If you are in the market for Bluetooth stereo headphones for your Windows Phone, you may want to take a gander at the Mpow Bluetooth 4.0 Foldable Headphones.
The foldable headphones are well built, have strong audio quality and priced in the neighborhood of $35 are very budget friendly. We recently took the Mpow headphones out for a test drive and found them to be solid performers when paired with a Windows Phone, PC or tablet.
Design
The Mpow headphones have a soft, matte black finish with hinges that rest about two inches above the earpieces. The hinges are a little stiff, just enough to keep them firmly extended or collapsed but not too difficult to manipulate. When folded, the headphones are definitely more compact and easier to stow away in a backpack or satchel.
The headband can be extended at the hinge to fit but in the process, exposes a piece of shiny metal that really ruins the smooth design. The extensions are functional but I couldn’t help but think they could be a little more pleasing to the eye had a darker metal been used.
Controls for the Mpow Foldable Headset rest on a single earpiece. There are button controls that double for volume and playback control, along with a multi-use button (more on this in a second). A notification LED light sits below the control buttons and a micro-USB charging port sits at the bottom of the right earpiece.
The multi-function button controls the following.
- Power on/off: Press and hold for a few seconds to power up the headphones then again for a few seconds to power them down. Audible commands are present to confirm these actions.
- Initiate pairing mode: With the headphones turned off, press and hold the button until the LED flashes red and green.
- Playback control: While the secondary buttons control forward and reverse, the multi-function button control pause and play features.
As far as call features, the Mpow only answers and ends calls by pressing the multi-function button.
As far as fit and feel is concerned, the Mpow foldable headphones are comfortable but a little on the stiff side. I wouldn’t have minded seeing more cushion on the earpieces or maybe a less rigid headband.
Battery life is rated at fifteen hours and in using the headphones over the weekend on a single charge, we will not dispute the fifteen-hour ratings.
Overall, the Mpow Bluetooth Foldable Headphones come across as a solidly built set of headphones. There is room for improvement as far as design and comfort are concerned but for an economically oriented set of wireless headphones, the Mpow headphones set up nicely.
Performance
The Mpow Foldable Bluetooth headphones support Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX codec for high fidelity stereo listening. As far as the pairing process is concerned, I had absolutely no complaints in pairing the Mpow headphones with my Windows Phone, laptop or Microsoft Surface RT. The entire process took a matter of seconds and I was enjoying my music files.
Audio and video file playback performed rather nicely with strong tones and respectable volume. As far as the hands-free calling experience is concerned, the Mpow headphones performed “okay”, nothing to get overly excited about but nothing to run screaming from the room about either. Call features are minimal but does offer you the convenience of being able to pick up a call while listening to music or watching a video.
Overall Impression
The Mpow Bluetooth Foldable Headsets performed rather nicely with audio playback. They’ll do for a hands-free calling solution but the headphones hit the nail on the head for listening to music and videos.
While construction felt solid, there is room for improvement. Fit and feel was not terrible but I think could be better with a little more cushioning. I also wasn’t too keen on the shiny metal used for the headband extension. A darker metal would have been more discrete and better looking.
Overall, if you don’t care to spend over $100 on a wireless headset, the Mpow is worth considering. You can find the Mpow Bluetooth headphones at popular retailers, such as here at Amazon.com, for about $35.
