Burton Motorola MP3 jacket: a review (almost)

So I finally got to review Burton’s Motorola MP3 snowboarding jacket. Okay, so it was just for the evening. Well, actually just for a walk around the Mansion House during a Motorola expo, followed by goons with earpieces and revolvers. Okay, so there weren’t any goons or guns, but there was a very cross 5 foot 3 PR lady. Plus a guy from Carphone Warehouse wanting a go. Point is, I finally got to try it out. For those unacquainted with the garment, it’s a fully waterproof, ultra-warm snowboarding jacket with a battery pack, iPod connector, mobile connector, control panel and hood speakers built in. I was using an iPod Nano and the sound was pretty good, though obviously not as good as a proper set of headphones. The control panel, situated on the sleeve, has a waterproof Velcro cover and can be operated through this. Some people may think this is geek overkill but I loved it -- the jacket is actually pretty nice. Matt from Motorola, whose jacket it is, couldn’t say for sure how much it would be. I suggested €500 to €600 (fearing the worst) but he said it will be cheaper than that. I’m betting around the €350 mark. In the US, it sells for between $320 and $500 (there's more than one model, apparently).

Comments

[Robin Blandford]

I 'thought' i'd seen it in Great Outdoors, or at least on their website in January. There are some cool accessories with it too.

http://www.bytesurgery.com/gearedup/2005/12/burton-audex-bluetooth-jacket.html