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StereoBluetooth posts

Jabra's HALO now ready to make stereo Bluetooth look a little less ridiculous

by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 26th 2009 @ 8:54AM

By its very nature, stereo Bluetooth gear is never going to look quite as cool as its wired equivalent -- but if we look back on the early days, we're making progress. Jabra's new over-the-ear HALO should appeal to some with its relatively convenient folding design, and as an added bonus, it kinda looks like you're wearing a futuristic hair beret when you slip it on. How can you argue with that? Following an announcement earlier this year, the HALO's now available at Best Buy locations for $130 promising 8 hours of music playback, 13 days of standby, seamless transition between calls and tunes, and an innovative corded mode with a 3.5mm jack. It's tough to say whether you'll get odd stares wearing these day in and day out -- but if you're not willing to find out the answer to that the hard way, we certainly are. Selfless, we know.

Sony Ericsson Aino's wireless headphones get FCC approval, Aino gets a user manual

by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 10th 2009 @ 11:42AM

It isn't every day that a phone includes wireless stereo headphones in the box -- yes, that's right, we said wireless -- so when we saw the Sony Ericsson MH100 earn its FCC wings, we stood up and took notice. The MH100 is a color-coordinated A2DP clip-on with a 3.5mm jack and remote controls, making it the perfect complement to the Aino's advanced multimedia capabilities (including PlayStation Remote Play support, if you recall), and it's nice to know that you won't have to shell out for one of these suckers on top of the untold hundreds of euro you're dropping on the phone itself. Speaking of the Aino, though, maybe the more interesting find in the FCC filing is the inclusion of the phone's user manual, where you can get the lowdown on Remote Play, the built-in Facebook client, and details on the interface for that glorious 8.1 megapixel cam. Actually, large portions of the draft manual seem missing or half-assed, so we're guessing we'll see this get a lot more interesting by the time they pack the phones for retail.

Jabra HALO hands-on

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 3rd 2009 @ 2:41AM

Finding awesome stereo Bluetooth hardware is challenging. There are a few good reasons for that: one, you've got to somehow pack a battery inside the headset itself, two, you've got radio circuitry in there, and three, it's all got to last a bunch of hours between charges. We're not saying that Jabra's just-announced HALO is for everyone, but it's an awfully interesting product -- probably one of the best A2DP sets we've seen -- and unlike most on-ear sets, it folds small enough to carry with you pretty much everywhere you go. The jury's out on audio quality and fit until we get our hands on an actual review unit (they're showing some pretty loose pre-production prototypes at CTIA) but considering how the HALO looks and works, we're cautiously stoked that this is going to end up being one of the better multimedia accessories of the year.

Gallery: Jabra HALO hands-on

Jabra intros HALO stereo Bluetooth headset, SP200 speakerphone

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 1st 2009 @ 2:00PM

Jabra's making the wireless music game just a little bit more interesting today with the announcement of its stereo Bluetooth HALO headphones, featuring six hours of playback time on a single charge, AVRCP support, Jabra's Noise Blackout circuitry for improved clarity when making calls, and micro-USB charging. Conveniently, the HALO folds for storage, which also toggles the set's power. Staying in the Bluetooth theme, the company is also showing off its SP200 speakerphone -- a great way to avoid the fuzz, we figure -- with 10 hours of talk time, 23 days of standby, and active noise reduction. The HALO hits in May for $129.99; the SP200, meanwhile, gets real in April for $59.99.

Gallery: Jabra intros HALO stereo Bluetooth headset, SP200 speakerphone

Philips Tapster stereo Bluetooth headset loves your voice, needs your touch

by Tim Stevens posted Feb 20th 2009 @ 10:26AM

While they may not have an particularly desirable impact on your image, wireless Bluetooth headsets are convenient, and their continually dwindling size gives us the hope that some day you could wear one without anyone noticing. But, smaller size equals smaller buttons, an issue Philips is looking to dodge entirely with its latest stereo Bluetooth headset, the Tapster. It relies on touch inputs, not moving ones (other than a wee power button), meaning you'll be able to administer a gentle stroke to adjust volume or a light tap to answer a call. It all sounds quite intuitive and convenient -- providing of course the thing doesn't start dialing when someone bumps into you on the subway. No word on price, but if all goes well you could be pairing these over Bluetooth 2.1+EDR A2DP, AVRCP, HSP, and HFP by the end of the year.

