Friday, August 26, 2011

AudiOHMS: Good for Productivity, and the Anti-Social Person in You

I'm not afraid to admit that I am ridiculously attached to my earbuds. I seriously can't go anywhere without them. I always think to myself - self, do I really need these? And the answer is always YES! What if you are stuck waiting for someone and you get bored? What if you are in a car with people and want to drown them out? Or even worse, what if you are on the bus or subway? Earbuds are the perfect way to be anti-social without being rude.
Think about it. When you see someone sitting on a bus or at a bus stop, or waiting near a restaurant or mall and you think about approaching them, don't the earbuds throw you off? You see someone with earbuds and it sends a signal that they shouldn't be approached. I know I do it all the time. When I take the subway or go to the gym, the earbuds stay in. Yeah, I enjoy the music, but even better is drowning out the people around me or putting up a barrier between myself and the wierdos out there! I've even been known to putting in earbuds and not listening anything just to avoid talking to people. It's the perfect excuse.

Earbuds also help me stay productive. I'm one of those people who doesn't like the quiet. It's not that I'm afraid of it, but if it gets too quiet, I find myself looking for stimulation. I find that more and more people are like this, maybe because there is so much more out there than ever before and we are getting used to this fast paced world... maybe it's just because my generation just wants to rebel but who knows. All I know is that I'm grateful for my earbuds come the 4pm lull at work.

I know I'm not the only one who feels this way about my earbuds. When you walk in to the electronics department of Target, you see how many choices there are! There are earbuds of all shapes, sizes, colors, and price points. You need to decide if you want the in ear earbuds, headphones, big ones, small ones, huge ones... There are an endless amount of options.
I love my audiOHM earbuds from Accessory Genie. Thank goodness I found an affordable pair of earbuds that fit comfortably in my ears and have excellent sound quality. Before I got them, I thought my Apple issued earbuds were just fine, but these make those other ones look like a joke. They come in 3 colors, a dark green, bright blue, and red. I have the red ones and they're awesome. They also come with 4 sizes of silicon ear pieces so I can customize them to fit my ears perfectly. Also makes sharing a little better if you're like me and are grossed out by other people's earwax.

I would recommend these to anyone in need of a good pair of earbuds that doesn't want to spend a lot just for the brand name!

-Jinni

Friday, August 19, 2011

Don't Get it Twisted, Go Wireless

Cardio workouts are simultaneously my best friend and my worst enemy. Best friend because, well, let's face it, how else am I supposed to burn off all the calories from those delicious In-n-Out burgers and Krispy Kreme doughnuts? And worst enemy because in addition to being incredibly exhausting, it also is tedious and boring, especially when you're just listening to your own footsteps hitting the pavement or the treadmill continuously repeating its cycle.

I had tried using the earbuds to listen to music. And as pleasant as it was to listen to music (I even had a whole playlist dedicated to working out), I hated having to carry my iPod in my hand. I also tried an arm band pocket for my iPod, which I thought would solve the problem. However I wasn't able to switch tracks very easily, which was kind of annoying. I also realized that the wire from my earbuds bouncing around was almost as annoying than hearing my own footsteps for a few miles.
The GOgroove AudioACTIVE Bluetooth Headset was the solution to my problems. Or at least that little thorn in my life. This comfy headset connects to your audio player through Bluetooth, so I never have to worry about carrying my clunky iPod Touch while listening to the Spice Girls during my morning workout.
The design of the AudioACTIVE headset was obviously engineered with sports activities in mind. The headset comfortably fits in your ears and around the back of your head with a secure yet comfortable fit. On-board controls let me change the tracks playing, as well as control the volume levels.

When my AudioACTIVE headset is synced with my iPhone, the built-in microphone and answering controls turns my headset into a hands-free calling device. Not that I would ever want to answer the phone in the middle of my run, but I've found this feature to be so handy and useful for other activities where my hands or shoulders are too busy to hold a phone.

