The fluffy product reviews - Jabra Solemate

I am sick of them. A company releases a new product. Major gadget sites get a review unit and write up a fluffy review that is pretty much useless. Copy a few talking points from the product release. Snap a few pictures, write a few generic paragraphs and push publish.

Case in point -- Jabra released the Solemate Bluetooth outdoor speakers today. Both gizmodo and Engadget has a "review". Anyone could have written them without even seeing the actual product. Do you the one thing that I wanted to know about this product? What is the power source. Is it rechargeable batteries? Is it proprietary built in rechargeable ? Does it have a DC in with a supplied adaptor? You won't find the answer in these is call reviews.

Oh, and I looked on t Jabra site. The battery information is not there either. It says something about charge via USB and that's it.

Other things a real review should tell us:

  • What is the power source?
  • Do a real life battery rundown test to see how long it last
  • Are the batteries replaceable?
  • What is the range of the bluetooth connection?
  • How much power drain is there for the source, iPhone, iPod?