Queen: the Beatweek interview

by Keri Franz

Within the last few years, Queen have made a resurgence in the media worldwide.  From the We Will Rock You musical on London’s West End to Adam Lambert fronting the band for a few UK gigs, it seems Queen have maintained a standing most all places save the US. Promotion of the band hasn’t been strong since the mid 1980’s when Queen did a major US tour. Aside from a resurgence in the early nineties thanks to Wayne’s World, not until this year has Queen been highlighted in the media for more than just a one-off American Idol guest spot.



The current buzz is surrounding the Queen Extravaganza, a Queen tribute band put together by Queen’s drummer, Roger Taylor.  There are other tribute outfits that have been around for some time, like Almost Queen, Killer Queen, and One Night of Queen, but this will be the first official, remaining Queen members-approved one.


“The other Queen tribute bands were the reason I wanted to start this one,” so says the Extravaganza creator and producer himself.  “I want our music to be represented in a scintillating way and not in an average kind of way.”



By choosing four vocalists, two guitarists, one bassist, one drummer, and one keyboardist, Taylor has created something akin to an experience, rather than just a rehashing of old songs from the catalog. With the help of Queen guitarist, Brian May, Taylor sorted through hundreds or thousands of submitted online videos to try and compile his idea of a fitting lineup.

“We weren’t just looking for copies of us, we were looking for … great musicianship, … great charisma, and the right people,” states Taylor. The people chosen for the job may not be experts on the stylings of Queen; however, they do have a one-up on the average musician. Taylor says, “Everybody in the Extravaganza has a tremendous knowledge of our body of work. They are absolute Queen aficionados, and I think some of the times they seem to remember things I’ve forgotten.”



There is surely a hope that new fans will jump on the Queen bandwagon because of the project. With all the hype surrounding the Coachella Tupac Shakur hologram, it leaves one curious as to which musician will next be represented posthumously as a hologram. Apparently, not the late Queen frontman, Freddie Mercury.  “I would not like to perform with a hologram of Freddie.”  Taylor’s response should not really come as a huge shock.  Since Freddie Mercury’s passing in November 1991, the remaining members have been very protective of both Mercury’s and Queen’s legacy.  “It’s the real one or no hologram for me,” asserts Taylor.  ”It just doesn’t fit too
well with me.  I don’t want to appear with a hologram of my dear friend.”



Show-goers unfortunately cannot expect a Freddie sighting at the Extravaganza gigs; however, Taylor thinks that “[One can expect] a fantastically uplifting night out, … a revelatory sort of trip through our cannon of music, and hopefully a lot of audience participation.”  According to Marc Martel, one of the project’s vocalists, “I believe there’s going to be some great possibly never before seen [video] footage.”

For those not living in the US, Taylor and May are performing with Adam Lambert for a few European dates this summer. Some die-hard fans always get a little riled up with news of a new singer performing with Queen. “Regarding our tour, it’s not really a tour of Queen. We’re doing five gigs with Adam Lambert as the singer in the summer.” (read the Beatweek interview with Adam Lambert)



For Queen fans both new and old, the Queen Extravaganza is going to be a great show. It is without a doubt the closest that anyone stateside will come to seeing an official Queen production.

Learn more at QueenExtravaganza.com

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air: Beatweek Best of 2012 so far

Bowers & Wilkins launched the original Zeppelin years ago as the first dockable iPod stereo system to simultaneously feature heart-melting audio quality and a heart-breaking price tag. But for those who could shell out for the product, which was shaped like an actual zeppelin blimp and delivered the kind of audio thought not possible from a single-unit stereo not more than a few feet wide, the Zeppelin was worth every penny. Now B&W strikes back with a new Zeppelin Air which very much takes advantage of 2011 technology.

The dock on front for iPod and iPhone is still there for those who want to put their device front and center. But with Apple having introduced its AirPlay wireless streaming system, the Zeppelin Air builds in that technology as well. Now you can keep your iPhone in your pocket while beaming its music wirelessly over to the Zeppelin across the room. AirPlay setup is as easy as you’d hope, and the audio quality is nothing short of stunning. Compatibility also goes beyond iPods and iPhones, as you can stream your music wirelessly from an iPad or from iTunes on your computer.

The goal here, with the built in dock and the built in streaming, was apparently to offer the best of both worlds within the same single unit stereo system. Mission accomplished.

iHome iP1: Beatweek Best of 2012 so far

With an impressive rollout at awhile back that included a hands-on demonstration by legendary record producer Tony Bongiovi, and seven months of subsequent anticipation before it finally officially hit the market, iHome’s space-age looking and not-inconsequently priced iP1 was destined to be the biggest new accessory to hit the iPhone and iPod market in that year – or the biggest flop – and nothing in between. Could a company known primarily for its “great sounding (for its price tag)” iPod alarm clocks in the hundred dollar price range manage to successfully conquer the high end of the dockable stereo market with one ambitious first swing?

After we spent some time with the iP1 inside iHome’s sound room in January, we were betting on the affirmative, as we found it surprisingly easy to peg the iP1 as the best-sounding dockable stereo system in this price range we’d ever heard – and that was before the “B” button was even demonstrated for us.

But just as anyone can sound decent while singing in the isolated confines of the shower, any speaker system can sound better in an acoustic room than it does in the real world. I needed to hear the iP1 outside of a constructed sound room and in more typical end-user surroundings, in this instance sitting on a kitchen table. And after having put the system through its paces with my iPhone, my iPod nano, my music, and my surroundings, I’m even more impressed with it now than I was in January.

Although the iP1 would be worth its price tag even without the “B” button (the “B” stands for Bongiovi, who designed the technology for iHome), it’s the ability to fire up this button that puts the iP1 over the top into category-killer territory. While I’ve seen plenty of cheaper stereo systems that included a button that would either enhance the bass or expand the spatiality of the audio, such options have generally had a synthetic quality to them, much like how a digital zoom on a camera is better than nothing but is really just a poor man’s substitute for a true optical zoom. But with the iP1, the Bongiovi button is a whole different creature, monitoring the music’s frequency spectrum for peaks and valleys and accentuating them appropriately.

If that sounds like a bunch of technical mumbo jumbo, then all you have to know is that it works. The catch is that the worse-sounding the music, for instance an older recording that has lost something when compressed into AAC or MP3, the more the B button can do for it. But even when testing out the iP1 with current albums that were purchased straight from iTunes (which are typically encoded right from the master recording), there was almost always a noticeable and desirable improvement when the B button was activated.

I suspect that much like how the “enhance” button in iPhoto will occasionally turn a photo purple in its attempts to improve the color and light balance, there is perhaps the oddball occasional song that actually sounds worse with the iP1’s B button activated – but after having tested more than fifty songs from various eras and genres, I couldn’t find one. In any case, as its name implies, the B button effect can be turned off with the touch of a, well, button, if and when it’s not desirable.

The aesthetics of the iP1 are daring beyond just choice of shape or material. In fact the entire unit only has one solid face, that being the thick slab of tinted clear plastic that constitutes the unit’s front face. Two large cylindrical speakers protrude from the back of the front face, with a black slab between them, and the unit reclines on the cylinders. Despite not having a true back, top, or sides, the unit is plenty stable and is arguably the first speaker system so far in the twenty-first century that actually looks like it belongs in the twenty-first century, looking ultra-modern without feeling gimmicky. Ultimately, aesthetics are something each user will have to judge on their own, but I found that the unit looked equally impressive in a trade show sound room and on a cluttered kitchen table.

