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headphone posts

HTC's redemption song: 3.5mm jacks coming to 'vast majority' of post-Hero devices

by Ross Miller posted Jul 10th 2009 @ 5:39PM

Better late than never, we suppose. Our friends at Mobile Crunch have it on word from a HTC spokesperson that a "vast majority of devices we launch after Hero" are gonna be including a 3.5mm headphone jack as a standard feature. The rep also added that devices already announced would "not necessarily be part of this change," which while not ruling it out entirely, doesn't get our hopes up. Still, it's refreshing to know the future generations won't be beholden to the adapter-laden shackles of its ancestors -- so Lancaster, where will you fall in all this mess?

[Via Smartphone Thoughts]

NTT DoCoMo's spatial audio tech provides superhuman hearing

by Darren Murph posted May 11th 2009 @ 9:06AM

Upon first read, we were inclined to believe that the words gracing our eyes here simply couldn't be true. But then we realized that this is NTT DoCoMo, and beyond the realm of feasibility is where this company resides. In a beautiful attempt to provide superhuman-like hearing to all Earthlings, the company has developed a highly efficient mobile spatial audio transmission technology that enables "a mobile phone user to assign a spatial position to each sound source when listening to multiple sound sources, such as during a game or a conference call." Put simply, the tech allows a user listening with headphones to "hear each speaker's voice as if it were coming from a unique direction, creating a virtual face-to-face communication environment." We're not told specifically how many voices the average bird can hear before it becomes too overwhelming, but we'll go out on a limb here and say three or four, max.

SRS TruMedia brings "5.1" surround sound to your cellphone... again

by Darren Murph posted Jan 20th 2009 @ 10:16AM

Ah, nothing like preying on the forgetfulness of the human brain. Nearly a full year after SRS Labs outed its SRS CS Headphone technology -- which supposedly takes 2-channel audio and creates the effect of surround sound -- the company is introducing a solution that sounds mighty similar, just with more channels. TruMedia, as it's so affectionately dubbed, is expected to make mobile phones, PMPs, Bluetooth headphones and "gaming consoles" (saywha?) emit "engaging, theater-like 5.1 surround sound" when multichannel video content is viewed. Kind of sounds like drawing blood from a stone to us, but who knows, maybe six bona fide channels of audio really can flow from a single set of earbuds.

Nokia's 5800 XpressMusic bundled with Shure SE210 earphones in Hong Kong

by Darren Murph posted Dec 19th 2008 @ 1:19PM

As you can probably tell from the naming convention used on Nokia's 5800 XpressMusic, this here phone was designed with music playback in mind. Shocking, we know. That being the case, we're not surprised to see this here Nokia / Shure bundle surface in Hong Kong, and honestly, we're a little surprised it took this long. The special edition kit will come packaged with one handset and one set of Shure SE210 earphones, and it's expected to go on sale today for around $620. Too bad you'll have to jet to Hong Kong and drop by the currency conversion joint to actually snag one.

[Via The Nokia 5800 Blog]

T-Mobile G1s now shipping with 3.5mm headphone adapters included

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 21st 2008 @ 8:46PM

It's not going to somehow magically conjure a jack where there's currently nothing more than a sad-looking ExtUSB port, but new G1 buyers can take some solace in the knowledge that they'll be able to plug in, turn it up, and tune out right out of the box. We've received official word from HTC that 3.5mm headphone adapters for the ExtUSB port are now being bundled with the phone, meaning you won't be stuck with that janky (no, seriously, it's insanely terrible) headset with the special connector that you get free of charge; after all, when we're blasting the Jonas Brothers at full tilt, we need the kind of fidelity that only high-end earbuds can provide. What, you got a problem with that?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Hands-on with Belkin's iPhone Headphone Adapter

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 1st 2007 @ 9:29AM

First, a disclaimer: this is a peripheral no one wants, but many will need. The Belkin Headphone Adapter for the iPhone simply allows you to do what you should be able to do without any adapter whatsoever -- plug in a plain ol' set of headphones. This was a pretty clear-cut play on Apple's part to give itself and official accessory manufacturers some license to further scar our already irreparably damaged wallets, and frankly, we're bitter that we had to buy it for a stiff $9.95. But yeah, whatever, let's get on to the good stuff.

Continue reading Hands-on with Belkin's iPhone Headphone Adapter

Motorola's MOTOACTV S9 Bluetooth headset

by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 9th 2007 @ 9:12PM

Introduced at Ed Zander's CES keynote, Moto is positioning the A2DP-compliant MOTOACTV S9 as a shout out to the athletes (and fitness freaks, and... uh, pretty much anyone that works out once in a while) by making it fairly robust -- by wireless headset standards, anyway -- while phone controls and a mic will let you take that critical call without getting off the Stairmaster. The inner part of the device seems to be available in black or red, though the outside (that is, the only part others will see) will only come in black when it rolls deep later this half. Click on for live pics!

Continue reading Motorola's MOTOACTV S9 Bluetooth headset

BenQ A2DP stereo Bluetooth adapter is FCC approved

by Thomas Ricker posted Apr 7th 2006 @ 9:58AM

The FCC site just coughed up the approved, BenQ Bluetooth Stereo Headphone. Yeah, headphone, not cellphone. This A2DP compliant module is meant to clip onto your kit somewhere allowing you to listen to stereo audio via the tethered headphone of your choice. Think Sony Ericsson HBH-DS970 but with more bulk, no display (apparently), and mucho less style. Expect it to drop in your part of the world with a model number anywhere between HHB-180, 181, 182, or HBH-183 for the black model or HHB-185, 186, 187, or HBH-188 for white. But never, ever, HBH-184 for the same inexplicable reason that might cause you to actually purchase this device.

[Via MobileWhack]