Kinivo BTH240 Bluetooth Stereo Headphone Preview

The Kinivo BTH220 Bluetooth headphones were hugely popular. They had well over 2000 reviews on Amazon (even more than the infamous BIC For Her Pen, but not as entertaining) and were generally reviewed very positively. Part of the reason they were so popular was the price. With an MSRP of $45 but a retail price of $30, they are practically a steal for a pair of Bluetooth headphones.

The BTH240 are the next generation of the popular BTH220, and Kinivo made a lot of changes based on customer feedback. But not the price. Well, sort of.

Kinivo has a very good resource in Amazon. With all those reviews, they have a pretty good idea of what people like and, more importantly, don't like about their headphones. This allowed them to tweak the BTH240s so that they addressed many of these issues. First, let's discuss the actual headphones.

The Kinivo BTH240 Bluetooth headphones are of the wrap-around-the-back-of-the-head variety. They sit on ear and have the controls on the side of the earcup. Controls include play, pause, next & previous track, and volume. They use a compact micro-USB cable for recharging (included) and have a carrying pouch. A full charge will give you around 10 hours of run time. The BTH240s collapse flat for easy storage and transport. 

They have a built in, noise canceling microphone for use during calls. The Bluetooth function is compatible with all A2DP Bluetooth devices and will even work with your PS3 (supports chat only). Kinivo hasn't released any information about driver type, size, or frequency response. But they did set an MSRP of $49.99 ($5 more than the BTH220s) but immediately put them on sale on Amazon and their site for $29.99 - the same price as the older model. At that price, frequency response isn't a primary concern for consumers. If the Bluetooth works and they don't sound horrible, it will be considered money well spent.

That said, they did listen to their customers. Some of the complaints about the original BTH220 headphones were that the buttons felt cheap and were hard to identify blind. The fit was often too loose for users and the headphones charged with a mini-USB cable. Kinivo addressed all these issues with the new BHT240s. Users are already reporting that they are tighter fitting, that the buttons are easier to access and don't feel as cheap (some said they rattled when you moved), and Kinivo has switched to the more popular micro-USB cable which many cell phones now use for charging. With improvements across the board, yet the same retail price, we're expecting the BHT240s to be just as popular if not more so than the BHT220s.

Conclusion

Kinivo was in an enviable position with their BHT220s. They had tons of product reviews on Amazon with lots of consumer feedback. While other manufactures seem to completely ignore what consumers directly ask for (Apple, anyone?), it seems Kinivo values the input of their consumers and made some big changes based of that feedback. The BHT240 Bluetooth headphones are sure to be a big seller for them.

For more information, please visit www.kinivo.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.