Using your cell phone to listen to podcasts/music whilst outside

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Hello all!

I have an old iPhone 6 (might be a plus...will have to double check) and am wanting to figure out a way that I could listen to podcasts, music, whatever whilst either working in my garden, or out on a walk or run.  I don't (yet) have any bluetooth headset/earbuds/whatever for it.  I noticed on Amazon that there are some that come with chargers these days.

For those of you who garden or are active outside, any suggestions?  I have questions like how far away from my actual phone could I be whilst still being able to get reception/connection?  It would be easier for me to not have to carry the darn thing with me (and probably easier on the phone)--obviously, this wouldn't apply if going on a walk, etc.

Secondly, any suggestions for being able to comfortably carry it with me whilst strolling or jogging or hiking?

Looking forward to your replies!

PD

p.s.  One other thought:  how to talk to someone via Bluetooth whilst working in the kitchen, etc?

[Brahmsian]

I have virtually zero experience listening or following podcasts.

The only exception has been on an extended multi-hour road trip, I have listened to "This American Life" podcasts.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I have virtually zero experience listening or following podcasts.

The only exception has been on an extended multi-hour road trip, I have listened to "This American Life" podcasts.

That's o.k., but thank you anyway. 

PD

[André Le Nôtre]

Hi PD--interesting question. I have been wondering a bit about this too.

I have never listened to anything on my phone. I am a bit of a phone curmudgeon, and am actually becoming a bit tired of the seeming displacement of functional websites by apps. I have very few apps on my 5 year-old (and perfectly functional !) LG K7. I do have the DuckDuckGo browser, which I use to browse a few websites here and there while within our wifi range--e.g., when I'm relaxing in the back yard. I suppose I could try it to listen to a stream from my favorite radio station: KSCM, "The Bay Area's Jazz Station". For portable listening, I absolutely love my Fiio X1 players which hold many hundreds of CDs worth of music in FLAC format.

However, now that we have absolutely awesome fiber internet/wifi thanks to AT&T (Toast.net actually), I am considering buying a small "transistor radio" size internet radio for listening anywhere within range. Previously, when we had endless failures and slow-downs with our previous provider Charter/Spectrum, the thought had never crossed my mind. But now, these possibilites are starting to appeal to me. In any case, the ease of use and dedicated functionality of such products (e.g., internet radios) appeals to me greatly. I love products that are made to do one thing and to do it extremely well.

Hence, I am currently accepting recommendations for fairly small, portable internet radios with decent sound quality and good battery life if anyone is familiar with such products.

Maybe something of this sort would appeal to PD as well! 

Thanks.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Hi PD--interesting question. I have been wondering a bit about this too.

I have never listened to anything on my phone. I am a bit of a phone curmudgeon, and am actually becoming a bit tired of the seeming displacement of functional websites by apps. I have very few apps on my 5 year-old (and perfectly functional !) LG K7. I do have the DuckDuckGo browser, which I use to browse a few websites here and there while within our wifi range--e.g., when I'm relaxing in the back yard. I suppose I could try it to listen to a stream from my favorite radio station: KSCM, "The Bay Area's Jazz Station". For portable listening, I absolutely love my Fiio X1 players which hold many hundreds of CDs worth of music in FLAC format.

However, now that we have absolutely awesome fiber internet/wifi thanks to AT&T (Toast.net actually), I am considering buying a small "transistor radio" size internet radio for listening anywhere within range. Previously, when we had endless failures and slow-downs with our previous provider Charter/Spectrum, the thought had never crossed my mind. But now, these possibilites are starting to appeal to me. In any case, the ease of use and dedicated functionality of such products (e.g., internet radios) appeals to me greatly. I love products that are made to do one thing and to do it extremely well.

Hence, I am currently accepting recommendations for fairly small, portable internet radios with decent sound quality and good battery life if anyone is familiar with such products.

Maybe something of this sort would appeal to PD as well! 

Thanks.

I like the idea of a portable internet radio, but that might be more of a different venture.  A few years ago, I did look into a Tivoli internet radio, but the one that I was looking at wasn't portable (well, you could move it, but it was a plug-in).  Perhaps they might make something like you're describing?