Down to the details, the iP1 comes with a remote that includes adjustable bass and treble along with iPod/iPhone menu navigation and, of course, another B button on the remote. Also in the box are a pair of open-face speaker grilles for aesthetic purposes. And built-in video-out allows you to play your iPhone or iPod’s video on your television while using the iP1’s audio.

The iP1 eschews Apple’s official universal docking system of custom-fit inserts for each iPhone and iPod model, in favor of a simple protruding shelf for docking your iPhone or iPod, along with cylindrical rubber stopper that twists out to rest against the back of your device. Some super-cheap systems sidestep the universal dock simply to avoid the cost of licensing it. But here it makes sense both from an aesthetic and functional standpoint, adding to the minimalism of the unit and staying consistent with the exposed styling.

When it comes to competing dockable iPhone/iPod stereo systems in this price range, I’ve spent time with them all. It’s not a surprise that the iP1 sounds better than the identically priced system from Bose, as the Bose unit has always been a nice $200 product saddled with a $300 price tag. And although it’s not a fair comparison since none of Altec Lansing’s dockable units costs more than $200, the iP1 blows them away. A more fair comparison based on price would be Apple’s own recently discontinued iPod HiFi, which sounded fantastic and sold for $349 but didn’t come all that close to sounding as good as the iP1.

None of this is to denigrate any of the competing products out there, some of which are excellent in their own right. But improbable as it may seem for a newcomer in this price range, the iP1 immediately becomes the new king of the hill even before you consider the B button technology – similarly, come to think of it, to how iHome’s original iH5 product immediately became the best-sounding $99 dockable iPod stereo system out there before you even considered its alarm clock functionality. The iH5 sent the industry scrambling for an answer which eventually brought a whole wave of impressive competing $99 products to market. And the same thing will likely happen now, as the established vendors in this price range attempt to recover from having been simultaneously leapfrogged in design, audio quality, and underlying technology.

Altec Lansing MIX iMT810: Beatweek Best of 2012 so far

It often doesn’t take much alteration to keep a great product on top as time goes on, and Altec Lansing has proven that by revving its iMT800 “MIX” boombox for iPhone and iPod of a year and a half ago into the new iMT810 version which is reviewed here. The MIX concept is loosely based on Altec’s old original iM7 boombox from nearly a decade ago, which was the pre-eminent iPod boombox of its era. But the MIX eschews the old tubular motif in favor of a black trapezoidal design with silver carrying handles on the top and sides. And despite weighing ten pounds or more, it can run on batteries and is meant to be carried.

The most immediate evolution you’ll notice from the 800 to the 810 is that the dark gold is gone from the front of the unit entirely, with the gold highlights and the gold-hued screen having been replaced with a more understated silver, and the top EQ buttons now glow blue. It’s a nice change, as the unit is large enough that it doesn’t need big-color highlights to make it stand out even more; the 800 looked fine but the 810 looks sleeker based on those minor cosmetic changes alone. But much of what worked with the previous iteration is still in place: the slide-down roll bar on the iPhone-iPod dock to make sure it stays put when the stereo system is being carried, the slide-out FM antenna which gets strong reception, and the remote control which can clip onto your belt loop are still there.

The touted “mix” feature is still intact as well, with a pair of aux-in ports on top allowing you to hook up two other users’ devices (in this case it doesn’t have to be an iPhone or iPod) so that the “source” button will allow you to toggle between inputs, introducing multiple music libraries to the equation if you’re hosting a party for instance. Many or perhaps even most users will never put the mix feature to use, but either way it doesn’t get in the way or add any bulk to the unit, so it’s a net-plus.

Oh and by the way, the iMT810 is a stereo system first and foremost, which means its audio output is the primary decider of its worthiness as a product. What made the iMT800 a winner thankfully stays intact here: the massively impressive sounding for being a single-unit portable stereo. You can crank it loud, and I mean LOUD, before you’ll distort the music coming out of your iPhone or iPod. And the EQ controller allows for a broad range of bass to treble ratio. The MIX is the ideal portable big-boombox product for iPhone an iPod users.

That said, for those looking for a strictly stationary system, my money is still on the competing iHome iP1 which is about the same size (a bit smaller) and same price but offers an even more pristine-sounding audio experience. But the iP1 must be plugged into a wall to operate, which means the MIX is a whole different beast in that you can load it up with D batteries, grab it by the handles, and take your music with you. So if you want amazing loud audio and portability for your iPhone or iPod, the Altec Lansing MIX iMT810 is your new best friend – it outright owns the big-box portable category.

iHome iA100 – iA91 – iD85: Beatweek Best of 2012 so far

iHome invented the iPod stereo alarm concept years ago, and the reinvented it with the iA100 (pictured) which offered everything from app integration to superb audio quality. Of course that left a gap in the company’s lineup between the $199 iA100 and the $99 standard model. This year iHome has bridged that gap and upped the value ante, respectively, with the iD85 and the iA91.

The new $99 model, the iA91, offers most of what the iA100 brought to the table last year, including integration with iHome’s in-house apps for iPhone and iPod touch including iHome+Sleep and iHome+Radio, but does so in a more value-oriented package. The unit is smaller front to back and serves up audio quality which, while no match for the iA100, still positions it as one of the best sounding $99 dockable stereos on the market, alarm functionality or otherwise.

The iD85 is priced at $139 and offers a more sophisticated-looking hardware design complete with knobs instead of buttons. The audio quality on the iD85 is superior to that of the cheaper iA91. Tablet users will zoom in on one feature in particular: the iD85 features a docking mechanism which allows for the iPad and iPad 2 to be docked on top of the unit just as easily as an iPhone or iPod. That stands in contrast with the dock built into the iA91, which can only fit an iPhone or iPod.

Aside from the hardware design, audio quality, and iPad docking, the rest of the feature list on the iA91 and iD85 reads largely the same: AM-FM radio with twelve station presets, bass-treble adjustment, similar front screen displays, and an included remote. Having spent time with both units, I’m left to conclude that each represents a strong value for its relative price tag.

So which one is for you? The short answer: the iA100, if you can afford it. Otherwise it depends on your budget and how much emphasis you place on each of the three primary factors which earn the iD85 its higher price tag. Having woken up to all three of these devices, I can’t find a complaint to make about any of the lot.

Adam Lambert: the Beatweek cover story interview

by Bill Palmer

Adam Lambert is still a trespasser, figuratively speaking, even as his new album debuts at number one today on the charts. Nevermind that he’s in his third year of fame, he has the most loyal fan base of perhaps any modern pop star, and he’s the lead singer of Queen when he wants to be. The fact that his music doesn’t fit into any particular genre means he’s tasked with breaking new ground any time he makes music, and his new record runs the gamut. He starts out by buoyantly declaring “Wait til they get a load of me” over an electric guitar riff and a thumping drum line, and yet by the time it’s all over he’s somberly exploring what’s suddenly become the nation’s most pressing social issue from a distinctively personal perspective. The process was a year long journey, in multiple cities, with multiple collaborators. But while Trespassing is frontloaded with upbeat material, it’s the more vulnerable second half which came to him first.

