Love/Hate Relationship

I have a love-hate relationship with my new RP-BT10. I love it when I'm sitting still, but hate it whenever I move.

The RP-BT10 is my first aftermarket headphones for my beloved video iPod 4G. Up until now I have been using the standard iPod earbuds, which in my humble opinion are so uncomfortable they should be banned by the Geneva Convention. In addition, it takes tremendous effort to untangle the wires every morning just to get to the point where I can start enjoying my music. So the thought of more comfortable earbuds (because what could be worse?) and the wireless convenience of Bluetooth seemed to be a perfect fit. When a $20 Buy.com rebate put the price point around $50, in the neighborhood of good brand name wired earbud models, I decided to take the plunge.

The first thing you should know is the earbuds are not "wireless." There are wires from the Bluetooth receiver (about the same size and shape as the newer iPod Shuffle) to the earbuds, although much less spaghetti to deal with than the evil iPod buds, so I consider this a minor upgrade.

After charging up the receiver - yet another proprietary charger to keep track of (sigh) - I encountered the first minor challenge: the padded case that my iPod lives in prevents the RP-BT10's Bluetooth transmitter from snapping in to the base of my iPod. After scratching my head and raising an eyebrow, I stumbled upon a solution by turning the iPod upside down in the case. The 4G's screen and controls are not easily accessible, but since I can skip tracks and control volume with the controls on the RP-BT10's receiver, this is not a problem.

The new setup seemed very cool: my iPod (with the attached Bluetooth transmitter) tucked nicely into my laptop case or the outside pocket of my lunchbox, and the receiver clipped handily to my shirt, I set off for work. My commute is around 75 minutes each way; the first half by bus and train, and the second half I either catch a shuttle from the train station or walk, weather permitting. Lately I have been taking advantage of the seasonable summertime temperature and getting some exercise by hoofing the last half of my journey, which is where the RP-BT10's major flaw became instantly noticeable.

Originating from the Bluetooth receiver, at the end of approximately six inches of thin cabling, is a headphone adapter (female, accepts standard 3mm headphone plugs - a convenience I suppose if you want to use different earbuds/headphones with the receiver) with a button and status light on it. The button is used to initiate coupling with the transmitter, and also to power down the iPod, which is a nice feature. However, the connection is fairly heavy in comparison to the rest of the earbud wiring, and when I walk it bounces off my shirt accompanied by a scratchy thump in the earbuds that immediately rose to the level of an unacceptable nuisance. The sound is akin to pulling a dryer full of loose tennis shoes along with you wherever you go. I tried turning the volume up to mask the thump, to no avail, and eventually settled for walking in time with music as much as possible so the thump would sound like part of the song. Even still it sounds like having your own personal bass drummer march along beside you as you walk.

The RP-BT10's controls are another minor gripe. Panasonic opted for a single button on the Bluetooth receiver that slides left/right (skip back/forward) and up/down (volume control), and also pushes in (toggle play/pause). Maybe my fingers are too big, but about 50% of the time I tried to skip tracks I ended up pausing the playback.

Although the Bluetooth receiver needs to be charged separately, the transmitter takes power from the iPod's battery, which eats into battery life. I haven't used the RP-BT10 long enough to know how significant this impact is.

On the positive side, the earbuds are far more comfortable than the instruments of torture that Apple shipped with the iPod. Sound quality from the Panasonic's in-ear speakers is very good, to the point that I couldn't tell that I was using a wireless solution.

Bluetooth range is good. At home I put the transmitter in the middle of my kitchen and was able to walk at least 15-20 feet in each direction with the same clear sound. There was only interruption/signal loss when something physically blocked the communication between the transmitter and receiver. On the road when using my laptop case, the connection dropped whenever my bag swung around my shoulder so that the transmitter was behind my back. Consider carefully where you will carry the transmitter when deciding whether this device is for you.