Remember when listening to you talk to you about technology was actually innovative and desirable? Yes, it was 2004 and it was a phone that Paris Hilton was using (though I couldn’t get my hands on the pink version) called the Motorola Razr.
If you’re too young to remember what he said when you got recharged Listen to this (opens in a new tab). For the rest of us (and each of the 130 million people who owned this phone after its release), knowing that Motorola also sells in-ear headphones that take you back to that point might be something of a revelation!
The hugely popular Razr flip or flip phone is now 18 years old – but the company behind it (which unfortunately only accounts for a small part of the smartphone market these days, was taken over by the Chinese giant Lenovo – from the previous owner of Google – in 2014) revived it a few years ago thanks to Motorola Razr 2019 and Razr 2020.
And the best part is that the new Motorola Razr 2022 is on the horizon – and what is the shiny new smartphone these days without a set of earpieces to play nicely with?
Meet the Moto Buds 150. For a really tasty $ 50 / £ 45 (around $ 80) it’s weird to see these earbuds a mid-range Moto deal as the entry-level 085 brand is only £ 30 / $ 45, while the flagship Moto Buds S-ANC will set you back $ 150 / £ 130.
I’ll take a quick look at the specs because while a few stand out, they’re not the most interesting part: IPX5 waterproof (so they can withstand a continuous stream of low-pressure water) on-ear touch buttons (although not volume) and an 18-hour battery life (six hours with donuts and 12 from the casing). You also get a total of three earbud options and a USB-C charging cable.
Comment: retro jingle shouldn’t work here – but it does
The point is that the Moto Buds 150 – which, by the way, are ergonomically shaped and very pleasant and light to wear – should definitely no take me back to when it was groundbreaking when I saw other people at the end of a Skype call on my laptop. But yeah, thanks to that little greeting you hear when you put them on, and I love it.
Of course, there is a big discrepancy in terms of chronological accuracy here, as the first true wireless earbuds didn’t arrive until 2014, a decade after my beloved Motorola Razr and its voice greeting were launched. I’m talking about the times before Alexa (which also appeared for the first time in 2014), TikTok, or smartphones – simpler times.
And I like to remind you, even if a few specs (no ANC, no user detection, no app support) mean the Moto Buds 150 are unlikely to challenge the class-leading Sony WF-1000XM4 or the higher price – comparable JLab Go pop Air.
Obviously this is not a product review in terms of sound, features and usability, but I must admit that after hearing this joyful woman (the internet gives her conflicting names but if you are, Mr. Motorola thank you!) I greet me a few times, I just want to buy them to hear it whenever I feel a surge of nostalgia.
Again, they’re really affordable, and it’s only at this point of sale that I might be tempted to add them to our best guide to wireless earbuds, but that might not be particularly professional of me. We have to see.
Incidentally, 2004 was the year Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook, soon renamed Facebook. And now I come back to the feeling of old age …