“I have my good days and my bad days,” he says of the record’s two separate vibes. “When you’re on the road for over a year, it takes a second to get back down to reality. It’s an interesting kind of adjustment period. I found that my therapy was kind of writing through some of the darker stuff. So that’s how I started the writing process, really connecting to the emotional and all that. Then I got settled back at home and I found myself really enjoying myself. I was reconnecting with old friends and my family. I was getting into relationships and I started realizing how much I wanted to write dance music and party music, and stuff that inspired liberation and a good time,” he says with a laugh.

After changing some “management situations” and sitting down with his label, he made clear to all involved that he wanted to be more involved in the writing process this time around than he had been on his debut, for which he’d only co-written four songs and the biggest hit had been written by Pink and Max Martin without his input. “I said look, I really want to be involved as much as possible. And it was like ‘Great, we would love for you to be involved.’ I think everybody was very excited about that because I think they know that when an artist gets in on the writing process and oversees the whole album, it makes for a better project. It makes for a more authentic project.”

The album was originally scheduled to have been out sooner, but “things kept snowballing where we would stumble into another direction. I really appreciated that I got time. I think time is definitely a luxury compared to the last album, which was completed in about two months. So not only did I get to write a lot, I got to take the time to sit with the material and experiment and try a bunch of things out.”

One of those experiments saw him traveling to Miami to work with Pharrell Williams on what would become two of the loosest tracks. “I’m a huge fan of his work, so I was just anxious to hear what he had in mind and where we were gonna take it. I walked in and we started talking about the music industry and what we loved about music, which artists influenced both of us as we were growing up, and the kind of statement that I wanted to make. And he was like well, check this out. He had a loop, an idea. He had the beat and he had the bass line. And I was just like, what? I was floored. I was like well, that’s the coolest thing I’ve ever heard. We started adding some stuff to it and started writing the song, and what I found so refreshing was that he didn’t want to add too much. It wasn’t about a bunch of bells and whistles and a bunch of ear candy. It was about the groove. That’s what makes Pharrell so special.”

Despite his emphasis on songwriting, he did record a song that had been served up for him by Bruno Mars. “I’m not so stubborn or in that mindset of saying it’s only my stuff that I’ve worked on and that’s it. The game is played a certain way, and when a song gets presented to you as a possibility as something to record, you’ve got to listen with open ears and an open mind. When I heard Never Close Our Eyes, I thought wow, that melody is beautiful. I loved the melody. It’s one of Bruno’s strengths. As a fan of Bruno Mars, I was also really excited to be working on a song that he wrote.”

Adam Lambert is the most prominent openly homosexual pop star of his era, but not until now has he addressed the subject in his art. Outlaws Of Love, which he scribed with fellow singer BC Jean and Rune Westberg, tackles the issue of gay marriage head on. “I was knee deep in the honeymoon phase of my relationship,” he says, and “I was seeing something about the bullying that was going on, the struggle and the debate about gay marriage. Just kind of taking it all in, our whole community, and looking at it quite broadly, the LGBT community, and realizing that I had a lot of great, positive memories and experiences within the community. But one of the things that I felt all the sudden was that sadness that comes over me when I realize how many challenges we have, and when I realize that it is an uphill climb to reach total acceptance and tolerance. It just made me sad. That’s what that song is about. It’s about how sometimes it just sucks, you know? It just sucks that the reason why we’re being discriminated against and/or ostracized is because of who we’re choosing to love. To me, when it comes down to it love is a great thing, and I was realizing how much I was falling in love and realizing that was the very reason why people were being called out. We’re being outlawed for who we’re choosing to love.”

Our conversation takes place before the President endorses gay marriage. After the announcement he simply tweets “Yes!” and then later adds “I am completely in support of gay marriage. I also have an amazing boyfriend. This doesn’t mean I’m getting married.”

Lambert’s fans, who somewhere along the way got dubbed the Glamberts, have proven to be an enthusiastic bunch. The Glam Nation tour in 2010 and 2011 brought him closer to them. “There was a core group of fans that we would see at more than two or three shows. They were really following us around all over the country. It made me smile. It was very sweet and they were very excited, and it was giving me something to look forward to and to get excited about.”

Of course some of his fans are more famous than others. Last month Meat Loaf declared that Adam was “possibly one of the three greatest singers in the entire world” while the surviving members of Queen have been in his corner going back to his American Idol days. Is that in any way unnerving? “No,” Adam says. “I feel completely flattered by it, and I feel like it’s validating. Like okay, cool. I’m doing something that these people who I respect and admire, they’re admiring me back, so it’s mutual. And I think that’s, I don’t know, maybe it is a little unnerving,” he admits with a chuckle. “In the slightest sense maybe it’s a little bit surreal. It’s kind of bizarre to find that someone who you look up to, who has such a name, feels the same way about you. But it gives me a lot of motivation. It gives me a lot of strength to move forward.”

Queen has gone so far as to tap him as their singer for a handful of scheduled 2012 performances. This has naturally led fans of both acts to want – and expect – a larger scale tour. “I think there is an expectation,” he admits, “and I think it’s a beautiful expectation and its a very flattering one. But I stand by the idea that I’m an original artist and I have music that I’ve written that I would like to share with the world, that I’d like to tour. So my first priority is my work. And it’s funny because certain people may say well, but it’s Queen. Put your work on the backburner. I understand that concept but I also think that as an artist it’s important for me to express my ideas that I’ve created and that are new for me. So I’m looking forward to the couple of dates with Queen but I do think that they’re kind of isolated. And I think they’re isolated for a reason. I think it’s going to be really special and really exciting. It’s going to be pretty unforgettable, and I think I’m going to learn a lot from it. But I think that if we try to draw it out over more than that limited engagement, it’s not going to feel the same.” (read the Beatweek interview with Queen drummer Roger Taylor)

Instead, Adam will be touring later this year with his own material. With the new album and its opening track both called Trespassing, it begs the question of whether the tour will carry the same name. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it yet. I haven’t gotten to the tour. I love the idea of naming the tour something creative that goes with the theme, but I don’t know if I’ll just name it the album. I’ll probably get a little bit more creative than that. It’ll make sense. It’ll be something clever. I hope,” he adds, laughing.

In the mean time there’s a slate of performances this month on television talk shows and at sporting events, along with a return engagement this Thursday on the American Idol set which first made him famous, giving fans plenty of live looks at the new material. They already have their hooks deep into it. There’s a character named “Eddie” in the song Pop That Lock, and when we gave the Glamberts the opportunity to submit any question for Adam, the most popular submission was that of Eddie’s identity. “Oh, those are my secrets,” Adam says cryptically with yet another laugh. “What’s the point in confirming or denying? I mean I feel like it’s a little more fun to just keep everybody imagining. Part of the great thing about writing from your own life is that I think people should wonder and should think about it and should analyze it and should try to deduce some sort of something from the lyrics. It’s certainly not as much fun if I sit here and spell it out for everybody. I’m just going to let everyone come up to their own hypothesis. Or maybe it’s nobody. Maybe it’s just what sounded right in the song.”

