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Posts with tag bluetooth

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

by Terrence O'Brien, posted May 16th 2008 at 1:17PMBreaking News

Things That You Think Make You Cool, But Don't

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]

Gallery: Gallery of Uncool Gadgets

  • Portable Gaming Systems
  • Blinged-out Gadgets
  • Vertu Luxury Cell Phones
  • Jawbone Bluetooth Headset
  • Over-sized Headphones

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

by Tobey Grumet Segal, posted May 9th 2008 at 9:33AM



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

by Tim Stevens, posted May 7th 2008 at 10:27AMBreaking News

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

by Will Safer, posted Mar 24th 2008 at 3:19PM

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

by Tobey Grumet Segal, posted Jan 11th 2008 at 5:17PM

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

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jan 11th 2008 at 11:41AM

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.

Gallery: Car Stereo Trends



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New Wireless Bluetooth Speakers Are Finally Affordable

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jan 8th 2008 at 2:30PM

Bluetooth Speakers for the Masses
The world is going wireless. Whether it's Wi-Fi or WiMax, or Bluetooth, wires are going the way of Britney Spear's career. ArtDio, after dabbling in wireless audio last year, has embraced this trend whole-heartedly, adding a trio of Bluetooth-enabled speaker sets to its line up.

The BT-132 is a portable stereo Bluetooth set up that can be powered by either 4 AA batteries or an AC adapter. The 132 also includes a built-in microphone so that when a call comes in on your paired mobile phone, the music stops, allowing you to use the BT-132 as a speaker phone. This whole package will come in at around $70.

For only $10 more the BT-328 builds on features of the 132 by beefing up the sound with a subwoofer and larger speakers. The 328 also features a very cool rounded design with a wrap-around speaker grill. The 328 isn't quite as portable, though, and lacks a battery bay (so it must always be plugged in).

The BT-326 is another $10 bump over the 328, and adds an LCD alarm clock and an FM radio. Unfortunately it lacks the sleek styling of many of ArtDio's other speaker systems.

Gallery: BlueTooth Wireless Speakers



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Mini Bluetooth Keyboard Lets You Type Away On Your PC or PlayStation 3

by Tom Samiljan, posted Jan 6th 2008 at 5:26PM


Sure, it might look like a portable electronic translator or text-messaging device, but Logitech's Di Novo Mini, shown yesterday at the CES Unveiled preview in Las Vegas, is a much simpler affair. Designed as a miniature portable keyboard to type text into Web browsers, text message boxes, and video game chat bubbles, the Di Novo Mini connects wirelessly to Bluetooth-enabled computers, smart phones, and even gaming consoles like the PlayStation 3. The D-Pad lets you maneuver around the Tivo-like interface of Windows Media Center, too.

Why would you want this small keyboard when plenty of perfectly user-friendly big wireless keyboards exist instead? Well, for one thing, this one's small enough to take with you, and it's sexy looking with a transparent cover to keep dust out to boot. Only problem is, the thing uses Bluetooth, and we all know how erratic Bluetooth keyboards can be (very!).

Still, given its cool, distinctive design and diminutive size, the Logitech diNovo Mini Keyboard is getting saved in our neat-o files.

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Do Bluetooth Earphones Make You Look Like a Jerk?

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Oct 17th 2007 at 12:43PM

Why Does Bluetooth Make You A Jerk?
There's something about bluetooth headsets that sort of makes us want to punch their users the face. Farhad Manjoo, writer at Machinist, decided to test a batch of headsets and figure out why it is that these admittedly useful gadgets conjure up descriptions of their users that we simply can't repeat on a family-friendly web site such as this.

Manjoo's first theory was that aesthetic appeal was the problem. Most headsets are, to put it lightly, hideous. Consumer electronics grade plastic, over ear arms, and obtrusive teardrop shapes are the standard. So Manjoo looked to the Jawbone, one of the first headsets to realize that as a piece of wearable technology it must also be fashionable. Unfortunately the high style design just exacerbated the problem of appearing self-important.

Manjoo moved on to the itty bitty Apple headset, figuring that the barely visible accessory would reduce the problem of appearing pompous. An unforeseen side effect arose however: If it's not apparent you're talking into a headset, you just look crazy.

Then Manjoo settled on the Cardo S-640 (pictured above), a bluetooth hands-free device that looks more like the cheapo wired extensions packaged with many cell phones. The microphone and radio are housed in a relatively unobtrusive plastic rectangle that clips on to your collar or lapel. A single earbud is wired to the box that runs up to your ear. Though far from perfect, Manjoo found this to be the least offensive headset he tested. We still recommend you pull it out of your ear before walking into your uncle's funeral though.

From Machinist

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Beyonce's 'B Phone' for Sprint

by Ryan Rayhill, posted Oct 15th 2007 at 9:29AM

Beyonce's New Sprint Phone Coming Soon

America loves Beyonce. This is a stone-cold fact -- a bewildering fact, but a fact nonetheless. And Sprint's faith in the country's love for Beyonce and anything associated with the R&B singer and Dreamgirls star became evident last week when the 'B Phone' by Samsung was unveiled.

