Flying on the way back from Korea on a flight back home, I opened a in-flight shopping catalogue, and found this was available for purchase. Seeing that it is a very small and compact earphone with no need for wires to the iPhone, I reckon I could do with less incidents of earphone cable yanked by bags and haversacks on the way out on the metro train, as the wires get caught on the handles and corners of bags belonging to other commuters.
Package wise, it came in a neat small package consisting of the earphones, ear buds of different sizes, and AC adapter with micro-USB connectors.
The earphone itself was very simple, with the two earbuds and a in-line control nearer to the right side earbud for controlling the earphone operations. The battery for the earphone is cleverly hidden from sight, and my guess is that it is probably hidden in the right earbud encasement.
First thought after using this earphone is that the sound is very acceptable. I had dynamic earphone and balanced armature earphones, and while this does not blow you away with its sound, it is more than acceptable for me. The bass is controlled, and trebles are not extremely lively, but sibilation was very nicely controlled, which makes it comfortable for listening.
Control-wise, you get the typical on/off switch (long presses to turn on/off with red lights to signify off, and blue to signify on).
You can also control the volume by pressing the up and down button, and do pause/play toggle by pressing the centre button.
The entire earphone cable has rubber-like finishing, so it feel pretty comfortable to the touch.
Now, I can easily pack the earphone into a small pouch and go on my business. Any time I wanted to enjoy some jazz or bossa music, I just pull it out of the pouch and can enjoy the music on the go. No hassle at all.
In terms of taking calls, the call quality was pretty acceptable. You just have to make sure that you select BackBeat Go on the iPhone as the device/channel for taking calls. You could also have the options of not using it, by selecting “iPhone”. The good thing about this product is that the battery status of the earphone is displayed on the top of the iPhone status bar, so you know exactly how much juice is left in the earphone. Very neat feature. I hate to guess how much juice time is left in the earphone, only to have it die on me half way due to a flat battery on my journey in the metro.
Battery life wise, it is stated to be 4.5 hours, and I found that to be pretty accurate. So it lasted me about 3-4 metro rides, each one being about 50 min to 75 min.
Would I recommend this to my friends? Absolutely! This is by far the most convenient earphones I have. I have tried those that goes behind the head but found that the molding of the earphone’s loop did not fit my head size well, and that caused discomfort, not to mention the extra weight of the plastic head-loop. So yes, if you have not tried this baby, I recommend that you get one and try it for yourself!
Conclusion: Highly Recommended.
Reasons: Convenient, Small and Compact, Good sound, Reasonable Battery Life considering battery size is small/cannot be seen at all.
It’s also no wonder that it also obtained endorsement from PCMag.com as the Editor’s Choice 🙂
Some information from the manufacturer’s website:
| Model Specifications |  BackBeat GO Black |
 BackBeat GO White |
|---|---|---|
| BackBeat GO Black |
BackBeat GO White |
|
| Hands-free Options | ||
| Bluetooth Headset | Yes | Yes |
| Connection | ||
| Wireless Range | Up to 33 feet (10 meters) from device | Up to 33 feet (10 meters) from device |
| Wireless Technology | ||
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes |
| Power | ||
| Battery Power | Up to 4.5 hours Talk Time | 4 hours Listening Time | Up to 10 days Standby Time | Up to 4.5 hours Talk Time | 4 hours Listening Time | Up to 10 days Standby Time |
| Charger Type | Micro USB Charging | Micro USB Charging |
| Physical | ||
| Weight | 13 grams | |
| Audio | ||
| Noise-cancellation | Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and full duplex echo cancellation | Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and full duplex echo cancellation |
| Controls | ||
| Volume +/- | Yes | Yes |
| Connects To | ||
