First things first, this is not the same Pebble that used to make e-ink smartwatches. This Pebble is an Indian brand (established in 2013) that offers various mobile accessories. Their latest offering is the Pebble Elite — wireless Bluetooth headphones for the budget conscious.
For a budget offering, quality of construction is surprisingly premium. The headband and ear cups have a matte finish while the silver accents help it stand out from the usual crowd. Even though it is all plastic, the Elite does not look or feel cheap. We also like that it can be folded for storage/travel — something we don’t normally see on budget headphones.
It has an on-the-ear design and ample cushioning on the ear-cups and headband. We used them for over 3 hours at a stretch without any discomfort. The left earcup houses a microUSB port (charging), aux port (for use in wired mode), microphone and buttons for power and volume control. The power button doubles up for play/pause and answer/end call. The volume buttons double up as next/ previous track. Audio quality from the Pebble Elite is a mixed bag. While the volume level is loud and impressive, the bass is much lower than expected from headphones this size. That being said, this would only pose a problem if you listen to a lot of rap, dance or music with heavy beats. For other genres of music, movies as well as voice calls, they work great.
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Another issue with the Elite is that it does not connect to two devices simultaneously. In addition, it does not let you pair another device unless you first disconnect a connected device. This can drive you crazy if you switch between multiple devices for music.
Battery life is about 5 hours on a full charge — good enough for most users though not outstanding. At the time of writing, the Pebble Elite was available for Rs 1,600 on Amazon India which sweetens the deal more. For about the same price, you can consider Boat Rockerz 400 that offer better bass and superior battery life.
