The 3TG product pages are full of the devices that I recommend most in each of their categories. Starting with this post, I'll occasionally be choosing one of these products and expanding on why I like them. Here we go!
I spend a large amount of time doing chores around the house. Washing dishes and loading/unloading the dishwasher, lawn care, laundry, cleaning up after our cats, etc. One thing that makes these chores enjoyable is listening to audio books, music, or podcasts while you do them. Personally, I'm always listening to podcasts in order to be entertained and informed.
When I first started listening to podcasts while doing chores, I simply grabbed an old pair of earbuds that came with an iPod or old CD player (I think everyone has a set of these in their home). But those headphones drove me crazy. I was tethered to my phone, I couldn't navigate through what I was listening to, and every time I walked too close to one of our kitchen cabinets, the wire would get caught and the buds would get ripped from my ears (this happened at least three dozen times).
The solution is wireless. I'd used bluetooth headphones before and not had great results, but the technology has come pretty far. I decided to give the LG Tone+ a try and I'm glad I did. These headphones rest around your neck, with the earbuds starting out tucked into the ends magnetically. You can take the earbuds out and stick one or both of them in your ear. Unlike wired or most wireless headphones, it's very easy and comfortable to only put one bud in your ear, which is important if you need to listen for things like a crying baby waking up from a nap!
The headphones connect to your phone quickly after being turned on, and even have a little voice that tells you the battery level and when the headset is connected. After that, you can play audio and it will come through the earbuds. There are playback controls on the right-hand side that let you play/pause, skip forward, and skip back. When I'm listening to podcasts, I have my app set to skip 15 seconds ahead when I press the skip forward button, which lets me get through commercials.
On the left-hand side of the headset are the call and volume controls. You can answer or end a call with the phone button, and change the volume with the other two buttons. You can even initiate a call with the phone button by saying the name of the person you want to call.
The sound quality on these headphones is decent. It's absolutely as good as you'd need for podcasts. Music playback is OK, but don't expect to be blown away. The headset is comfortable to wear, and stays in place when running or doing chores. The only issue I've had is that they can tend to rotate around my neck a little, but not too badly, and it's mostly when I have one bud in.
The most impressive thing about these headphones is their battery life. They can last a few days in standby mode, and I've gotten over 10 hours of constant audio playback before. The other day I mowed the lawn, then cleaned out my garage for 5 hours, and I still got a couple hours of listening in the next day before the battery ran out. I've been really impressed with this battery life.
The Tone+ is the oldest currently available model of these headphones, but from what I've seen of the newer ones, it's the best buy right now. The ones I've linked to on the product page are the 730 model, and LG has released the 800 and 900 models. The 900 is very nice, has the best audio quality, and the earbuds retract into the ends, but the they're pricey at around $95-125 vs $70 for the Tone+ 730 model.
$70 may seem pricey too, but I use these headphones every day for at least a couple hours a day, sometimes up to 10, and if they broke I would gladly buy a new pair. These are highly recommended.