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Posts with tag Bluetooth

A Self-Recharging Headset for Agreeable People

A Self-Recharging Headset for Agreeable PeoplePeople tend to nod when they agree, and when they walk, and pretty much all day long whether they know it or not. It's a motion telephone headset maker Plantronics is hoping to exploit to recharge upcoming generations of wireless headsets. The company has filed a patent for a kinetic energy converter that would be small enough to sit within a Bluetooth headset, yet powerful enough to recharge the thing.

The technology uses the same concept as is found in many "self-winding" watches that rely on the day-to-day motions of your hand to spin a weight and re-wind the thing. That sort of technology has been applied to some interesting places, like a dance-floor that powers the club, a dress that could charge your iPod, and an arm-band that juices up cell phones while you rock out. These are all inventions we can agree with -- especially if we're juicing up our gadgets while doing it. [From: textually.org]

Engadget

Sony Ericsson Debuts Bluetooth Watches for Sporty She-Geeks


When a press release is laced with words like "handbag," "sophisticated," and "vibrates," it's clearly targeting the fairer sex. Sony Ericsson's new MBW-200 watches display caller ID and rumble on the wrist when a call comes in to your Bluetooth connected cellphone. You can then reject or mute the call directly from the watch.

The Fossil designed, glare- and scratch-resistant time keepers come in three versions -- Sparkling Allure, Contemporary Elegance and Evening Classic. Each is modeled above by three tennis players for not so obvious reasons. Available in Q4 for an undisclosed price. A few more pics after the break. [Via SEMC Blog]
Engadget

Murata's New Robot Balances on One Wheel

Murata's new balancing robot loses a wheel, gains a trickRiding a bicycle isn't exactly easy, especially if you're made of circuitry, wires, and a gyroscope. That was Murata Seisaku-kun's one trick, and now he's sadly obsolete. Meet Seiko, a 20-inch tall, 11 pound unicycle riding robot. Like her, uh, "cousin" Keisaku-kun, Seiko relies on a chest-mounted gyro to stay upright and uses Bluetooth to communicate with a PC that gives instructions. (Yes, she's a PC.) Lucky robot lovers can watch the whole family of robo-carnies do its stuff at CEATEC Japan 2008, but even luckier you can check out the elder bot on his bike in motion after the break without having to leave your chair.
Engadget

Pea Speaker Concept Makes Multi-Room Wireless Audio Easy


Look, we never said we meant multi-channel, multi-room audio, nor did we imply that these were the real deal, but the Pea Speaker concept would make it mighty easy to fill up to seven (tiny) rooms with audio sans wires. In theory, Lu Le's peas-in-a-pod-like creation would enable each speaker to play back audio that was streamed over Bluetooth, though just one would posses a global volume control. Oh, and unless these spheres are much heavier than they look, we can imagine your kids having an absolute field day. [From: Yanko Design via CyberTheater]

Hands-On With New Motorola H15 and H780 Bluetooth Headsets

motorola h15

Motorola unveiled two new Bluetooth headsets today, one of which -- the H15 (pictured, above) -- is about half the size of a thumb and fits discreetly inside your ear via adjustable earbuds. Available in October for $129, the H15 is a souped-up version of the equally tiny H5 Miniblue headset that came out way back in 2006, and incorporates Motorola's CrystalTalk noise-cancellation technology and EasyPair pairing technology, which reduce outside noise on phone calls and make pairing with phones a snap, respectively. Motorola also announced the H780 Universal Bluetooth Headset, which is slightly bigger and offers more battery life (about 7 hours) than the H15 (about 4.5 hours), but only costs $99.

Both headsets also have multipoint technology, which means they can pair with two phones at once --- handy for those who like to double-fist their phones (such as this writer, who tends to carry an iPhone, for fun, in one pocket and a BlackBerry, for work, in another).

We got a chance to play around with both headsets in New York City's cavernous, echo-y, and conversation-filled Grand Central Station, as well as at our local Starbucks and on city streets, with satisfying results. Both friends we called thought we were either in a "Lincoln Town Car" or a "box" (whatever that means), even though we were walking down noisy streets. To be fair, one friend heard the church bell in the distance on one call, while another could hear the a muffled version of the roar of the cappuccino machine at Starbucks, but overall both of these headsets seemed kind to callers' ears on the other end. We also found them both to be easy to pair -- in fact, the H15 automatically goes into pairing mode when you flip out the U-shaped mic, which means never having to remember how to get a headset into pairing mode again (one of our big pet peeves that makes us easily tire of Bluetooth headsets in general).