Available November 4th at a Sprint store or a Wal-Mart near you, this special edition Upstage phone features a dual-face handset, includes a digital power amp that significantly improves sound quality, Bluetooth, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and speedy PC syncing software.

Naturally, the 'B Phone' is loaded with Beyonce-related material and will allow owners to download content such as an "exclusive" Beyonce photo gallery and a song she sang when she was 10-years old (sure, why not?) directly from Sprint.com.

While we can't imagine owning the burgundy and gold-colored device ourselves, we imagine teenage girls everywhere will find the 'B Phone' irresistible.

From Geeksugar


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'Third Ear' Implanted Into Artist's Arm

by Tom Samiljan, posted Oct 12th 2007 at 5:10PM



So far this year, artists have stuffed a dead frog into a computer and allowed themselves to be shot at, but nothing beats the latest project by Stelios Arcadious, at least as far as shock value is concerned. After ten years if trying, the Cyprus-born artist finally found a surgeon to implant a third ear into his left arm.

Cosmetically-speaking, it's a real ear, grown in a lab from cells, but so far it doesn't have any aural capabilities. Arcardious says he wants to add a Bluetooth transmitter and a tiny microphone to the ear, so that people "can listen to what my ear is hearing."

Whether the sounds heard by an ear in an arm are all that different from the sounds picked up by regular ears on a head remains to be seen (or heard), but color us horrified -- and fascinated.

From Daily Mail.

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Direct-to-Cell Phone Advertising Coming

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Sep 17th 2007 at 4:32PM

Ad on Cell Phones
It's all over. One the last bastions of ad-free tech -- our cell phones -- may be on the way out. Bluetooth, that technology that lets you talk via wireless headset while driving or walking, is providing advertisers a way to lock on to your cell phone to send files, images, video and even coupons.

Many operators aren't too excited about the idea, though, since there is no way for them to make some cash on the deal. Companies like European provider Orange prefer a technology called Code 2D or QR (Quick Response), which requires a camera and special software. The technology is already popular in Japan and uses the camera to recognize bar codes in advertisements which launch the cell's browser and takes the consumer to a web page. This requires a data plan, and we pay for that, which makes the network operators very happy.

With Bluetooth, advertisers don't need the operators' involvement. Bluetooth has become pretty ubiquitous and is open and free to use. We fear that this will simply turn into another way to spam us. Constant texts about the new Angus three-pounder or new mango-flavored Coke are just around the corner.

From Reuters

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Voice Dialing for iPhone?

by Tim Stevens, posted Jul 20th 2007 at 8:53AM

iPhone Voice Dialing Coming Soon?Despite all the hype, there are a few key features missing from the iPhone that you'll find on just about every other smart phone out there. IM support for chatting is one that's recently been fixed by intrepid developers. Another shortfall is the inability to dial by voice, though thankfully it seems Apple may be addressing that second problem. All iPhone all the time site iPhoneFaq has picked up on a little detail in the description for Apple's upcoming Bluetooth headset accessory that might indicate voice dialing is coming in the not-too-distant future. Part of the description for the headset includes a line that states:

"The iPhone Bluetooth Headset features a single button that lets you make and receive phone calls simply and intuitively."

Obviously one button isn't enough to punch in a phone number (unless you know Morse code and have a lot of patience), so it seems safe to assume that voice dialing should be enabled when the headset hits the streets in a few weeks. Will this come via software update and, if so, what else will the iPhone update fix or add? That we'll all have to wait and see.

From iPhoneFAQ and Newsvine

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iPhone Accessories Revealed

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jun 29th 2007 at 12:26PM

iPhone Travel Charger
With the official launch of the iPhone just hours away, Apple has finally revealed its official accessories. Nothing earth-shattering here. Outside of the stuff that is interchangeable with the iPod (power adapter, sync cable) there is a sleek looking Bluetooth headset that comes with the Dual Dock for charging both the phone and the headset simultaneously for $129, a travel cable that will also charge both devices that runs $29, and the iPhone Stereo Headset which is basically iPod earbuds with a mic and answer call button.

Works with iPhone logoApple also unleashed the 'Works With iPhone' logo that will be stamped on every device guaranteed by Apple to work with the god phone.

From Engadget

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Meet Wibree: Bluetooth's Little Brother

by Tim Stevens, posted Jun 13th 2007 at 1:29PM

Meet Wibree: Bluetooth's Little BrotherIf you thought Bluetooth was a funny name for a wireless standard, prepare to pee your pants with laughter once you get a load of Wibree. It's the new wireless standard that's been developed for devices too small to pack in a regular Bluetooth chip.

Wibree uses much less power than Bluetooth, which means no need for beefy batteries or frequent recharging. But, low power translates to low data rates, which means Wibree isn't suitable for wireless headsets or music streaming. It's ideal for less intensive applications like a watch informing its wearer of incoming calls or text messages.

Wibree isn't a replacement for Bluetooth, but rather a complimentary technology. The body that governs the Bluetooth standard, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, has endorsed the technology, which was originally developed by Nokia. It'll be ready for prime time in about a year, and though it won't be compatible with Bluetooth devices currently on the market, future Bluetooth devices will play nice with Wibree.

From USA Today

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