When you think of JanSport, you instantly think of backpacks right? Well we sure did! In fact, looking back on my life, I realized I must have owned about a half dozen different styles of JanSport branded backpacks - many of which were used during my high school and college days

However, none of the backpacks that I’ve ever owned (or currently own) in my life compare to the backpack we’ll be taking a look at today - the new JanSport LiveWire+ Audio Pack. With the LiveWire+ Audio Pack, you get a full featured backpack with integrated support and control for the Apple iPod.

Of course the iPod didn’t exist when I was younger but we certainly had tape cassette players and CD players - yet we never had a bag like this! So join us as we look at the JanSport LiveWire+ Audio Pack - surely the start of a new era of backpacks with integrated mobile media functionality.

Features and specs

Let’s jump into the features of the JanSport LiveWire+ Audio Pack shall we? With the audio pack, you’ll get:

  • AirCore shoulder straps
  • Built in controls for using the Apple iPod without having to pull it out of the pack
  • Headphone port connects to Apple iPod - no cords to mess with
  • Two large main compartments
  • Foam molded main compartment
  • Twin mesh pockets
  • Inside organizer keeps essentials handy
  • Two-stage padded back for breathability and increased comfort

Here are the relevant specs on the Audio Pack:

  • The bag measures 19″ h x 14″ w x 9″ d
  • It weighs 1 lb, 13 oz (or 0.8 kg)
  • There’s 1500 cu inches of capacity or 24 L
  • Made out of 300 Denier Dobby Nylon / 840 Junior Ballistic fabric

So what is LiveWire+ ?

Before we get into LiveWire+ Audio Pack, let’s review what the heck LiveWire is all about. According to JanSport, “LiveWire is the latest in integrated mobile media technology for packs and clothing”. Their goal is to make it easy for you to carry and use your digital audio players, cell phones, and mobile peripherals with “maximum freedom and minimum fuss.”

There are currently three flavors of LiveWire products:

  • All basic LiveWire products come with a convenient device storage pocket and an integrated “Lowjack” audio port for easy hands free listening.
  • LiveWire+ products take the basic Lowjack audio port and add an integrated JanSport iPod remote. The remote allows you to control the basic functionalities on the iPod remotely
  • LiveWireBT products take the LiveWire+ product line a step further by adding Bluetooth connectivity for Bluetooth enabled cell phones.

Ok.. back to the review at hand - today, we’ll be looking at a LiveWire+ product in the form of the JanSport Audio Pack. The back pack comes with a soft fabric keypad integrated directly into the right shoulder strap of the backpack. The keypad provides full remote control of the iPod - similar to what you’ve seen in the Kenpo jackets that we’ve reviewed here at Krunker.

The JanSport LiveWire+ is compatible with 3rd generation iPods and higher (except for the iPod shuffle) so if you’ve got one of those 1st or 2nd gen iPods, you’re out of luck!

LiveWire+ doesn’t come with it’s own power supply which means it depends on the iPod for power. Make sure your iPod is sufficiently charged if you plan on using it for a sustained amount of time.

Installing the iPod

Getting the Apple iPod working with the JanSport LiveWire+ was a cinch. The Audio Pack has a dedicated pocket (called the V-Loft pocket) designed to secure the iPod in place.

Here are the basic steps to installing the iPod:

1. Unzip the V-Loft pocket

2. Connect the iPod to the 30 pin connector

3. Connect the 3.5 mm top jack connector

4. It’s best to slide the HOLD button into place on the iPod unless you like random track selections being performed because of random button presses

5. Plug your headphones into the LiveWire headphone port which is located on the right shoulder strap

6. Press play and rock and roll with your iPod

The 5 button keypad control

Here’s a look at the integrated 5 button keypad control. From top to bottom, you have:

  • Track forward
  • Track reverse
  • Volume +
  • Volume -
  • Play/Pause and On/Off

To listen to your iPod, just press the play button. Press and hold the Play button for four seconds to turn off the iPod.

Unfortunately there’s no auto lock feature on the LiveWire+ iPod keypad. This means any button press on the keypad will automatically activate the iPod. Case in point - you’ve turned off the iPod by pressing the play button for four seconds. You then hop on a subway train to work but you accidentally bump into a fellow subway passenger. The play button is accidentally pressed and your iPod comes back on - playing for the rest of the ride to work. Bummer huh? Here we prefer the Eleksen ElekTex design which automatically locks the keypad after seven seconds of inactivity.

An overview of the bag

Ok - we’ve seen the iPod functionality - let’s take a look at the bag itself shall we? Here’s a shot of the front of the bag.

