First Click: Tiny wireless earbuds are definitely coming this summer, maybe

July 31st, 2015

By Thomas Ricker
on July 31, 2015 07:30 am
@Trixxy

Of all the future technologies that seem just out of reach, wireless earbuds rank near the top of the list. Right next to flexible smartphones and transparent displays on our kitchen windows.

I’m not talking bulky buds like the Powerbeats 2 or that mono earpiece from Moto, but those tiny stereo earbuds Ryan Reynolds inserts into his earholes during the opening title sequence of 2008’s Definitely, maybe.

I’ve never seen the movie, but I’ve seen the GIFs and the endless references to those buds. The title sequence is even cited as inspiration for the Earin Kickstarter campaign, aka, the "world’s smallest wireless earbuds."

Kickstarter and Indiegogo are rife with similar Bluetooth projects like the Bragi Dash and Trex. Dot found its Kickstarter campaign suspended, only to end up on Indiegogo and its "shit yeah, we’ll take your money" attitude towards the Internet of Things. HearNotes found its riches on crowdfunding site Fundable, where it promised to deliver buds based on Kleer wireless — a technology that first caught the world's attention with claims of enabling tiny wireless earbuds way back in 2006.

Problem is, despite seeing a few working prototypes at CES back in January, nobody has yet to ship a product we can buy. The Bragi Dash is probably the highest profile of the lot and one of the few that my colleague Sean O’Kane was able to test. It also stands the best chance of delivering on its claims thanks to its Harman Kardon and Jabra pedigree. Having missed its original 2014 shipping dates, and then again in April, it’s now pushing up against its August extension.

If not Bragi, then surely Earin will meet its "end of July" commitment, right?

Definitely, maybe.

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