We got a chance last night to check out a new, Phillipe Starck-designed over-the-ear Bluetooth headphone from Parrot, who've worked previously with the designer on their signature tower-format iOS docks. We were very impressed with the form factor and build quality of the Zik; assessing the sound quality is of course next-to-impossible in a show environment, but what we heard sounded pretty nice. The really cool part is the control panel, which comes in the form of a touch-sensitive right earpiece: slide your finger up and down for volume control, swipe to switch tracks. An accelerometer automatically pauses your playback when you take the 'phones off of your ears. Nifty!
This isn't quite ready for prime time, so don't look for it at retailers 'til late in the year; a rep told us pricing is likely to be under $500, which, while it stings a litte, isn't totally out of line for an upscale wireless noise canceller. Watch the video below for more.