So why do the album and the first track share the same title? “I look at it as a mission statement.” What did he learn from the last tour? “You’ve got to make it fresh every night.” The next single? “It’s not entirely my decision,” he quips, laughing once again.

Despite the serious subject matter of the conversation, it’s one defined primarily by laughter. Perhaps that lightness stems from having recently turned thirty, which took off more figurative weight than it added. “When I was younger I used to think it sounded old,” he says, but “I don’t feel old at all. I feel wiser in a lot of ways, but I don’t feel old. I feel like as opposed to it being the end of a decade, I’m looking at it like, okay, this is the beginning of a decade. With the album coming out, just where I’m at in my life, I feel like I have a lot to look forward to.”

AdamOfficial.com • iTunes • Twitter • Facebook

Beatweek Magazine: the 2012 issue – Adam Lambert, Queen, Best in Tech, Snooki, CSI, Andy Grammer, Haley Reinhart, Our Lady Peace, BC Jean and more

Beatweek Magazine issue #115 highlights:

• Adam Lambert cover story interview

• Best of consumer tech in 2012 (so far)

• Interview with Queen drummer Roger Taylor

• Television interviews with Snooki from Jersey Shore and Peri Gilpin from CSI

• Musician interviews with Andy Grammer, Haley Reinhart, Our Lady Peace, and BC Jean

Read this issue now

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Album review: “The Only Place” by Best Coast

by Ashley Goodman

It’s been two years since California born Bethany Consentino of Best Coast released her first album, Crazy For You. I’ll admit I blared “Boyfriend” windows down, in my truck, all summer long. In her new album The Only Place, Consentino wears her heart on her sleeve and shows a deeper side than we’ve seen on her previous album. Most of the songs on the new album are moody ballads. Consentino’s dreamy 60’s voice is reminiscent of a young Lesley Gore.

“The Only Place” the opening song on the album, references her home state, California. “We’ve got the ocean/ got the babes/ got the sun/ we’ve got the waves,” a more positive vibe compared to “Why I Cry.” Consentino describes her life as a “never ending hill.” Best Coast’s sound remains the same, but her lyrics give off a sense of hopelessness and a longing for affection.

The new album gives a good insight into Consentino’s life after achieving success from her first album. Substance abuse and depression are mentioned frequently. “All the things I’m taking are making me insane,” a line from “My Life.” Dissatisfaction can be sensed in “How They Want Me To Be” She complains about her friends sticking up their noses and asking how she spends her money, and of course her mom asking her a lot of questions “cus she’s just wonderin.”

The Only Place reigns as one of the best summer albums. It’s the perfect album to play when you’re missing someone or something. Despite Consentino’s melancholic lyrics, you’ll fall in love with her voice all over again.

Ultimate Ears 4 Pro: Beatweek Best of 2012 so far

Consumer level “in-ear” earbuds, which can run in price from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars, typically consist of choosing from one of a few different sized rubber tips and attaching them to the included buds. Some vendors take it up a notch by offering to mold custom shaped rubber tips to precisely fit your ear canals. But professional musicians do it differently: the entire earbud unit is manufactured based on a custom mold of your ear canals, with nothing to attach or remove. And while these custom buds can run into the thousands of dollars, the Ultimate Ears 4 Pro Custom In-Ear Monitors cost a comparatively affordable four hundred dollars. As such, Ultimate Ears (now owned by Logitech) asked me to test them out for consumer level suitability.

Custom moldings provide not only a more comfortable fit, but a superior level of sealing off outside sounds. That creates an intimate listening experience more typically associated with large headphones. Accordingly, the audio provided by the 4 Pro is as expansive as that of headphones; instead of merely feeling like audio is being piped into your ears, you’re left feeling as if you’re in the middle of a wide sonic landscape. The audio is impressively crisp from the treble down to the bass, creating a flawless listening experience.

Consumers are often hesitant to spend large amount of money on physically small products, writing off a product like this as being “too expensive” even as they spend the same amount on full sized headphones. But I would suggest that a product like the 4 Pro is about as close as you’ll ever come to being able to fit a pair of headphones into your pocket. Go back and listen to your favorite music, and you’ll hear details in the recording that you’d have never picked up on even with two hundred dollar non-custom earbuds.

Monster Turbine Pro Copper: Beatweek Best of 2012 so far

It was long ago established that Monster makes more than just cables, and as it turns out, Beats by Dre aren’t the only earphone products up the company’s sleeve. Enter the Turbine Pro Copper In-Ear Speakers, a four hundred dollar luxury-level set of earbuds made of copper and offering the crispest overall audio we’ve ever heard out of earbuds in this price range. And as a bonus, even as plenty of earbud products in this market ignore users of iPhones and other smartphones who want a microphone and on board playback controls, the Turbine Pro offers an optional built-in three button and mic “ControlTalk” set up for an additional thirty dollars.

I’ve had up-and-down results with metal based earbuds in the past, as they can tend to sound, for lack of a more artful word, overly metallic. But this is a different story. I put the Turbine Pro, which (naturally) features copper colored buds with silver trim and black cabling, head to head with “other favorite” set of four hundred dollar earbuds, the competing Westone 4. In short, while the Westone product delivered a wider range of audio overall, I found the Turbine Pro to be a tad more crisp and clear overall.

Of course this is comparing perfection to perfection in the eyes of anyone who’s stepping up from less expensive earbuds, but at this price point it’s okay to be picky. My verdict: it’s a tie. We very rarely have two five-star products in the same subcategory and price range, but you win either way here. For iPhone users who are looking to make calls, however, the choice is easy: unlike the competing product, the Turbine Pro has that optional built-in mic along with the three buttons (iPad and iPod users will also appreciate the volume and playback control offered by said buttons). As a bonus, the Turbine Pro comes with a stunning number of different sized and shaped earbud tips (I lost count at fifteen), including triple flanged ones.

At this price point you want to be very picky about your earbuds, as you’re probably paying more for them than you are for the device you’re using them with. But after having spent time with the Monster Turbine Pro, I’ve concluded that the only reason they wouldn’t be recommendable is if they’re not in your budget.

Westone 4: Beatweek Best of 2012 so far

A product like the Westone 4 evokes the same question often raised with razors: will adding yet another blade, or in this case yet another audio driver, serve to improve the product even more – or is there such a thing as one too many? Fortunately for fans of the Westone TrueFit 3, the addition of a fourth driver for the Westone 4 has turned out to be just what the audiophile doctor ordered. The 3 already offered the best audio experience we’ve ever found on consumer-level earbuds, and the 4 takes that to another level. This appeared to be the case when I was able to briefly test out a preproduction unit of the 4 at a trade show earlier this year. But after having spent quality time with a finalized 4 unit at home, I can confirm that it does indeed represent a step up from the 3 in the audio department.

The trick with the 4 is that is offer such an immersive, expansive listening experience that you’ll swear you’re wearing full size headphones instead of earbuds. In fact, more than once I instinctively reached up to remove the headphone cups from my ears before remembering that I was in fact listening to the Westone 4 earbuds as opposed to my high-end cup headphones. The 4 had darn well better sound this good, of course, as its price tag clocks in at a gut-wrenching $449 which means you’re likely paying more than twice as much for your earbuds as you are for the iPod or other device you’re using them with. The good news, however, is that the 4 is only fifty dollars more than the previous $399 price tag of the 3, which has subsequently been reduced to $349.

