The TUNAI WAND uses the bluetooth 4.1 protocol giving it a maximum range of 50 metres, of course with walls and furniture placed around your home, the effective range is reduced. Living in a small apartment in Hong Kong, testing the WAND’s effective range was a little bit of a challenge, but having paired it with a pair of bluetooth headphones, I actually left my apartment and went one floor up onto the rooftop and not once did the audio cut off or the quality degrade. The WAND promotes itself in giving you the freedom around you home as one of its features and it sure lives up to that!
Let’s have a look at 2 of the best features of the WAND. Firstly, with in-built aptX, aptX low latency and SBC CODECs, the WAND prides itself on giving you lag free audio. It’s just so annoying when you are watching someone speak on TV but their voice is out of sync and lags even a split-second behind the picture. WAND’s use of these low latency CODECs helps to eliminate these audio lags, and even when I was watching a bit of fast paced Formula 1 racing, the audio was still in sync to the action!! Now here’s the best bit about the WAND…..it can actually pair up simultaneously with 2 pairs of bluetooth headphones, so it’s not just you that can enjoy the audio experience, but also a friend as well. This feature opens up so many possibilities so as you and a friend playing on a console at the same time without disturbing others around you.
The downside to pairing up with 2 sets of headphones at the same time is the WAND automatically switches to a higher latency CODEC, so you and your friend may experience an ever so slight audio lag during some super fast frenzied gaming.
I’ve had the TUNAI WAND now for a few days and I’m really liking this small gadget packs such a big punch. I’m not normally one for wearing headphones around the home, but with the WAND connected up to my TV, I’ve been finding excuses to put on a pair of headphones and walk about the flat doing my chores. One of the best uses for the WAND I have found so far is using it whilst I’m gaming on my PS4. I have a pair of wired headphones that a little bit stuffy, and I’ve yet purchased a pair of wireless ones because the choices available just doesn’t tickle my fancy. With the WAND connected I can choose whatever bluetooth headphones I want, from little earbud ones, to big over-ear ones. The downside to this is that you won’t get a microphone function.
Just to wet your appetite a little bit more, the WAND won an innovation award at the CES earlier this year, so it is definitely a device worth considering!
So, after all that you might want to know where you can get your hands on a WAND. TUNAI has opted to crowd-fund this design on Kickstarter, with the project launching on May 1st.
With a MSRP of US$59.99, you can back the project early and get a limited Early Bird price of just US$15!!! What are you waiting for? Get over to their Kickstarter page here, bookmark it, and back it when it starts!
