LUMINOUS SILK

Give your cheeks a natural tint — and keep them moisturised too!

As with devices with touch- sensitive panels, you have to be careful with it as you may inadvertently touch it. It’s a bit sensitive, but the good thing is that being small, there’s lesser room for this to happen, unlike huge headsets with a larger room for error.

The sound coming out of the Icon X is decent, although don’t expect it to replace your higher- end headsets. It also has what you can call a “safe mode”; press and hold on either bud and the external mics will be activated, allowing you to hear the outside world while still listening to your music. Better be safe while jogging. Each bud has 4GB of storage in which you can store your songs, plus a built- in heart- rate monitor in each. What’s more, there’s an app for it, although it’s only available for Android.

One potential drawback here — while also a come- on — is its size, since it may tend to fall off if you haven’t placed it properly; good thing there are S- M- L buds you can choose from.

AND SO…

It’s a good draw from Samsung, since the Icon X is a good, versatile device to have around. While not perfect — as is generally the case with firsts — this gizmo is promising for those who don’t want to worry about cramping up cables in their pockets or bags.

alvin@ khaleejtimes. com

THE LOWDOWN

Sensor Heart rate monitor, accelerometer, capacitive touch Connectivity Bluetooth 4.1 Storage 4GB ( each bud) Audio 20- 20KHZ Battery 47mah ( each) Microphone 2 per bud Playing formats MP3, M4A, AAC, WAV, WMA Water resistance Yes Price Dh699 Pros Handy, sleek, onboard storage on each bud Cons Tends to fall off, sound quality, battery life Editor’s rating 8.5/ 10