Oakley Thump 2 (1GB) review

Oakley Thump 2 (1GB) Review

Reviewed by: Troy Dreier

Reviewed on: 7 November 2005

The Oakley Thump 2 offers something that no other MP3 player, even the Apple iPod, has: UV and blue-light protection. That's because the Thump 2 cleverly builds a flash-based player into the frame of a pair of sunglasses for cordless on-the-go listening. The Oakley Thump 2 picks up where its pioneering predecessor left off, opting for a slightly more mainstream style and quadrupling the memory for about the same price. We tested the high-end Thump 2 (black with red accents), which offers 1GB of storage, enough for about 240 songs, for a typical online price of £350. The Thump 2 also comes in other sizes: 256MB, available in brown with bronze and gunmetal, as well as black with grey and gunmetal; and 512MB, presented in black with black iridium and chrome, in addition to white with black iridium and chrome.

The new and improved Oakley Thump 2 (1GB shown)

Design
The Thump 2 earbuds use an ingenious new multihinged system that lets you easily place them exactly where you want. You can even jut them out from your ears slightly so that you can hear what's going on around you -- try that with normal headphones. The only downside: however you wear them, they leak noise pretty badly. Don't use the Thump 2 if you're a train or Tube commuter, especially if you're sitting next to us. Make sure you try the Thump 2 before buying too, as style is subjective. Also, the glasses or earbuds will not fit a tiny percentage of users.

The Oakley Thump 2's telescoping earbuds will fit most people