Both the H15 and the H780 are due out in the 4th Quarter, which probably means early October since they've already started shipping to stores.
Engadget

CY-FI Portable Sports Speaker Brings Beats to Your Bike


CY-FI just unwrapped its latest wireless speaker system for your bike. The CY-FI Bluetooth wireless sport speaker weighs just 4-ounces, supports hands-free and stereo Bluetooth profiles, and works for about 5.5-hours on battery when clipped to your bike or pretty much anything else. But by attaching it to a bicycle, Cy-Fi can call it a world's first Bluetooth sport speaker, which is nice. Unfortunately, the September 22nd launch with a $180 price tag is not. [From: cy-fi]
Engadget

Wii Balance Board Used to Control Roomba Vacuum


For Roomba hacking extraordinaire longjie0723, it's just another day in the office. Grasping for one more way to control the circular vacuum with something video game-related, he keyed in on the Wii Balance Board. Granted, he's already had success controlling the Roomba with a Wiimote, so we assume that whipping this one up was a lesson in simplicity. We still can't really understand why this here hack is necessary, but unlike decisions made by publicly traded companies, independent DIYers don't need no logic to get their mod on. Video after the cut. [From YouTube via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]
Engadget

Swany's Snowboard Gloves Secretly Double as Bluetooth Handset


Bluetooth technology has been finding its way into ski gear for years now, but Swany has taken things to a whole 'nother level -- one that's only reachable via the heated quad-lift. Unless this description is positively inaccurate, there's actually a Bluetooth module, speaker and microphone tucked within one of the g.cell gloves. When it detects an incoming call, it gives your wrist a shake (read: there's a vibrate function) and enables you to quite literally talk to the hand.

Swany asserts that it'll last for 12 hours on standby (4 hours of talk time), though your phone may crap out a few hours earlier in extreme temperatures. Now that we think about it, wrestling that mobile out of our deep coat pockets with frostbitten hands is pretty annoying -- maybe that $495 price tag isn't so staggering after all. [Via bookofjoe, thanks llya]

Top 8 Bluetooth Headsets for Your Cell Phone



Driving Miss Bluetooth


With the criminalization of driving while talking on a cell phone on the rise, the need for a proper wireless headset is starting to creep in. Sure, you could just get one of those headsets that plug right into your phone -- they're certainly affordable -- but anything with wires tends to get caught in your arms, or worse, a gear shift. As such, we recommend going wireless with your phone headsets, and that means getting a Bluetooth headset (in case, you haven't guessed, Bluetooth is a wireless technology that's used in all phone headsets).

But are all Bluetooth headsets created equal? The one that has the best sound or the least interference when you talk into it may not look so chic on your ear. So which headset is for you? We tried out a bunch of the most most popular and hyped headsets out there, and narrowed our final list down to eight that we like.Take a look at our picks in the following pages.....

Top Ten 'Cool' Things That Actually Make You Look 'Uncool'


There are plenty of things in this world that you're sure are pretty freakin' cool, and, by extension, make you cool, but, in reality, aren't cool at all (and make you look like a tool). Luckily, Holy Taco put together a list of 10 items that people generally think make them cool, but don't, and some of our favorite pieces of tech made the list, including the iPhone, Bluetooth headsets, 'Guitar Hero,' and "funny" ring-tones. This, of course, got us thinking: What other gadgets are out there that people love, but are actually not cool (or stylish) at all.

Check out the gallery below for our own list of tech and gadgets that some of us may think make us cool, but really don't. [Source: Holy Taco]

Mother's Day Gift Guide: MOTOROKR T505 In-Car Speakerphone



Whether driving to soccer practice or to the office, Mom will find the MOTOROKR T505 ($139.99) wireless in-car speaker system to be a great alternative to annoying earpieces (or worse, actual handsets) that are usually used when behind the wheel. The T505 clips easily to the car's visor and uses Bluetooth technology and an FM transmitter to make and receive phone calls through a car's stereo speakers. The T505 also has echo and noise reduction technology to make sure calls are clear, while an Audio CallerID feature lets you hear the number of any incoming caller. As an added bonus, you can also stream music from a compatible cellphone or MP3 player to the T505.

In-Body Wi-Fi Gadgets Can Warn Doctors of Impending Heart Attacks

We recently reported on some intriguing cell phone software that could track your weight or insulin levels and automatically contact doctors if there were any issues. Now researchers are taking that to the next level with implantable sensors that can wirelessly communicate with doctors automatically in case of an emergency.

