The marketing of the Walkman introduced the idea of 'Japanese-ness' into global
culture, synonymous with miniaturization and high-technology. The Walkman had a major influence on 1980s culture. The
Walkman entered the lives and hearts of millions of people around the world and the word ‘Walkman’ eventually found
its way into the Oxford English Dictionary. The WF-1000XM3 does not harbor those ambitions.
I have been using the Bose SoundSport Free earbuds for more than a year now. They are marketed as Workout earbuds and
they do mainly just that. Using it as a phone Bluetooth talking device is disappointing. I wanted earbuds that would
be great in the gym and be good for daily use, long conversations and the ability to multi-task; typing away whatsapp
messages while still talking on the phone.
So I borrowed my friend’s Sony WTFs for 4 days..i first proceeded to wash them under tap water to dislodge any
invisible ear wax. There I was reminded they are not water resistant. Can’t use it on gym workouts either, they’re not
sweat resistant.
As I walked into the gym, I switched back to my Bose, and while listening to music in its pristine sound quality, I
began to think of places where I could put the Sony’s WTF to use. It seems they are targeted to those who use public
transport, mainly trains and buses. Its App even has a symbol of a Train to display the mode with Full Noise
Cancellation. Why trains? Coz it does not rain inside trains. Coz I can use its complex App to adjust the music
synthesizer, adjust volume from its App and figure out the battery level only from its App. Make sure you’re seated in
the train though. A jerky halt at a station could cause an accident and cause the Usd 280 earpods to fall off.
Impressive IS – Noise cancelling in a tiny package, finger touch control, good clean sound quality and decent battery
life.
Not So Impressive – Mediocre Mic quality. It does not really give me the solution to the issues I’m experiencing with
te first generation Bose earbuds. And what’s more, Bose is already teasing its upcoming Noise Cancelling and improved
Earbuds 700. Release date is just a few weeks away..
In all fairness, as wireless earbuds start becoming the norm, they have been forced to improve somewhat but still
have a long way to go. Sony has done an impressive job in incorporating the level of technology in these tiny earbuds
and forcing competition to go one higher. I would recommend them to those who are not able to wait a few weeks more to
try out the Bose 700 series earbuds, and to those who often use public transport and walk around in noisy cities and
do not sweat like its July in Dubai
