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Skiing with the Treo


Last Updated Mon Feb 14, 2005 - 6:00 PM EST - By James Hromadka

Life Needs a Soundtrack

Ever since I got an iPod, I listen to music all the time now. At work, at the gym, and in my car, I take the iPod everywhere. With a good size SD card, the Treo 650 can carry as much music as an iPod shuffle, so I loaded up a card with MP3 songs in preparation to listen to music while skiing and installed NormSoft Pocket Tunes Deluxe so I could listen to music. I could have used RealPlayer, but I like the advanced options and skins that are available for PocketTunes.

My music was ready, but I needed some headphones that were appropriate for skiing. Then I found out about the Tec Fleece Ear Warmer by 180°s ($40.00). It is a behind-the-head ear warmer that can fold up for traveling and has built-in JVC headphones. The ear warmer is adjustable to the width of your head, and the headphone cable is removable for those days when you want to hear the wind swooshing by. In fact, if you remove the headphone cable, the Tec Fleece looks like a regular ear warmer.

To use the Tec Fleece, you will need a 3.5mm-to-2.5mm adapter to plug into the Treo. The headphone cable has a volume control and is long enough (4.9 ft) to reach a Treo inside a backpack or jacket. There are two layers of insulation that provide warmth and wind protection, and the part that touches the skin wicks away moisture to minimize getting hot when spring skiing.

Since the Treo is also a phone, I wanted to be able to answer it should it ring&emdash;there is nothing better than telling someone that you're enjoying a day of skiing while they are stuck at an office! So instead of using the 3.5mm-to-2.5mm adapter, I plugged the Tec Fleece into a Seidio 2-in-1 Retractable Headset Adapter ($34.95). I could now ski blissfully listening to music in Pocket Tunes, and if a call came in, I just had to press a button on the Headset Adapter to answer the phone. In testing, after finishing a call, Pocket Tunes would begin where it left off in the song. Now that is the kind of experience you want to have when listening to music. Thankfully no one called while I was skiing, so I was able to enjoy the music without interruption from life back home.

Music sounded great on the JVC headphones that the Tec Fleece uses. The sound output of the Treo was strong and the music made skiing that much more enjoyable. I was concerned about how distracting the music would be while skiing, but it did not affect my skiing at all. I kept the volume level low enough to hear my surroundings yet still be able to enjoy the music. Both the Tec Fleece and Seidio Headset Adapter have volume dials on them, so it was easy to adjust the volume when needed. The Tec Fleece Ear Warmer headphones are great for anyone that wants to listen to music while in cold weather. It now has a permanent place with my ski gear.

While skiing, I kept the Treo inside a Skin Case that was inside a Handspring Sport Case. Because the Treo's headphone jack is on the bottom, I just turned the Treo upside down when putting it in the Sport Case.

I wanted to see how well the Treo stacked up against a regular audio player, so I also tested the Tec Fleece with an Apple iPod Shuffle. Unlike other iPods, the iPod Shuffle uses flash memory instead of a hard drive, so there is never any worry about skipping and the battery life is much better. The iPod shuffle is also great for skiing because of its small size. The Treo fared admirably against the iPod shuffle in terms of audio quality but of course it is a lot larger than the iPod shuffle. Then again, you cannot get snow reports on the iPod shuffle!

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