My AudioACTIVE Bluetooth Headset easily charges through AC or USB, and provides me with 7 hours of listening time, although I hope I'll never be working out for 7 hours straight.
And the best part of all, no more annoying wires to deal with!
-Jinni

Friday, August 12, 2011

Meet the Koala Pal!

The GOgroove Koala Pal has finally joined the Accessory Genie family! Much like its friendly and loved relative, the Panda Pal, the Koala Pal is a compact and deceiving speaker system designed to play audio from your favorite electronics, including tablets, MP3 players, smartphones, laptops, desktop computers and more!

Yes I called it deceiving. For an item of its size and shape, I expected the music coming out of it to be something my 3 year old nephew would appreciate much more than I ever could. Then I tested the product out, and instantly fell in love. It's pretty entertaining to listen to the amazing-ness that is Lady Gaga playing out of the cutest little speaker you could think of, and the sound quality blow your mind.

Through its 3.5mm cable "tail", the Koala Pal plugs into your audio player of choice to deliver surprisingly amazing sound. Adding to its versatility, the Koala Pal can be powered through a USB port (cable included) or by three AAA batteries. I replaced my boring desktop speakers at work with my Koala Pal, and it's significantly much more pleasant to have an adorable face look at me as it plays music to get me through the day.

On Friday afternoons, I simply unplug KoKo (yes, I named my Koala Pal) and take it with me for my weekend activities. It has completely replaced the bulky stereo system I used to take to the beach or to the park simply because it delivers the same sound quality but is so much easier to travel with!

You may not know that the koala's survival is currently threatened due to habitat loss, brush fires and disease. To encourage Koala Pal owners to take action, the Koala Pal's manufacturer, Accessory Power, has also added in an informational snippet to the Koala Pal's packaging and instruction manual to raise awareness of the Australian Koala Foundation. To find out how you could support this non-profit organization in its mission to save the wild koala and its habitat, you can visit www.savethekoala.com.

I couldn't be happier with my Koala Pal, as a portable speaker and as my desktop companion, and I look forward to seeing what other friendly companions GOgroove comes out with next!

-Jinni

Friday, August 5, 2011

An Accessory Genie Rep Will Be With You Shortly

I've never liked having to call customer service numbers and will usually do what I can to avoid, even if it means trying to fix my own cable box or pay a couple extra bucks on my cell phone bill for something I shouldn't have been charged for. But despite the serious irritation I have with calling customer service numbers, sometimes it just can't be helped.

A few weeks ago I noticed on my credit card statement that I had a ridiculous charge from a company I had never heard of. Of course, I immediately picked up the phone and called my credit card's customer service line, only to go through a maze of "Press one for..." and "Zero is not an option..." After about five minutes, I was finally able to get a hold of a real human being, only to be informed that I had reached an incorrect extension.

Airline customer service lines are just as bad. Last January, a relative of mine was coming to visit California when a huge storm hit Atlanta, where her connecting flight was supposed to take place. Needless to say, she was incredibly frustrated waiting at the airport and not having her questions answered, so I called the airline's customer service number to get some information about her flight.

No exaggeration, I literally waited on hold for 45 minutes before I was finally able to get a live person on the line. Yes, I understand there was a storm and they may have had more calls than usual. But is 45 minutes really an acceptable time to wait with the phone on my ear? I think not.

Because of these horrible experiences, I truly have an appreciation for the customer service department here at Accessory Genie. When you call, there aren't any buttons to push (unless you know the person's extension) and you're directly transferred to a customer service representative. Our customer service team is constantly trained on all of the products sold at AccessoryGenie.com, and is therefore very knowledgeable and able to answer any questions or concerns callers may have.

And they really are here to help customers with ANY questions they may have. If you really just can't figure out how to get your device to work properly, they can walk you through it. Would like to exchange a product for another? They'll happily arrange it for you. They really are there to help our Accessory Genie customers with any needs, questions and concerns.

So the next time you have a question about a product you purchased from AccessoryGenie.com, please do not hesitate to contact them at 888-998-8879. I promise the experience will be significantly better than calling your credit card company, the cable guy, or the annoying airline your aunt is flying on.

Happy dialing!

-Jinni