The sensors use Bluetooth, the same tech that lets you use a hands-free kit in your car sans wires, and would be implanted in the body to monitor heart rate and other statistics, automatically warning doctors of irregularities. Additional sensors applied to medication dispensers could raise alarms if a prescription wasn't being adhered to. And, should you fall unconscious, a call to the local emergency services could be placed for you.

Soon, it seems, you won't even have to say "I've fallen and I can't get up!" to get some help! [Source: TimesOnline]

Chinese Mobile Phone Has Two -Year Battery Life

Chinese cell phone with two-year battery life.

Battery life is often the determining factor when we buy consumer electronics products. How does a cell phone with two years of stand-by time sound to you?

A new phone out of China promises just that, giving you two years of stand-by time and two to three days of active talking time -- all without plugging the phone into the charger even once.

You may be thinking this device, Solo Mobi model number ZJ268, would be nothing more than a big battery with a keypad, but the handset actually has Bluetooth support, slots for two SIM cards, keypad AND handwriting input, and MP3 playback capability. The Solo Mobi also has plenty of standard phone applications like calendar, task list, and (of course) a contact list.

The 32800 mAh battery is rated by the manufacturer to operate for 666 days in standby mode, which blows away anything else we've seen on the market.

As best we can tell from the manufacturer Web site, the basic cost of the phone is $128. According to the specifications, it does come with a charger -- but why would you need one?

The good news is that if you can get your hands on one -- either by going to China and buying one or finding it for sale online -- you'll be able to use it with ay T-Mobile or AT&T Wireless SIM card.

From Textually.org.


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Bluetooth Headsets You'll Want This Year

In the beginning, Bluetooth headsets were a bit off-putting. You stuck one in your ear, called a friend on your mobile phone, and watched as people on the street looked on as you had a conversation -- seemingly with yourself. But things have changed drastically since then. These small, wireless gadgets are now ubiquitous, gracing the earlobes of everyone from the guy on the next treadmill to your grandma in her car. So what are the coolest, most innovative we saw at CES that'll find their way to store shelves this year? Take a look at our five favorites:



BlueAnt Wireless V1: Forget playing with buttons, checking on blinking lights or messing with your cell phone when you want to make a call. The BlueAnt V1 is the first completely voice controlled Bluetooth headset and it's superneat. With just one button to activate it -- all you do is talk and it will talk right back. Want to call the operator? Just speak and your wish is its command. Speed dial has never been so easy, either. Using advanced Voice Recognition and Voice Synthesis technology, the V1 also has dual microphones and proprietary Voice Isolation Technology, which allows the headset to hear you clearly and provides amazing noise reduction, echo cancellation and even protection from wind. Small and lightweight, the V1 gets up to six hours of talk time or 200 hours of standby with one battery charge. And all this for just $119. (Image by way of MobileWhack.com)


Car Stereos Trends in 2008 - iPods, Bluetooth, and Tiny Speakers

Car Stereos in 2008 -- iPods, Bluetooth, and Tiny Speakers
So what can you look forward to in 2008 for your in-car media system? More integration with digital media devices (ie. iPods), better sounding compact speakers, lower prices on those high-end all-in-one units, and technologies to enhance the quality of the sound, not just the volume.

More than anything it seems like 2008 will be the year that iPod integration and Bluetooth become standard on all but the lowest-end systems. Every all-in-one system from Kenwood and Pioneer featured the abilities, and almost every standard CD player system provided iPod connectivity. Some of the more basic models have even been fitted with Bluetooth. That means you can say goodbye to those headsets that make you look like a jerk.

As for those all-in-one units that combine GPS with audio and video functions, look for prices to continue to take a nosedive. Prices start at $1,000 for units from Kenwood, Pioneer, and Alpine, but we expect by the end of the year prices will fall even further.

Meanwhile, Pioneer says it is going back to it roots: sound quality. iPods allow us to carry our entire music collections in our back pocket, but the problem with digital audio is that it's compressed in order to make the file smaller. Pioneer is using a technology they call ASR (Advanced Sound Retrieval) to restore some of the lost frequency range due to compression, and after a demo we were quite impressed.

Lastly, as with everything else, thin is in when it comes to car speakers. Just about every company that makes car speakers was showing off shallow subwoofers for those who don't want to gut or mod their car to get amazing bass.



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