Product Review: ReTrak Earbuds for iPhone and iPod

Retrak iPod earbuds in package

It’s always nice when something exceeds your expectations. The box arrived from GadgetSister.com within a week and I opened to see an even more attractive looking product and package than the catalogue photo from the site. I had a pretty good idea what the real product would be like because I had already admired one from a fellow Gadget Sister (see post on the Gadget Sisterhood) and coveted it so much that I added it to the store and made it the first test product. The ReTrak by Emerge Technologies did not disappoint.

After extracting it from its package, it was a delight to discover that the ReTrak comes with 3 sets of squishy soft rubber ear buds in different sizes. We are not all pressed from the same mold, and those of us with little tiny ear canals suffer greatly with the standard (hard!) earphones that come with most iPods and MP3 players. Within thirty minutes the ears have become sore and uncomfortable and music, video, or whatever is now a painful chore. Not so here. I selected the tiniest set. Put them easily onto the ends of the earphones, and was ready to go.

ReTrak iPod earbuds in "recoiled" position

The allure of this product is its clever ability to retract (hence the name ReTrak) much like those key leashes you’d see the school custodian sporting in elementary school. With the ReTrak earphones, you just gently pull on each end and the cord extends out in each direction.(Maximum 3.6  feet fully expanded.) The benefit of this is the cord stays neat and untangled in your purse or backpack and doesn’t become a big nest of knots for you to wrestle with every time you want to catch some tunes. Just “zoop, zoop” and there you go. Plug it into the player and listen.

ReTrak iPod earbuds extended

For comfort, I give them high marks. The different size buds make it easy to tailor the fit. For audio quality, I would say they are not “audiophile enthusiast” grade but most certainly as good or better than whatever came with your player. (For those who really get into these things, the stats are 115 dB sensitivity, 0-20 kHz frequency range.) From a value standpoint, I would give it a high overall value rating. The ReTrak sells for $12.96 plus shipping , tax, etc. at GadgetSister.com. So, for less than $20 you’ve got a very practical and decent quality set that spares you the frustration and time of spaghetti knitting on a daily basis. I have spent $50 to $60 for buds at the Apple store that were no better in quality and don’t retract.

These make great gifts. So, I recommend you buy more than one. Once people see you using one, they always want one too. I had my second one spoken for before the shipment arrived, and now I wish I had 10 sitting around.

The ReTrak Noise Reduction Earbuds have the GadgetSister seal of approval and have been field tested for quality and satisfaction. Cool. But check them out for yourself!