Speaking of iPods and other devices, there’s really only one thing not to like about the Westone 4, depending on how to plan to use it. While nearly all other consumer-level earbuds now come with at least the option to have a mic, volume, and playback controls built into the cabling for use with an iPhone or other smartphone, the 4 lacks such controls. Westone has begun building such controls into the low end of its lineup, and we assume those controls will make their way up to the 4 eventually if user demand is there for it.

But at present, the 4 simply comes with a detachable volume wheel good for controlling your audio level but still providing no compatibility for making or taking phone calls (although you can of course use the 4 to listen to music with your iPhone). In other words, the 4 is aimed either at users who, even if they plan to use it with their phone, don’t plan to use it for phone call purposes.

Because Westone makes no bones about the product being aimed in this manner, we’re not going to subtract off its star rating due to the lack of iPhone controls; we just wish they would be added to a future version so we don’t have to keep another set of mic-enabled earbuds handy for phone calls.

But if phone call compatibility isn’t something you care about anyway, there’s really nothing not to like here. The Westone 4 offers the best consumer-level earbud experience we’ve ever tested. Despite its sticker-shock $449 price, for those can afford it, the 4 is worth every penny. And based on my tests, the difference between the three-driver and four-driver audio experience is noticeable enough that the 4 is worth the extra $100 over the 3. The Westone 4 is one of those products that’s worth saving up for.

aJAYS Four: Beatweek Best of 2012 so far

JAYS, the earbud maker out of Sweden, has long made products which are impressive but not exciting. Something has changed with the new a-JAYS Four, however, as this product has a sense of swagger – and that’s something you’re not supposed to find in a $69 earbud product. But the requisite pieces are all there. The new design features the trendy flat ribbon-style cables which are less likely to tangle than traditionally circular ones, and are also arguably more stylish. The audio quality is crisp and strong across all ranges, and sounds almost too good for its price point. And the three buttons and mic setup preferred by iPhone, iPod and iPad users but still too rarely found south of $100, is here in all its glory.

Still, I was expecting to find fault with the same issue I’ve found fault with on every previous JAYS product I’ve tested: they all had a cable length which was almost absurdly short, requiring the use of the included cable extender, which then made the overall length so long the cables would drag on the ground if your mobile device was in your pocket. But apparently JAYS got tired of me (and presumably others) complaining about it, because the a-JAYS has no trace of the bizarre extender system and has instead been replaced by a perfectly standard built-in cable length. As is the case with every other aspect of the a-JAYS, they nailed that too.

To be clear, you can spend north of $100 and get audio quality that’s far superior to this. But I’ve tested enough earbuds in the $69 range to be able to state with confidence that the a-JAYS Four blows the rest of them away. This is the first time we’ve ever given a perfect five star rating to a sub-$100 earbud product.

V-MODA Vibrato: Beatweek Best of 2012 so far

V-MODA’s previous vibe and vibe ii earbuds were long ranked as our best earbuds in this price range, with the only thing missing of late was that the vibe ii still sported a mere one button in an age when three-button controls are almost a given at this price point. But v-moda has gone further than merely launching a vibe iii with this controls, as the new vibrato – despite looking suspiciously similar to the vibe ii – finally gives v-moda’s flagship earbud product the one thing it’s been missing: in addition to having by far the best bass of any earbuds at this price point, the vibrato’s mid and high ranges are strong enough to edge out other competitors in what has turned out to be a very strong category.

In fact, some of you may well do better with Shure’s SE115m+ (slightly better noise isolation) or the $99 options from Etymotic, Scosche, or ThinkSound, each of which come respectably close to living up to the vibrato despite being thirty dollars cheaper. But in a year in which we expected another vendor to finally, fully wrest this category away from V-MODA based on lack of three button control alone, the last minute arrival of the vibrato on the market has realigned the mid priced in-ear earbud market for iPhone and iPod users once again.

Bowers & Wilkins C5: Beatweek Best of 2012 so far

The C5 earbuds from Bowers & Wilkins have a lot to live up to, both in terms of audio quality and in styling. This is, after all, the company which has delivered products as jaw dropping as the Zeppelin iPod stereo dock (which is shaped as its namesake suggests) and as pristine as the svelte P5 headphones which seem to violate the laws of audio physics. The C5 largely goes for a minimalist approach, employing dark grey with black highlights throughout, and delivers yet another winner for the company.
Serving up in-line three buttons controls and a mic which will make iPhone users as pleased as their iPod using brethren, the C5 buds are in the shape of a sliced-off cylinder and offer a unique looped-around cable which can be adjusted to wrap within the inner lining of your ear so as to help hold the bud in your ear; it’s both a handy feature and a cool aesthetic twist. For those who don’t need any such help, the loop can be undone so the cables will hang in a traditional manner instead.
I initially thought the C5 had made the classic design mistake of placing the rubber tip too close to the untapered earbud, which in other products I’ve tested has resulted in discomfort. But my tests showed that the C5 has no such issue and is fully comfortable. Included are a zippered semi-hardshell case and a couple audio adapters plus the usual assortment of rubber tips (unfortunately, however, no foam tips as is often the case with earbuds in this price range).
So with all that out of the way, as with any audio product, the worthiness of the C5 comes down to its audio quality in comparison to its price tag. And the C5 serves of the best overall breadth of sound of any earbuds in the $179 price range I’ve tested. In direct comparison to Beatweek’s reigning “best of” winner in this range, the competing Etymotic hf3, I found the C5 offers better overall breadth although I’d have to give the edge to the hf3 in the “stunning clarity” department. That makes for an overall tie. So if the museum-quality styling of the Bowers & Wilkins C5 earbuds are to your tastes, and if you can afford the price tag, there’s no reason not to go for it.

Etymotic hf3: Beatweek Best of 2012 so far

Not everyone is in a position to spend as much on earbuds as they did on their iPhone or iPod in the first place. But there’s a balance between price tag and audio quality, and the pinpoint of that equilibrium in 2010 is Etymotic’s hf3 earbuds. At $179 they’re clearly not in everyone’s price range (which is why our Best of 2010 awards also include value priced earbud categories). But after having tested dozens of earbud products over the years whose price tags have ranged from less than twenty dollars to more than five hundred dollars, the hf3 is our winner for 2012.

Here’s why it rates out on top: in a word, clarity. The crispness of the hf3’s sound makes it easily worth paying extra in comparison to the various $119-$129 earbud products out there, the best of which sound fantastic in their own right. But the hf3 has a clarity to its audio which not only makes the music feel complete, it also makes you believe you’re wearing full-on headphones instead of tiny earbuds.

We’ve made the decision to focus our earbud coverage only on those earbuds which offer button control (preferably three, but at least one), as iPhone and iPod users routinely tell us that’s what they’re looking for. And in that department, the hf3 delivers over its one-button hf2 predecessor by offering full three-button controls (plus a mic for phone calls and voice control) in a manner that’s both tiny and easily accessible.

