I've never made excuses for liking nice things; I work hard and have made a lot of sensible decisions so if I want something I get it.
Having said that, I work on a need over want ethos, so yeah I have some really nice things but I'm not focused on only name brands though; I've no need to impress anyone and whether I have name brand/designer things or not doesn't make me a better or worse man right? Yes, I understand that some items are simply made better than others but I'm definitely not a brand name snob.
In 2021 I needed Bluetooth ear pods and looked around to see what I could find.
Just as a background, I used to use an iPhone (fucken hate them) and had some of those airPod things they make (hated them too) but went to Samsung and am happier for it. So, when I was looking around for ear pods I checked out the Samsung ones, Bose, Sennheiser, Jabra, Beats and some others and realised I wasn't going to get much change out of $300 Australian dollars. I wasn't prepared to pay that much. I looked around some more and came across some called Soundpeats - Chinese rubbish is what I thought - but for $39 Australian dollars I thought it was worth the risk.
That was two and a half years ago and they only just started giving me battery-life issues. Of course, they're made like all the rest, non-replaceable batteries, so when the battery issues began I knew I'd need new ones.
I'd read somewhere that the Soundpeats company had been in legal strife for replicating patented technology which is, of course, a bad thing; I didn't feel motivated to support that sort of behaviour.
I looked at them though and found Soundpeats ear buds for around $100-$120 AUD - costly compared to the bargain basement version I bought in 2021. I kept looking but realised $300-$400 AUD was about standard for the others. Fuckety fucken fuckballs, I didn't want to spend that much! I eventually found some Samsung Galaxy buds FE which were $99 reduced from $199. Sure, they were 2023 technology but come on, how much could they have changed? I bought them.
I was thinking about hat the FE stands for and feel it probably stands for fucken excellent.
They arrived a few days ago and I got them up and running which was pretty quick and easy and I'm really pleased with the sound quality which was clear and I like the cool bass sound they have, the noise-cancelling feature (ANC), and the voice calling quality which I tested in various conditions, indoor and outdoor. They were way better than the Soundpeats I'd had and with the advertised 30 hour playback time would slay the playback time of the Soundpeats. On a winner? I don't know yet, but I think so.
If I were to get two and a half years out of these ear pods I'd be satisfied although three would be better. I guess I won't know for a while yet, but what I know for sure is I'm glad I didn't go back to the Soundpeats and not just for the quality factor. I believe there's too much manufacturing generally and with companies simply replicating other company's product well...how much manufacturing do we need?
People say we're progressing but I don't think so unless they mean, "progressing down the fucken toilet."
It seems so many don't have original thoughts and ideas, just new ways to do the same things, or the same ways packaged differently to look different, I call it new old stuff. And with all that comes more and more waste which we can ill-afford. Sure, I just added to it by buying ear pods, but I suppose the world is fucked anyway right?
What are your thoughts on corporations making direct copies of a competitor's product or concept? Good or bad?
Have you used products that were knock-offs and cheaper only to find out they were shit and a waste of money? Are you a brand name snob who thinks if it has the "acceptable" name brand on it that it's better, or that you're better? (Note - You are not).
Feel free to comment about these or other things if you choose. Also, if you want to test out my ear pods call quality, drop your phone number in the comments below and I'll give you a call.
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
[Original and AI free]
Image(s) in this post are my own