On the front side, there are two twin mesh pockets located on each side of the bag.  With a strange triangular design, I’m not quire sure how useful these pockets actually will be.

Here’s a shot of the back of the bag with those AirCore shoulder straps (more on that later).

Now a closeup of the integrated iPod keypad.

Finally, on the right shoulder strap, there’s the headphone jack.

Connecting the AirCore shoulder straps to the backpack are these thin straps shown here. Is anyone else a bit concerned about how thin and small these strips appear to be? Hmm..

The top of the bag has a thin rubber handle with a nice grip feel.

Let’s take a look inside the bag.

The insides of the bag are a bit deceiving - there’s a lot more room in here than meets the eye folks. When the bag is nominally empty, the Audio Pack appears to collapse upon itself thereby conserving space on your back.

Once you fill the bag up, you’ll realize that the Audio Pack indeed packs a great deal of room.

As we mentioned earlier, there’s a dedicated iPod pocket called the V-Loft pocket.

There’s also another big pocket on the opposite side which can be used to house all sorts of things - from pens to mobile phones and PDAs.

This pocket actually features three different housings. There’s a zipper protected compartment on the pocket flap; a small pocket on the outside of the main pocket and of course the main pocket itself.

Usage

I tried out the JanSport LiveWire+ Audio Pack by first testing the bag’s ability to carry things - afterall the bag is of course a bag right?

As mentioned earlier, the bag is deceptively large on the inside. Since it’s clearly well padded, I wondered if it would fit my 17 inch widescreen Toshiba laptop. I’m sure many students would like to use this backpack as a laptop bag so it’s important for us to try that out. In this particular case, the backpack indeed housed the 17 inch laptop - although just barely.

I then upped the ante by using the backpack to carry my Xbox 360, the Xbox 360 HD DVD player, both power bricks, an Xbox 360 controller, a remote control, and two A/V cables. All of these items had no trouble fitting inside the bag. Now how would the weight feel on my back? Just fine thank you very much - thanks in no large part to the AirCore shoulder straps.

These AirCore based straps are made of dual density foam compromised of EVA foam and Open Cell foam. The end result? Nice comfortable shoulder straps which fit the contours of your body while provide ample support. Indeed - once you strap the bag onto your back, you’ll notice how the bag and straps conform to your body’s shape. The weight of the bag is evenly distributed from your shoulders down towards your back. Very nice indeed.

Now onto the iPod features.

As we mentioned earlier, you install the iPod into the V-Loft pocket on the inside of the bag. Once connected, you remotely control the iPod using the integrated keypad on the right shoulder strap.

The integrated keypad was simple to use and provided tactile feedback whenever you pressed a button - letting you know that you indeed pressed the button.

Another strong feature of the Audio Pack is the cord management capabilities for the iPod headphones. Since the headphone jack is on the outside of the bag, there’s no cable mess or entanglement. 

Really - our only major complaint with the keypad is the lack of an auto-lock feature. If we had that feature, we’d love the keypad implementation.

As with Eleksen ElekTex enabled products like the Kenpo jacket for the iPod, the JanSport LiveWire+ suffers from the same limited control over the iPod. You can only fast forward or rewind tracks but you can’t navigate through the menu structure so make sure you have a playlist set up before putting the iPod away.

Finally, don’t get the Audio Pack too dirty ok? The backpack is not machine washable nor can you send it in for dry cleaning. You can however spot clean the bag using warm water and mild detergent.

Summary

The JanSport LiveWire+ Audio Pack is a good starting point for integrating iPod functionality into every day items such as the regular backpack. With the Audio Pack, you get spacious capacity for all sorts of things - from books to computers to yes.. Xbox 360 consoles (Ha!). You also get a dedicated pocket and controller system for the iPod for those that need to listen to music all the time.

The Audio Pack is particularly ideal for students and big city commuters who often find themselves carrying a lot of things while needing to drown out the outside world around them.

Yes it has some flaws (one of which is the lack of an auto-lock feature) but the bag is easy to use and comfortable to wear. What else could you ask for? (Maybe some more pockets?). If you’re looking for an integrated iPod/backpack solution, then you should definitely give the JanSport LiveWire+ Audio Pack a look over.

Pros:

  • Spacious interior
  • Comfortable to wear
  • Great shoulder straps
  • Easy to setup
  • Easy to use
  • Tactile buttons

Cons:

  • Limited iPod control
  • No auto-lock feature for the keypad
  • Somewhat expensive at an MSRP of $125 (though you can get for less)

Many thanks to JanSport for letting us play with the LiveWire+ Audio Pack!

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