This is the setup I use for listening to music / podcasts / etc around the place when away from a hifi system or computer e.g. in the garden or on an exercise bike or whatever:



On the left is a Samsung Galaxy S5 (the last model with the user-replaceable battery.)  It is running an app called HiFi Cast, which provides audio streaming from both Internet sources and my NAS music library via the house wi-fi.  Other apps are available e.g. MediaMonkey, I just preferred the HiFicast interface - the browsing options, the way it displays the cover art - plus it provides gapless playback (not all of them do.)

The phone is set up as a Bluetooth transmitter - it's just an On/Off switch in a menu somewhere.

I don't use Apple products but I imagine the iPhone6 is probably similar vintage to the S5, with the same sort of facilities.

On the right are my lightweight Koss Porta Pro headphones, plugged into a Shanling UP2 Bluetooth receiver.  If you had Bluetooth phones then you wouldn't need one of those, the advantage of the receiver is it'll drive any of my other phones that I plug into it.

How far away from the house this works depends on how good (and where) your wi-fi transmitter is.  Mine reaches every part of the garden.  Same for the Bluetooth.

The main problem with this setup is the cord on the phones getting caught on things e.g. when pruning shrubs.  Easiest thing in the world to rip the cord right off.  That's where Bluetooth phones would have a big advantage (I really must get some... )

The other issue round here, which perhaps doesn't affect you, it is the sheer racket going on outside most of the time.  If it's not the construction work on the houses being thrown up on every vacant patch of ground, it seems like there's always a lawnmower or chainsaw going on one side or the other (my neighbour is having some tree work done as I type... )

Don't know if any of this is any help...? 

Good question re transmitter.  I'll bring my phone outside later and see what kind of reception I can get.  I just realized something, is there a way to tell looking at your phone where you are getting your signal from---meaning my home wifi vs. using cell phone towers?  I have a rather limited data plan and don't want to use it all up over the course of a weekend. 

Ah, I might have just answered my own questions:  Did a brief walk-about outside and my wi-fi signal seems to be pretty strong (at least in the areas that I work in most of the time).  Then looked under "Settings" then "Cellular" where it says "Turn off cellular data to restrict all data to wi-fi, including email, web browsing, and push notifications."  So, basically, then I could download a few podcasts or listen to radio via internet just using my wi-fi? 

Re background sounds:  I'm with you, I hate all of the super-loud leaf blowers, etc. in my neighborhood!  I used to think of working outside as peaceful.    It is if I'm out there really early and sometimes in the late afternoon....sigh.  Sometimes I wear ear protectors just to protect my own hearing.

PD

[steve ridgway]

I have an old iPhone 6 (might be a plus...will have to double check) and am wanting to figure out a way that I could listen to podcasts, music, whatever whilst either working in my garden, or out on a walk or run.

Will it play MP3 files if you copy them to it via the Lightning connector? If you don't have the right cable you could test by copying one with Bluetooth.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Will it play MP3 files if you copy them to it via the Lightning connector? If you don't have the right cable you could test by copying one with Bluetooth.

Hi Steve,

At the moment, I don't have it synced with my iMac (in terms of music anyway).  I could try sharing my library with it though (when I'm within my home wifi area at least).  All of the music that I have stored digitally is in Apple Lossless though.

One of my biggest problems is figuring out how to carry it with me (get a pair of cargo pants??) when I'm working outside (always bending over and squatting)--most of the clothing that I wear when working in the garden don't have great pockets. 

I have to run some errands late this afternoon and hope to visit a Verizon store and see if they have any pouches, etc. that could help.  Will also take a look at Bluetooth ear devices.

PD

[steve ridgway]

Hi Steve,

At the moment, I don't have it synced with my iMac (in terms of music anyway).  I could try sharing my library with it though (when I'm within my home wifi area at least).  All of the music that I have stored digitally is in Apple Lossless though.

I expect it'd play Apple Lossless if it would play from a file at all. Just thinking a sync or file copy would avoid having to transmit via WiFi or whatever.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I expect it'd play Apple Lossless if it would play from a file at all. Just thinking a sync or file copy would avoid having to transmit via WiFi or whatever.

I had just meant that my file sizes are large....not that it wouldn't play them.  Will have a think re music.

PD

[Holden]

Hello all!

I have an old iPhone 6 (might be a plus...will have to double check) and am wanting to figure out a way that I could listen to podcasts, music, whatever whilst either working in my garden, or out on a walk or run.  I don't (yet) have any bluetooth headset/earbuds/whatever for it.  I noticed on Amazon that there are some that come with chargers these days.