Review: Element Case Vapor Dock for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4

by Christine Chan

If there’s any accessory that an iPhone really needs, it’s a dock. But finding the right dock can be a difficult task. However, the folks at Element Case — makers of the Vapor Pro — have a great little dock that any iPhone user should consider: the Vapor Dock.

The Vapor Dock comes in two colors: silver and black. Both are made from a hefty chunk of aluminum, and feature the new “FLUX” finish, so that the aluminum has a satin feel and is cool to the touch. The FLUX finish also prevents fingerprints from showing up, and if any spots appear, they can be easily wiped off.

A 30-pin connector cable comes with the Vapor Dock, and the bottom features a cabinet to manage the cable, as well as a collet to lock it in place. The front of the dock features holes near the bottom speakers that will amplify any sound that comes from it. During my use with the product, I found the amplification to work well — calls on speakerphone sounded louder, audio was more audible, and the overall experience with my iPhone was more enjoyable.

While some docks may only work with your iPhone without a case, the Vapor Dock can accommodate iPhones with cases. While it is guaranteed that the dock will work with other Element Cases, such as the Vapor Pro line, there should be enough room for most cases (with the exception of extremely bulky cases, such as Otterbox Defenders and the like).

There is also a small tray lined with a felt material that is found behind where your iPhone goes. This could be for storing your Bluetooth headset or earbuds — small accessories that go with your phone (or not). It’s a nifty feature, but one that doesn’t get in the way if you don’t need it.

I found the Vapor Pro was able to charge and sync my iPhone at about the same rate as a normal USB cable from Apple. It’s a definite bonus to using such a dock, and it looks like a great complement to my MacBook Pro (especially the silver color).

The only negative thing is that the dock is not heavy enough to stay on the surface when you want to remove your phone. You will still have to hold the dock down and pull your iPhone up to remove it. I wish that the aluminum was a bit heavier so that you can remove the iPhone from it with one hand. Maybe the Elevation Dock will live up to that expectation.

Still, the Vapor Dock is a worthy choice for anyone looking for a great dock to show off their iPhone and charge/sync at the same time.

Rating four stars out of five • Price: $119 • ElementCase.com

Jim Dooley interview: music composer talks new “Hannibal” TV series and more

by Dana Feldman

There’s a section of sunny California’s Santa Monica that seems designated to the art of the film soundtrack. Non-descript from the street, many sound studios are housed, or shall I say brilliantly disguised, in buildings one might not even notice amid the landscape of blue skies and palm trees. This is where Music Composer Jim Dooley can often be found diligently working at his Pelagic Studios, named after a term in Marine biology, which he explains describes forward motion. It’s housed amongst Remote Control Productions, where the likes of the legendary Hans Zimmer work. Dooley’s talents can be heard in hundreds of film trailers including HARRY POTTER and TWILIGHT.

He was actually Zimmer’s assistant at one time where he spent two years under the tutelage of what many might call a master at his craft. “I’ve worked many a hundred hour work week,” he tells me. Adding with a chuckle, “I had a hernia during MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2 and I actually waited until the dub ended to go to the ER.”

True tale of someone fully committed to his or her craft, indeed. Of his success in his chosen field, Dooley explains how it is that he has gotten to where he is, an Emmy Award winner for his work on PUSHING DAISIES. “It seems like luck, and I have been lucky, but that has been combined with hard work. I’ve stepped in shit (of the good kind) my whole life. Things have just gone well for me.” Admittedly lucky yes, he has also worked extremely hard. With that being said, Dooley is a firm believer in a good work ethic and his advice for anyone out there with aspirations to follow in his footsteps would be to learn the craft from a professional. “It’s one thing to think you know your craft and it’s another to see someone actually doing it. You have to work for someone who is doing what you want to do.”

Wise as he is, and not one to put all of his eggs into one basket, Dooley puts his music into trailers, films, music libraries, video games and commercials. “I put my music any place that I can. Any place that you can get music into, I have music there.” A career path that he says is all that he ever wanted, he explains the positives. “The one specific thing about this industry is that there’s always something for me to do and I’m always working.” His natural talents also play a huge role as to why he’s consistently working. “I’ve been playing since I was seven years-old. My first instrument was the guitar.”

He fine-tuned his natural abilities by studying as an undergrad at NYU for Jazz performance, which is what he got in for. “I made a conscious decision to study music composition at that point.” Realizing that he was not what he felt was a great performer, he adds, “You can be a great musician, but performance is a different thing. And, I didn’t want to lug amps all over Manhattan.” He then moved to the west coast and studied Music Composition at USC.

His instincts proved insightful, as the current collapse of the record industry has made making a living at music very difficult. “Everyone’s on a lifeboat.” He first got started by working at Tyler Bacon’s company, Position Music. “When I moved into my previous house, my new neighbor and I moved in at the same time and as it turned out, he was the owner of the Position Music label.” Serendipitous for sure, but as Dooley has said before, he has that lucky streak! “We never talked about it. We both asked one another, ‘Hey, what do you do?’ We both answered music, and that was the end of it until a homeowners meeting where we finally talked about our work.” Dooley sent him three tracks the following day and Bacon got a request for SPIDER MAN 3 the next day. So it was just a few days after that homeowners meeting that Dooley landed his first big deal, to work on the domestic and international marketing campaign for the film. “The song has done well. It even ended up as the cold open for AMERICA’S GOT TALENT.”

Current projects include NBC’s recently cancelled BEST FRIENDS FOREVER (the last two episodes will be airing June 1st at 8PM ET). And for those who love the idea of a nice Chianti with a side of fava beans, Dooley has reteamed with PUSHING DAISIES creator, Bryan Fuller, on an intriguing new NBC show entitled HANNIBAL based on the serial killer from Thomas Harris’ novels that was made forever famous onscreen by Anthony Hopkins in the 1991 Academy Award-winning THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. This reboot, starring Hugh Dancy, of the life of Hannibal Lecter will start filming next month. The story preludes Harris’ RED DRAGON. “NBC has picked up a 13-episode order and the story goes way back to the beginning of Hannibal’s life. If you didn’t know that he was a serial killer, you wouldn’t know from the beginning of the series.” Fuller (HEROES) will serve as both writer and executive producer on the show, which will revolve around the cat-and-mouse game between the cannibalistic and brilliant Dr. Hannibal Lecter and FBI criminal profiler Will Graham. NBC has made a smart move as the character of Hannibal Lecter ranked as the number one film villain of all time in a poll conducted by the American Film Institute.

Ending up on the songwriting end of things, it’s just been announced that Dooley is scoring, as well as writing songs for, the upcoming Disney EPIC MICKEY 2: THE POWER OF TWO. With music being a large element in the game, the songs will help to drive the overall narrative. Learn more at JimDooley.com.

Eagles in the Chicken Coop: independent film from Brent Florence

by Natalie Gelman

Eagles in the Chicken Coop: A look into the Making and Success of an Award Winning Independent Feature Film with filmmaker Brent Florence.

It was an ordinary cold day at the Sundance Film Festival when I met filmmaker Brent Florence. Typical of many young independent filmmakers, Florence wrote, directed, edited and acted in his latest feature film, Eagles in the Chicken Coop. He gave me an early edit of the film while I was street performing on Main Street in Park City and a few weeks later I put it in my laptop to watch while eating dinner.

