Product review – Plane Quiet Platinum noise canceling headphones

by Scott Carmichael on

This review is quite a “scoop”; it’s the first online review of the new Plane Quiet Platinum noise canceling headphones. These headphones are developed in the USA by the “Outside the box group”, who have been around for almost 4 years, and have become quite successful in bringing affordable noise canceling products to the marketplace. The brains behind this company are David and Renee Dillinger, David was a commerical pilot and Renee a flight attendant, so they have quite a lot of experience in air travel.

The headphones arrive in one of those impossible to open plastic blister packages, so if you buy them at the airport, be sure to pack a chainsaw in your carry-on bag. Inside the package you’ll find the headphones themselves, a user guide, 2 AAA batteries, a headphone jack adapter, a 2-prong adapter, a carrying pouch and a smaller pouch for storing the various accessories.

The Plane Quiet Platinum headphones feel terrific. There is a good solid feel to every part of them. The headband is covered in real leather, just like the ear cups. Each ear piece folds 90 degrees, making it easy to store them. Each side also has a clear marking for the left and right channel, and they extend 1.5 inches, to ensure you’ll always find the perfect fit.The carrying pouch is made of nylon, and stores the headphones as well as any accessories or spare batteries you want to bring along. Inside the pouch is a strip of Velcro, for attaching the included accessories pouch. There is ample space in the pouch for an mp3 player or other media device. The total weight of the pouch with headphones, accessories pouch and a set of spare AAA batteries is a tad over 10 ounces (about 290 grams).

The audio cord is a generous 75 inches long (190 centimeters), so you’ll be able to use them in any class of air travel, plus you’ll have enough cable to get up out of your seat to let someone go to the bathroom, without having to unplug yourself and miss the only funny scene of the in-flight movie.

In the middle of the cable is the control pod. This measure about 3 inches long and houses 2 AAA batteries, as well as the power switch. With batteries installed, the control pod weighs just 1.7 ounces. The headphone cord goes in just one earpiece, so you won’t end up getting tangled in cords after a nap on the plane.

Of course, the most important part of any noise canceling product is the audio performance, and I’m pleased to say that the Plane Quiet Platinum headphones do not disappoint. The rated noise cancellation level (provided by the manufacturer) is -18dB at 150-400Hz, which is the audio range of what you’ll usually want to cancel on a flight (engine noise).

The best part of the noise canceling electronics in the Plane Quiet Platinum headphones is the lack of “hiss”. If you have ever tried some of the more popular brands (like that big brand that rhymes with “hose”), then you might have experienced a kind of hissing noise when the noise canceling feature is turned on. These headphones do not have that, in fact, when you turn the noise canceling feature on in a quiet room, there is absolutely no distortion to the music at all, it cancels out background noise, without interfering with the audio.

Volume is quite excellent, and even at the highest setting, I did not hear any loss of quality. The earpieces provide a decent bass and my music sounded nice and rich. When testing them, I used three sources; my Blackberry Curve, an iPod classic and a DVD movie on my laptop computer. If you plan to use these headphones on the old iPhone, you will need a headphone adapter since Apple, in its infinite wisdom, recessed the headphone jack.

Since the headphones use decent quality leather ear cups, they isolate the audio quite well, even when the noise canceling electronics are turned off. The advantage of keeping noise out, is that you also keep noise in, which means you won’t have to be embarrassed when you listen to Abba in the airport lounge.

By far the best part of these headphones is the price; at just $99.95 they are a steal, and a third of what other brands charge for their similar premium noise canceling headphones. The Plane Quiet Platinum headphones are available as of today, directly from the web site of the manufacturer. Shipping is free, and you can pay with all major credit cards, Paypal and even Google Checkout.

Final thoughts; There really isn’t much I can criticize these headphones on. The price is right, the quality is great, audio is great and the package contains all the accessories you need to unpack the headphones and use them right away. The only thing I’d change, is making it easier to open the packaging, but that probably just makes me look a little petty. If you are in the market for active noise canceling headphones, then I strongly suggest the new Plane Quiet Platinum headphones.

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The only woman who got a real massage in Thailand

by Jerry Guo on

Finding real massage parlors in much of Asia can be a Herculean effort (as massage unfortunately means something completely different across the pond). But this tale from one Australian businesswoman shows us all that it can be done! Even in Thailand!

Before a conference in Bangkok, our group spent a few days in Chiang Mai. There were 20 of us on the trip, and we were all encouraged to sign up for the famous Thai massage of Chiang Mai.

