Oakley Thump 2 (256MB, black/grey) reviews

Filed under: Oakley, Reviews

CNEThas reviewed the Oakley Thump 2 (256MB, black/grey) MP3 Player Sunglasses and gave it a ‘Very good’ rating, 73.7 out of 10. They write

The good: Music player built into sunglasses for cordless listening; plays MP3, AAC, WMA, WMA DRM, and WAV tracks; up to 1GB of storage; multihinged earbuds allow for a perfect fit with most users; USB 2.0 connection.

The bad: Doesn’t come with wall charger or hard case; poor battery life; advanced playback controls are hard to remember; high price; music can be easily heard by those around you.

The bottom line: The Oakley Thump 2 is a great choice for athletes who want portable tunes minus the headphone cord.

Bona Fide Reviews has also posted a review for Oakley Thump 2 256MB . They write ‘The Oakley THUMP sunglasses are one hot item. The MP3 player functionality built into sporty sexy Oakley sunglasses really makes for a great experience. The glasses are comfortable, the ear buds sound great, and the player is generally extremely simple to use. For sports enthusiasts, tech gadget fanatics, or anyone looking to have the first of its kind electronic device the THUMP is definitely the way to go. Of course the $499 price tag for the 256MB model isn’t going to make this a mainstream item and until that price drops down a couple hundred dollars the THUMP will be for a select audience only. Of course, if Lil’ John likes them then they are definitely worth a second consideration. YEAH! ‘

PC Magazine gives Oakley Thumb 2 a rating of 3.5 out of 6. They write ‘Our main gripes are that the lenses don’t flip up like those on the original sunglasses (so we had to take these off in dim light), the earbuds don’t seem to have anywhere to go when they’re not in use (they fold up, but there’s no receptacle in the arms to make the earbuds less conspicuous), and there’s no repeat function. But we’re pretty sure the Oakley name is the primary reason for buying the Thump 2, not the feature set or sound quality—unless you’re just into having the most expensive, least full-featured player on the market. Frankly, the only way we’d buy these is if they had some kind of heads-up display on the lenses. The Thump 2 is available in 256MB ($299), 512MB ($349), and 1GB ($449) capacities, reflecting the dropping prices of flash memory since the original Thump came out at $495 for 512MB.’

The Tech Lounge has reviewed the Oakely Thump 2 MP3 Sunglasses. They conclude ‘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.’

Playlist gives a fair review for the strengths and weaknesses of the Oakley Thump 2. The lowdown ‘

If you’re looking for the latest gadget with lots of features and technical capabilities, you’d do better looking at a hard-drive based music player—with no interface, no playlist support, and no iTunes integration, the Thump 2 is bare-bones. But in terms of highly portable players for active people, the Thump 2 is hard to top.’

More reviews at the Good Gear Guide, and Advance MP3 Player.