Knowing nothing about Florence or the film, I started hesitantly watching and decided that if I wasn’t into the story by the time I was finished with dinner I could always turn it off and do something else with my night.

That’s not what happened at all…

Eagles caught me from the start, or should I say, caught me off guard from the start… The story follows two idealistic artists chasing their dreams in Hollywood and their hilarious journey while making a late-nite mature film. Their big break directing turns out to be anything but as they struggle to shoot required sex scenes and make art with a jaded cast of “skin-flick” regulars.

I found myself laughing, embarrassed for them and even sympathizing for Bill and Armondo too. I think any artist who has struggled and felt the pull of art vs. business can relate to this film. It should be a must see for film students and hopefuls moving to LA or NY to be filmmakers.

The story in the film stemmed from real-life experiences Florence (and his friends) had as relatively unknown writers and directors in Hollywood.  After releasing his first feature length Independent film, A Girl, Three Guys and A Gun, Florence got his first taste of the brass tax reality behind the business of selling movies. “It can be pretty ugly. I found out the hard way the levels people and companies will go to to stay above water. The excitement and promises we were given went out the window quick after we signed off on our film.”

He spent a year disheartened by the experience before becoming inspired to make Eagles in the Chicken Coop.

Florence and his friend and fellow actor Kenny Luper decided put their pens to the paper to tell a high concept story about artists who land in the most formulaic and “least artistically” driven movie genre in Hollywood; the Mature genre.

After finishing the script Florence assembled a team of talented friends including Bryan Bihari and James Bass as producers to make the most of what budget they had raised to produce Eagles. They knew to accomplish the film without major infrastructure they would have to stay on their toes and be ready to adapt to the elements constantly.

On set, they dealt with leaking school buses during storms, fires, accidents and injuries. I discovered that one of my favorite scenes in the film came as a result of an accident: While prepping to shoot a scene, they realized they didn’t have a moustache they needed for an actor. Without time to drive hours to get one they decided to cut real human hair and make a moustache themselves. The situation was so honest and funny they added it to the story and shot the entire experience.

“We were very lucky with the cast who came on board, not only were they talented– but they let us glue freshly cut hair onto their lip as a make-shift mustache before a love scene!” Florence added laughing.

Eagles in the Chicken Coop was performed by an impressive and eclectic ensemble. It was lead by a trio of young actors in Florence, Kenny Luper and Chloe Snyder. However, it also stars Oscar nominated Kathleen Quinlan (Apollo 13, Made of Honor), Dwight Ewell (Chasing Amy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back), Bruce Abbott (Humble Pie, Re-Animator), Vincent Young (Beverly Hills 90210) and Alex Holdridge and Sara Simmonds who won the Independent Sprit Award for their film In Search of a Midnight Kiss.

Since it began the festival circuit, Eagles in the Chicken Coop itself has picked up awards at nearly every festival it has entered. Premiering in Hollywood at the famous Egyptian theater, Eagles took home the Best Director award and has gone on to win awards on two continents with multiple Best Picture Awards, Best Directing, Best Screenwriting and Best Editing awards.

“It’s amazing now how much you can do on a reasonable budget. A small talented team can turn a passion project into a real film. The technology is there now from production and post production though exhibition to get it done and out there!”

Eagles was all edited on one Apple computer which attracted representatives from Apple’s iTunes Movies who after seeing the film early in it’s festival run approached Florence with the opportunity to release it on iTunes Movies home page.

“Our film was made just outside the system but after Apple released it, it went straight to a mainstream audience! Its a dream come true to have audience members, real people, across the country watching your film and even reviewing it, if they wanted! Oh, and of course liking it.–We were in iTunes Top Charts for “all” Comedies. Beside the biggest studio comedies of the year!”

Florence explained that as a young filmmaker, if you’re serious, you can make films that are on a mainstream level, even in the ball park of the studio films… “while you’re waiting to get noticed by the studios.

“Everyone has the ability to do this with independent film now.”

Eagles has been building its audience slowly between film festivals and over the Internet. You can watch it on HYPERLINK “mailto:http://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/eagles-in-the-chicken-coop/id472529790″ iTunes or come to its New York premier on Friday May 11th at the HYPERLINK “mailto:http://theunitedfest.com/newyork/schedule/” New York United Film Festival where it will open the festival with Florence and some of the cast in attendance.

Although all indie films hope to be the breakout film of the year Florence and Treasureview Pictures (the company formed to make Eagles) are happy to know there is a place now through all the digital platforms where non-studio films can have a home. Treasureview Pictures has chosen to maintain the rights to Eagles and release the film strategically through the various Internet and television platforms.

They are currently developing multiple feature film projects and a television series spin-off from Eagles.

I don’t know of another independent film that has done so well that hasn’t been sold to a major distributor and as an artist myself who has taken this route of self-release with my music I’m excited to see filmmakers doing this now too.

Check out Eagles in the Chicken Coop online and on iTunes and be sure to leave a review and let Florence know what you think.

Review: 4moms Origami Stroller

The Origami stroller by 4moms is one of the most unique strollers I’ve ever seen. It has a lot of features and options that you didn’t know you needed (or maybe wanted is the more appropriate word). And if you don’t have kids already, this stroller may make you want one!

Power-Folding. I’m pretty sure you’ve seen parents in the parking lot, struggling to collapse their strollers to pack away in the car. And sometimes it’s not that much smaller once they fold it, taking up most of the trunk! One of the Origami’s very attractive feature is the power-folding capability. With a twist and a push of the button, the stroller automatically collapses, folding inward in three different directions. Not only does it get shorter in height, the width and length gets smaller as well, taking up even less space in your car’a trunk. This feature is only half the fun!

Speedometer and LCD Display. Other features you would love are the odometer and speedometer. Not only will you know how far you’re walking, but how fast as well. Give this gadget to Daddy and watch him race down the sidewalk. To be honest, it’s too much fun watching the speedometer number go up. You’ll get a nice workout with your child too.

These features are displayed on the stroller’s LCD screens. Yes, there’s an LCD screen on this! In additional to the odometer and speedometer, it also displays the temperature, how much charge is left on the stroller, and a picture of your child. Well, not really a picture of your child, but a darn cute representation of him/her. You can also change the display to show a girl or boy. And while you’re pushing the stroller, the display will show a grassy background that moves as you move. Yes, they’re features you don’t necessary need for a stroller, but are pretty awesome once you see them in use.

Strolling. Pushing the stroller is really comfortable. I was able to navigate through tight places without a problem. Also, my daughter usually cries when my I push her in our stroller, but when we put her in the Origami (using the car seat adapter), she would quietly play with her toys, or just fall asleep. It made my shopping experience much more enjoyable without any baby meltdowns. From this experience, I assume the ride must be comfortable and smooth as well. The wheels are big and have great suspension to absorb most of the bumps in the sidewalk and street. This is not an all-terrain stroller so you won’t find locks for the front wheels, so it’s best to push on smooth surfaces.

The handlebars aren’t adjustable, which is fine since they’re 41″ off the floor. I’m 5’3″ and my husband is 5’9″, and it was a great height for both of us. There’s a no-kick zone on this stroller, so no matter how long your walking stride is, there’s no bar or basket that will hit your feet as you walk.

