PaMu Slide: Now or Never?

True Wireless Bluetooth headphones are certainly one of the technological objects of the moment. There are many brands that propose an incarnation of theirs, all in the wake of Apple and its AirPods, the product that brought this type of device to mass success. We are talking about those true wireless headphones that have no cable, not even the one that connects the headphones together. A pair of ‘Buds’ to slip into each ear and connect to each other and to the smartphone.

The new Pamu Slides, TWS (True Wireless Stereo) headphones that have some very interesting features are doing a lot of talking about themselves, even for a massive social media campaign like Facebook. They are produced by PadMate, a name that many may find unknown, but which is an important ODM manufacturer and OEM of Bluetooth headsets. In practice, after producing them for years for other brands, he decided to bring some of his projects directly to the public. To do this, in some cases it has chosen the path of crowdfunding, of online fundraising. This path was followed for the Pamu Scrolls and is now the route used for the launch of Pamu Slide.

The old model, with the ‘Buds’ design, was characterized by a parchment refill case, while for the new Pamu Slide PadMate it changed everything. New housing with sliding opening and new design, with temples that extend downwards, offering better positioning of the microphones, more space for the antennas and greater balance. It is, unlike Apple’s AirPods of in-ear headphones with silicone olives to be inserted into the ear pin. They are therefore not simply to rest on the ear, but to put on a little deeper. From the design point of view they are very well studied, although they are easy to wear almost like the AirPods (just a gesture and do not require two hands like some in-ear models), they have a very firm connection and also with rapid and abrupt movements of the head do not fall, also thanks to the really reduced weight, only 7 grams per specimen.

Weight is the first thing that positively affects the first time you wear them. It could generate some doubts about the quality of the sound, which however is immediately dissipated when switched on. The sound is really great for True Wireless Bluetooth headphones. Balanced, rich in bass and detailed in high tones. For my personal tastes, in some situations there are far too many basses, but I would never call them excessive. Part of the advantages of the headphones are to be attributed to the use of the latest Qualcomm QCC3020 chip with Bluetooth 5.0 support. The platform has low consumption and this allowed the use of a small and light battery. Furthermore the connection is very stable both towards the phone and between the two earphones and unfortunately in this area it is not a foregone thing. The headphones declare 10 hours of battery life and up to 5 recharges with the 2000 mAh case, for a total of 60 hours. The data is realistic in field tests. The earphones offer touch functions for controlling music, volume and calls. The controls are located on the body and not on the temples and this allows positioning them without interacting with the touch. I’m not a fan of touch controls on headphones, but Pamu Slides have proven to work well without ever bringing out the desire to pull them against the wall. A major flaw, which for many will not be negligible, is the quality of the outgoing audio calls: the microphones are not up to the situation and at the other end of the phone call our interlocutor hears the distorted voice and hisses. The long phone calls are therefore practically impossible, due to the very difficult communication.

There are two versions for which to give your share on Indiegogo. With normal case and with wireless case. The second allows you to charge a phone with wireless technology by simply placing it on the back of the case. The function looks nice on paper, but is impractical in actual use. 2000 mAh are not many, the folded case is not very stable, but what is perplexing is the fact that it can be used as a wireless powerbank only: it is not possible to use a USB-C cable to recharge the smartphone in the traditional way. Better to save 20 dollars and choose the cheapest version. The case is beautiful and pleasant to the touch due to the choice of materials, but has proved to be delicate and the lower part is very easy to strip.

The advantage is that in order to be talked about, the Pamu Slides are offered at a really attractive price (even if the discount calculated on the list price seems very inflated), the disadvantage is that unlike the purchases made on normal channels, there are no protection tools such as returns and warranty.

In summary: the price at 49 dollars is very interesting and it is perhaps the best way to take home the excellent Pamu Slide without running the risk of seeing then a substantial price increase when they arrive on the market, if you are aware of how the crowdfunding. In this regard, the headphones are already in production and PadMate has already started shipping, so at least you won’t have to wait months, as it sometimes happens.

The campaign ends on July 7th, so, as I say in the title, for Pamu Slide ‘Now or Never!’