Oakely Thump 2 MP3 Sunglasses

Reviews: Multimedia

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Mike McCormick
Brian
Oakley
Nov. 23, 2005

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Conclusion

Oakley has topped themselves with the release of the Thump 2. The Thump 2 is a great MP3 player sunglasses system. The MP3 player also doubles as a flash media device that is recognized by Windows XP, 2000 and ME without the use of an external driver and connects via a USB 2.0 cable. Now that there are two styles of Thump (original and the Thump 2) you have to ask yourself which is right for you. Both the Thump and Thump 2 cost the same amount of money, which is based on storage capacity. Both Thumps will work for you trend setting style gurus, or for you athletic junkies who want a cord-free MP3 player for biking and running. However, you will have to decide if you are old-school Oakley or more Terminator minded.

If you go the Thump 2 route, remember the words of John Lennon, "The sun never sets on the cool." because the lenses don't flip up like the original. That may be the only drawback to the Thump 2 though. The Thump 2's major advantages are the increased storage and battery life. If the original Thump didn't quite fit you the way that you want them to, the Thump 2 offers better adjustability with Oakley's improvement on the earbuds. If Oakley comes out with a Thump 3, I really hope they incorporate a multi-lens or photo-chromic lens system.

As best I could, I made a comparison chart for Oakley's Thump and Thump 2.

	Thump	Thump 2
Battery Life	~6 hours	~7 hours
Earbuds	Fewer degrees of adjustment	More degrees of adjustment
Fit	Good for majority of users, frames fit better on face	Earbuds allow for more people to wear, can use to stabilize movement
Flip-up Lenses	Yes	No
MSRP (per size)	$299, $349	$299, $349, $449
Number of Styles	7	5
Overall Style	Typical Oakley frame style, less streamline bows	Slightly more stylish, but it wasn't love at first sight (Terminator style)
Storage	256 Mb or 512 Mb	256 Mb, 512 Mb or 1.0 Gb
Transfer rate	0.82 Mb/s (5:00 for 247 Mb)	0.84 Mb/s (19:34 for 994 Mb)
Weight	1.88 oz. (53.3 g)	2.13 oz. (60.5 g)

Pros:

Improved fit
Increased storage for more music and data files
No wires /Easy to use
Increased battery Life
Best MP3 option for runners and bikers

Cons:

Cost (vs. MP3 player + sunglasses)
Hard to use as just MP3 player or just sunglasses
Hard to use indoors or in low light conditions.
Lack of effective equalizer

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Page 1: Introduction / First Impressions
Page 2: Taking a Closer Look
Page 3: Testing
Page 4: Conclusion

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