By Gregg Ellman
@greggellman

Two products make a great combination for an earful of tunes while on a leisurely bike ride.

The first is the Bikemate Slim Case 3 smartphone bike mount, which to me is one of the best among many bike mounts I’ve tested.

My reasoning is that it’s design and size allows users to put their smartphone inside the clear window case without removing your existing case.

This enalbles it to be compatible with most every smartphone including iPhone 5 (as tested), BlackBerry’s, Droids, and the Samsung Galaxyes;  as along as it’s no bigger then 3.5 x 5-inches to fit inside the pouch.

Attaching it to the bike frame is simple; if it takes more then two minutes, you did something wrong.  It attaches scratch-free with the rubber grip you get in the package and can be adjusted for most bikes.

The case is made of a dual layered foamex to keep your smartphone clean and more importantly visible and accessible.

A Velcro seal keeps it in place but there are openings for full access to the headphone and charging ports.

You can also hear sound from the devices internal speakers but a better solution for sound is the next product.

Obviously you should always keep your volume low to keep yourself safe to hear any surrounding noise, vehicles, etc.

www.satechi.net $24.99

 

Phiaton’s PS210 Bluetooth headphones make a great partner with the Bikemate case.

I’ve tested many other headphones from Phiaton and these are as good if not better then any of the previous ones.

They feature an ergonomic half-in ear design, which give you great sound and at low volume I was able to clearly hear my XM radio along with outside noise.

All the controls are on a small controller, which has a clip to attach to your shirt or pocket for easy access.

Once I paired with via Bluetooth with my iPhone 5, the controller allowed me to change the volume, switch tracks and even answer calls and talk through its built-in microphone.

Phiaton’s Echo-Off noise reductions helps eliminate background noise so the person on the other end of the call can hear you loud and clear.

A built-in battery takes a microUSB charge to give you about 14 hours of music listening.

When you want the headphones really cranked up to higher volumes you get great sound with enhanced noise canceling technology along with the Bluetooth 3.0 technology.

Additionally, you get four sizes of silicon ear tips for the right fit, a neck strap, carrying case and a USB charging cable.

www.phiaton.com $98

 

Blue Microphones Mikey digital audio microphone for the iPad and iPhone is as simple as any to use for audio recording.

It’s advertised as a plug-and-play stereo microphone and it’s just that. It works with just about any recording app such as the one I tested it with, Garageband.

Just plug it in and your device recognizes it instantly and works the app.

You won’t see any difference when you’re recording with the microphone, but when you play it back you can hear the clarity vs. recording done with the built-in mic.

It has automatic and manual gain settings and can be angled (230 degrees) toward the audio source.

Another neat feature has a USB charging port on the microphone, which can charge your iPad or iPhone while it’s being used for recording. This can be a great feature for extended recording sessions to keep your device powered up.

Also included is an adapter to connect instruments to the 3.5mm input port.

SInce the Mikey connects via the Apple 30-pin connecter, those with an iPhone 5 will be fine. A company representative from Blue Microphones sent me a note on that issue saying  “We have tested and confirmed that Mikey Digital is fully compatible with iPhone 5 using Apple’s adapter for the Lightning connection.”

www.bluemic.com $99

Contact Gregg Ellman at greggellman@mac.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @greggellman.
2012, Gregg Ellman.