For those of you who garden or are active outside, any suggestions?  I have questions like how far away from my actual phone could I be whilst still being able to get reception/connection?  It would be easier for me to not have to carry the darn thing with me (and probably easier on the phone)--obviously, this wouldn't apply if going on a walk, etc.

Secondly, any suggestions for being able to comfortably carry it with me whilst strolling or jogging or hiking?

Looking forward to your replies!

PD

p.s.  One other thought:  how to talk to someone via Bluetooth whilst working in the kitchen, etc?

Some things to consider:

• The iPhone 6 battery is not user replaceable unless you have the correct tool to remove the back cover.
  
  Bluetooth chews up battery life as opposed to WiFi
  
  Bluetooth range is up to about 10 metres (30ft) but will probably be less.
  
  Is storing music files on the phone via Apple Music/old iTunes an option?
  
  Over the ear headphones, ear buds or in ear monitors?
  
  Many joggers attach their phone or DAP to their upper arm via a band or pouch. Would this work?
  
  Most of todays BT headphones can be operated wirelessly.
  

Is a dedicated DAP (like a Fiio M3 Pro) an option? The model I mentioned will take a 2Tb sound card and has a touch screen like the iPhone 6. It costs less than a hundred bucks. As it sounds like you have your music stored digitally then transferring it to the Fiio is a very simple process. You then have a player you can take anywhere that is built for the purpose. I use my Astell & Kern AK Jr and it easily replays my FLAC files and sounds superb. I use in ear monitors with it but could also use my over ears.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Some things to consider:

• The iPhone 6 battery is not user replaceable unless you have the correct tool to remove the back cover.
  
  Bluetooth chews up battery life as opposed to WiFi
  
  Bluetooth range is up to about 10 metres (30ft) but will probably be less.
  
  Is storing music files on the phone via Apple Music/old iTunes an option?
  
  Over the ear headphones, ear buds or in ear monitors?
  
  Many joggers attach their phone or DAP to their upper arm via a band or pouch. Would this work?
  
  Most of todays BT headphones can be operated wirelessly.
  

Is a dedicated DAP (like a Fiio M3 Pro) an option? The model I mentioned will take a 2Tb sound card and has a touch screen like the iPhone 6. It costs less than a hundred bucks. As it sounds like you have your music stored digitally then transferring it to the Fiio is a very simple process. You then have a player you can take anywhere that is built for the purpose. I use my Astell & Kern AK Jr and it easily replays my FLAC files and sounds superb. I use in ear monitors with it but could also use my over ears.

Thank you so much Holden for your helpful comments and suggestions.  More for me to think about.

PD

[steve ridgway]

I use my Astell & Kern AK Jr and it easily replays my FLAC files and sounds superb. I use in ear monitors with it but could also use my over ears.

I've got one of those and love it (I can live with Z coming before A and replace all the foreign characters).

I use To Audio Converter Lite on my MacBook to convert between audio file formats. The free version is fine, you just have to set it up to close with one click after converting each file.

[Mandryka]

Hello all!

I have an old iPhone 6 (might be a plus...will have to double check) and am wanting to figure out a way that I could listen to podcasts, music, whatever whilst either working in my garden, or out on a walk or run.  I don't (yet) have any bluetooth headset/earbuds/whatever for it.  I noticed on Amazon that there are some that come with chargers these days.

For those of you who garden or are active outside, any suggestions?  I have questions like how far away from my actual phone could I be whilst still being able to get reception/connection?  It would be easier for me to not have to carry the darn thing with me (and probably easier on the phone)--obviously, this wouldn't apply if going on a walk, etc.

Secondly, any suggestions for being able to comfortably carry it with me whilst strolling or jogging or hiking?

Looking forward to your replies!

PD

p.s.  One other thought:  how to talk to someone via Bluetooth whilst working in the kitchen, etc?

I have a Samsung S9. I stream internet radio and in the car it hooks up with bluetooth to the car music system. At home I can use it to connect to a Bluetooth speaker, but most often I don't bother, the sound from the phone is good enough. In the garden bluetooth is a problem, it's very unreliable  (I believe it may be due to interference from all the signals floating around in the outside air - bluetooth works better in a small enclosed space like a car or a room. )