In our quest to be a truly mobile society – untethered by a wire of any sort – Altec Lansing has just introduced their new ‘Freedom’ Earbuds at CES 2016. The Freedom earbuds are one of the first to completely cut-the-cord by offering rechargeable lithium ion batteries built right into their housing. The batteries will charge via their own charging cradle and provide up to six hours of battery life. The Freedom earbuds are IPX7-rated waterproof construction, so a little sweat or rain drizzle with not affect their performance…although you do not have to be exercising to enjoy the full Altec Lansing sound. They also offer a great Bluetooth-based GPS tracking technology should you misplace one or both of your earbuds, as well as a 100-foot range.
Because there are no wires tethering the two earbuds, the Freedom earbuds offer the user the ability to use just one earbud for as a mono headset as well a using both earbuds for a stereo experience depend on what environment the user finds themselves. The earbuds offer noise isolation and a comfortable fit by offering small, medium or large Freebit ear tips to accommodate the size and shape of your ear. User freedom increases with song navigation and telephony buttons for track navigation and an integrated microphone with wind cancellation to enable hands-free phone calls. The GPS tracking capability is activated through a downloadable companion app that will send out a beep when it senses a lost earbud is near. This same app allows for volume control, music and pairing controls where the users can link the earbuds for stereo listening or to multiple devices at once. This will allow the user to jump from their mobile phone to their tablet or laptop without having to re-pair them with each device.
The Altec Lansing Freedom earbuds are scheduled for a second quarter release and will cost $149.99 with a choice of nine colors and will include a carrying case and charging cradle. Besides the six-hour charge capability when plugged into an outlet, they will provide a three-hour secondary charge when used remotely with no access to an outlet and an option to charge smartphones or other devices through the built-in USB port. The Freedom earbuds will support any Bluetooth-enabled Android, BlackBerry or Apple smartphone, tablet or laptop.