Attached near the handlebars are two cup holders for the parents. They’re lightweight and hold two water bottles/cold drinks perfectly fine. You may also want to attach the handle bar bag and cellphone charger on the handle bars. This doesn’t come with the stroller, but is highly suggested that you purchase it. Why wouldn’t you want to charge your phone while you walk? You never have to fear about low battery on your phone again! Just hook up your phone charger to the kit, and place your phone in the bag. The motors in the stroller will charge the phone as you walk.

There’s a one-touch brake system too. Just step on the brake-lock near the right-wheel and the stroller will stay in place. The placement is quite handy and easily accessible.

Daytime and Pathway Lights. I’m pretty sure this is the only stroller that comes with headlights. And it looks pretty amazing. There are three levels of brightness you can choose from. Simply tap on the button on the handle to change the brightness, or turn it off completely. It’s very handy when you’re heading out to a dark parking lot from a long day of shopping. The lights on the stroller make it highly visible to any oncoming traffic, which is a great safety feature that no other stroller has.

Graco Carseat Adapter. The stroller is appropriate for children 6 months to 4 years (up to 40 lbs). But if you want to use it for a younger child, you can use the Graco car seat adapter. Graco is a popular children’s car seat, and the adapter works very well. You’ll need to remove the seat from the stroller and put in the adapter in it’s place. This adapter cradles the car seat in. Be sure to pop the car seat in place, and there you have a unique travel system.

Storage Space. One thing that worried me is the lack of room for a traditional diaper bag. Most diaper bags nowadays clip onto the handlebar of the stroller. It’s not recommended that you put a diaper bag on these handlebars, but I find that it’s capable of holding a bag. However, the heavier the bag, the harder it is to steer. So I recommend carrying a small and light bag to put either in the compartment below the stroller or on the handbars.

There is plenty of storage space on the stroller itself. These work very well, especially if you have an older toddler. Behind the seat are three additional pockets. The two side pockets are large enough to fit Thermos or drink bottles. The middle one can store small bags, paper, a nursing cover, etc. There’s also another storage compartment under the stroller. It’s a large space, but the shape is a little odd since it’s more narrow the deeper you get in the compartment. I found that it was the perfect place to store a jacket or baby carrier (in case the baby wanted out of the stroller).

The seat and canopy. The seat is nicely padded for the child to sit comfortably in. The shoulder straps are also padded so they’re not hitting your child’s face. The seat also comes in an array of beautiful colors, except when you purchase the stroller fro the 4moms website, the gray one comes by default. You’ll need spend another $99 for a color kit or find a local retailer that may have it in stock. One thing to keep in mind though is that the seat is not reversible, nor does it recline in multiple positions. There is a slight recline if you adjust the strap in the back. Your child will be basically upright the whole time, which is not ideal for sleeping toddlers. But for the younger newborns and infants, they can be in the car seat with adapter.

Besides all the extra gadgety goodness this stroller has, another favorite part I love is the mesh canopy on the seat. The canopy is large to protect your child from the sun, but for hot days or just the sake of seeing your child, you can pull the top flap back to expose a mesh top to help circulate air as well as see how your child is doing. There’s even an extra sun visor at the end of the canopy that can be popped out if needed.

Let’s run down the Pros and Cons of this stroller:

Pros:

• Collapses into a compact-size unit to fit nicely in you car’s trunk.
• Small third set of wheels, similar to luggage bags, makes rolling away easy.
• Headlights are great safety feature when you’re in darker settings.
• Eco-friendly! There’s a motor in the wheel that charges the stroller as you push it.
• It could turn into a travel system with Graco car seat adaptor. Simply move your child from the car to stroller with just a snap!
• Easy to assemble. It actually comes assembled for the most part. You’ll need to put the handlebars, seat, and and other accessories in yourself which are not too difficult.
• Very sturdy and easy to maneuver, even in the toughest spaces.

Cons

• It’s a lot heavier than most strollers, being 29lbs. But you only time you’ll feel this weight is when putting it in and taking it out of the car.
• It is the first of its kind, so there’s a hefty price to pay. Consider this item a high-end luxury stroller. Most strollers in this price range offer multiple seating configurations, but of course none of the Eco-friendly power features, so consider that as well.
• There is only one seating arrangement for your child, which is in an upright position. There is no option for multiple reclining positions.
• Getting the stroller in anything by gray will cost you an extra $99. There is no option to select a color choice on the 4mom’s website, but you may find the colored ones at a local retailer.
• There’s no eating tray for your child, but there are two cup holders for him/her. These cupholders only fit narrow bottles/cups though. So if your child uses a wide-mouth bottle/cup, they won’t fit.

Parts:

• Origami Stroller ($849.99)
• Graco Car Seat Adapter ($59.99)
• Handle bar bag and cellphone charger ($39.99)
• Origami Color Kits available in black, blue, green, hot pink, and red ($99.99)

I highly recommend getting the Handle bar bag and cellphone charger if you make the purchase. It’ll charge your phone as you stroll, which comes in very handy on long shopping trips or outings. To use the stroller for the first 6 months (or more, up to 35lbs) of your child’s life, I definitely recommend purchasing the Graco Car Seat Adapter to turn the stroller into a travel system.

There’s no doubt that this stroller is very slick and amazing. It’s also an attention seeker that would turn heads due to its unique shape and all the technology jam-packed into it. The stroller does start at $850 (without any accessories), but that’s right up where the other luxury strollers start as well. If you can look pass the weight, lack of recline, and the hefty price, you have yourself an amazing and unique stroller!

4moms.com · $849.99 · Amazon ($789.99)

Review: SmartMom Teething Bling

If you have children, you know that teething is not the most fun time for them (or you). But you can comfort and help ease their pain with a teething toy or something to chew on.

There are many teething toys on the market, but one that makes teething time fun and comfortable for both baby and mom are SmartMom Teething Bling. They’re teething toys made to look like beautiful jewelry that Mommy can wear.

I tried out the Teething Bling on my daughter. When I saw her bite her hands, I’d put the bling in her mouth and she enjoyed chewing that instead. It is conveniently around my neck like a necklace, so no matter if I’m around the house or shopping, it’s easily accessible. The one I’m wearing is the newest design — a 2×2 bronze-colored ring pendant that hangs on a black, silky cord with breakaway clasp. The ring pendant is a nice size for my daughter since her little hands can hold it and it fits right in her mouth. She cried much less when I went out since I can just hold her while she’s biting on my Teething Bling. The big plus is that I can’t lose the teething bling and it stays clean since it’s around my neck.

There are some safety precautions with the use of this product though. They’re intended for adults to wear, so never put it on your child, and never let them play with it unattended. Older children with fully developed teeth may bite through the Teething Bling, so it should be used for younger kids who are just starting to teeth (around 4 months).

Overall, I think it’s a clever product that every new mom should have. It’s convient to soothe baby, while making mom look extra fancy and stylish! The ring pendant Teething Blings are available in two colors — bronze and oynx for $19.99. There are many other designs and pendant styles to choose from as well. Matching bangles are also available for $12.99.

Teething Bling are available at SmartMomJewelry.com · $19.99

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