[Via Shiny Shiny]

Gallery: Philips Tapster

Motorola's S9-HD looks white as a sheet

by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 19th 2008 @ 3:13PM

The follow-on to Motorola's sporty and moderately popular (for a stereo bluetooth headset, anyway) S9 may not have launched yet -- a disappointment, considering the original plan for a Q2 release when it was announced at CES -- but perhaps a little last-minute paint job was the reason for the delay. We've now spotted the S9-HD in a bright white getup with blue accents, a far cry from the black of the model shown at CES (and presumably still slated for launch) or the red of the original, but let's not kid ourselves: this one has a way better chance of finding its way into an ear canal or two. Hopefully we'll see it within a few weeks -- just in time for a successor to be launched at CES 2009, no doubt.

Venturi Mini uses lots of RF to get music from phone to car stereo

by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 18th 2008 @ 12:52AM

We've seen more efficient ways of piping tunes from phones to stereos, but admittedly, they usually involve a wire or two. The Venturi Mini, now being offered by Verizon Wireless, performs the wondrous feat of receiving music streamed to it via stereo Bluetooth and relaying it on to your car's head unit by way of FM transmitter, making the whole process completely wire-free. "But wait," as they say in the industry, "that's not all." The cigarette lighter socket-powered device doubles as a handsfree that cleverly pauses your music when the time comes to take a call. Grab the multitalented wonder now for $129.99 -- and if you live in Washington or Oregon, the sooner, the better.

[Via MobileBurn]

The Etymotic etyBlu: a less ridiculous looking successor to the ety8?

by Chris Ziegler posted Dec 23rd 2007 @ 3:50PM

If you want a pair of true, in-ear buds without the muss and fuss of wires, your options are limited and you need to be prepared to make some sacrifices. One such sacrifice that needs to be heavily weighed into the equation, for example, is your desire to appear as though there is a pair of black Duplo blocks hanging out of your ears. That's exactly the curse of Etymotic's ety8, a decent set of stereo Bluetooth 'phones (we've tried them, they're comfortable and sound great) that were irreparably damaged by the ugly stick somewhere during the course of their development. The high-end headphone outfit has another Bluetooth product in the works, though -- the ER-89 "etyBlu" just hit the FCC's wires, giving us hope that they heard our complaints loud and clear and have worked to make their kit just a little less embarrassing to wear in public. We couldn't find conclusive evidence in the documentation that we're looking at a stereo headset here; theoretically, it could just be a mono product for calls, but we're encouraged by a brief mention of listening to music (who wants to blast tunes into one ear?) and the fact that the ety8's model number is ER-88. Can anyone make out what's going on in this FCC label diagram here?

Treo 700w, 700wx get their A2DP on

by Chris Ziegler posted Feb 22nd 2007 @ 12:59PM

Depending on the model and the manufacturer, getting A2DP enabled on your Windows Mobile 5 device has been tricky at best, nigh impossible at worst -- despite the fact that the platform itself fully supports it. Thankfully, dedicated hacker communities have rallied around most of the devices out there, and the Treo 700w and 700wx are the latest devices to have their iron curtains of stereo Bluetooth discrimination fall. A simple install, a few lines of instructions, and bam, that old Treo's taken on a whole new (and very musical) life. Let us know how it goes, folks!

[Thanks, Travis]

Motorola Q to have A2DP support?

by Ryan Block posted Apr 22nd 2006 @ 7:27PM

It seems we didn't quite pore over the Motorola Q FCC draft user's manual as well as we'd initially thought. In fact, it looks rather like Motorola may have actually added Bluetooth A2DP support to the Q, like, totally without telling us. Then again, this could just be dummy copy or text pulled from another manual as a placeholder -- we just don't know. Still, with all the delays plaguing this thing's launch, it'd be nice to know that there's a little nugget awaiting us at the end of the wait, even if it's something as simple as additional Bluetooth profiles (on a Verizon handset, no less).

[Via MS Mobiles]