…

Once we all gathered in the lobby, we were told to hop on a rickety smoke-spewing bus that was going to take us to the best Thai massage parlor in the city.

I remember thinking that you can’t judge a massage parlor by a bus. And I also remember thinking that the place must be absolutely huge to accommodate 20 people in private rooms.

…

A tiny woman came into the room and commanded us to undress. We were told to take off everything except our undies and then put on some loose-fitting Thai pajamas.

…

In a few minutes, the door opened, and 20 even smaller women came into the room. Apparently, these were our therapists, and they were the troops sent to give us what they called a “group” Thai massage.

For one hour, we were pummeled by legs, elbows, knees, hands and feet. The therapist found muscles I haven’t used since I was 7 years old. At one point, she flipped me over her back. I whimpered.

Excerpted from The New York Times.

Flight attendant suing pastor Joel Osteen’s wife for pre-flight assault

by Aaron Hotfelder on

A civil trial pitting a Continental Airlines flight attendant against the wife of Joel Osteen, America’s most popular preacher, began Wednesday in Houston, Texas.

In the suit, the flight attendant, Sharon Brown, is accusing Victoria Osteen of shoving her against an airplane bathroom door and elbowing her in the left breast before a 2005 flight from Houston to Vail. The dispute was allegedly over a stain on Ms. Osteen’s first-class seat.

Although the FAA has already fined Ms. Osteen $3,000 for interfering with a crew member, Ron Hardin, Ms. Osteen’s lawyer, denies her client did anything wrong. “This is a very silly case,” he says.

If she wins the suit, Ms. Brown wants only an apology from Ms. Osteen . No, I’m kidding– she actually wants ten percent of her net worth too.

I’d take an elbow to the left breast for that.

More here.

Kodak Zi6 HD camcorder now available for pre-order!

by Scott Carmichael on

After spending the past couple of decades surrounded by gadgets, it usually takes a lot to get me excited about an upcoming product. My inbox gets bombarded with product announcements and updates to existing products 100’s of times a week. But there is currently one product “coming soon” that is very high on my “must have” list, and it’s from a pretty unlikely source.

HD video capable? Check. Built in USB connector? Check. Runs off AA batteries? Check. Can be expanded with cheap SD cards? Check. Weighs just 3.8 ounces? Check. Costs less than $180? CHECK!

The Kodak Zi6 is a handheld digital camcorder, much like the highly successful “Flip Camcorder” that made its way to retail stores in the past year. The ZI6 is different though; it can record HD video files. No longer will you have to settle for grainy and stuttering movie clips of your kids first dive into the pool, you’ll be able to film their antics in 720p HD at 60 frames per second.

HD video recording is in its infancy, a “real” HD camcorder still costs around $1000, but Kodak have managed to shave as much off the price of the Zi6 as possible, and it will be retailing for just $179.95. Of course, at this price point, you don’t get a nice optical zoom, and the image quality will be the lowest HD resolution (720p), and not 1080i or 1080p like a high-end camcorder can produce.

The camera should be available within the next month, but Kodak have made it easier to get your hands on it, as soon as it is available thanks to their new pre-order page.

A quick recap of the specifications; the Zi6 can record in wide screen 720p HD at 60 frames per second, it has a 2.4″ LCD screen, an integrated pop-out USB jack, direct-to-Youtube uploads and it can be expanded using SD and SDHC memory cards up to 32GB. The Zi6 has just 128MB of internal memory, so an additional SD card is a must if you plan to record HD video.

The Kodak Zi6 ships with AA rechargeable batteries and recharger, AV and HD video cables (component), a wrist strap, a pouch and a special version of Arcsoft Media Impression, for editing HD video. Hopefully I’ll be able to post a full review as soon as I can get my hands on one.

Photo of the Day (8-06-08)

by Jamie Rhein on

Today is my dad’s birthday. As he’s become older, he’s become a real world traveler. His next major trip is to the Philippines. It’s hard to keep up. He’s also been to Maui where Global Voyager snapped this shot. Even though my dad doesn’t jump off cliffs like this guy, the heading for the photo “I can fly” reminded me of my dad. Traveling is how he soars.

Besides, if you’ve ever taken action shots, you’ll know that the chances of capturing such a perfect image where the person is suspended, just so, is not easy. Notice how the clouds are reflected in the water. Neat touch.

If you have an image you’d like to share, send it our way at Gadling’s Flickr photo pool. It may become a Photo of the Day.