PAMSH (www.pamsh.com) at CeBIT 2009 introduced the strange idea of the bone conduction headset: listening with your bones. "The sound we are hearing now is due to sound waves traveling through the air." "Sound waves travel through the outer and middle ear before arriving at the cochlea in the inner ear, marketing manager Ahn Jong-sik began explaining. Sound waves can also get to the cochlea through direct vibration of the bones in the head, and this pathway of sound is called bone conduction. The vibrations carry the sound waves to the inner ear and set up waves in the cochlea just like the waves that are set up by air-conducted sound." In layman's terms, one can keep their ears open to listen to nature and their surroundings, while letting the music be transmitted by vibration from the cranial bone, to the cochlea, to the brain.
What makes PAMSH products extraordinary is the strange components that are put together to be a headset. "As developers, we wanted our product to be black and white technology where even kindergarteners can tell the difference from other products. Our products are only built with original technologies from the inside out, which often makes people wonder how the sound is produced once they see our components," said Joseph Baek, the department manager. Out of seven original technologies PAMSH has as patents, what has impressed this writer the most was the Ferrite Core, which terminates the distortion of high-pitched sounds.
"No other earphones or headsets in the world use the ferrite core and that is what we have as an original technology. Our patents are based on seven original technologies which often shock those who take a look at our components," Ahn said.
Strong bass and no distortion at high pitches is what makes PAMSH products competitive compared to other bone conduction products. However, that is not everything PAMSH offered at CeBIT 2009. Model PS-200, for example, enables the headset to automatically switch itself from an MP3 player to a mobile phone five seconds after a beep, and vice versa. "We tested our products even in a helicopter up in the sky and in a fast speed car on the highways. We've talked on the phone without shouting and we heard music without hurting our eardrums," added Mr. Ahn.
The Long and Winding Road
The concept of bone conduction has been around in market for ten years, but soon after the retreat of big firms six years ago, small and medium sized companies have been trying to barely survive in the market. Thousands of warriors, horses, and automatic rifles are basic necessities when setting off to expand a county's territories. With only a few M-1 rifles, bone conduction developments and market expansion could only go so far. Those who are aware of bone conduction products often picture them as over-priced guinea pigs due to their disappointing sound quality and excessive price.
"The reason a $200 bone conduction headset has been providing the sound quality of $2 is because of its weak bass. Regular speakers use a cone and air hole while a bone conduction speaker uses a vibrator. Hearing bass sounds through air sounds better than through a vibrator, and that is what has been determining the regular speakers as the winners," Department Manager Joseph Baek explained.
However, bone conduction related technology has pulled through, and roughly 230 Korean patents have been listed related to the technology. The products have had high prices at first, but have been lowering over time, yet the quality of the products has quite a few miles to catch up. Today, Korea and Japan are the leading participants in the field of bone conduction out of ten companies including Goldendance and TEAC.
That Leads to Your Door
CeBIT 2009 put PAMSH into the global awareness and Korea recognized the company's full potential. "KOTRA, Incheon IT Promotion Agency, and Inha University GTEP have given us undying support to debut our products in CeBIT, and participating in a global exhibition has given us a fresh wake-up call," said a PAMSH representative. Though standardization and policies in the bone conduction industry have a quite a journey ahead with Professor Kim Duk-gyu of Kyungbook University, PAMSH headsets and Bluetooth headsets will ride on a booster to vibrate the world.
Between 0-2 checked:: Type A
Life is Short, Go wild. Turn up the volume, shout at the phone, have some babies, or try talking until the phone battery runs out. Then, come back and add m ore check marks to this test.
Between 3-6 checked:: Type B
Read the following article to learn about PAMSH.
Between 7-10 checked:: Type C
You Need PAMSH, amigo.
