because the sound great.
The armband is simple, easy to adjust and works
well.
More to come, but if you want waterproofing for your iPod and
headphones you can use in the shower and beyond, here's your answer.
They're not particularly cheap, though you can save by buying a combo
pack of all three items, then again it's cheaper than trashing your
expensive electronic gadgetary.
Otterbox are best known for their PDA cases and that expertise and
experience shines through in a very effective product.
Know more or want to?
If you'd like to add your own experiences of this
product check out our user review system and post your opinions to
the world. If you have questions you can mail
us direct, ask
Richard Gear or try a posting to our
gear
forum.
