Bluetooth Source

BlueTomorrow has a great top 10 list of tips for buying a Bluetooth headset. These are things that everyone should have in the back of their mind when shopping for headsets. Here is a summary of the top 10 tips and the link to the details:

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Much like another such review, DigitalTrend’s Plantronics Pulsar 260 review gives the inexpensive stereo Bluetooth headset an 8 out of 10 rating. The reviewer was impressed with the sound quality of the headset, and found that the earbuds isolated sound very well. Battery life was also very good, giving 7 hours of listening time and 9 hours of talk time. The only real negative the reviewer found was that the Pulsar 260 was problematic when working with Skype, although Plantronics does not specify that the headset is compatible. This definitely seems like a good stereo Bluetooth headset for the money.

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Loca is a pervasive surveillance art project that is utilizing Bluetooth to track people via their Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones. The project uses a large number of interconnected Bluetooth nodes that track people’s movements in an urban environment.

“Mobile companies have information about everywhere we go that gets generated every time we use our phone. We’re looking at how we can have access to such information, by setting up an independent network that we create within a city centre that enables us to track people without their permission or knowledge – and send them messages as well.”

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MobilitySite reviews yet another BlueAnt Bluetooth headset, and this time it is a BlueAnt T8 Micro review. For a $50 (or less) Bluetooth headset, the T8 Micro doesn’t seem like a bad choice. The sound quality was good, although there is no noise canceling technology to help with ambient noise. One weird feature is that you cannot give voice commands through the headset, but must have your cell phone nearby. Battery life was excellent, though, and the reviewer gives the T8 Micro a 4 out of 5 rating.

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As Bluetooth stereo headsets get smaller and smaller, Philips keeps it on the larger side with their over the ear headset. TechDigest has their Philips SHB6102 review posted and comes to the conclusion that these particular headphones might sound great, but will also tire out your ears after an extended period of time. Apparently the volume level also suffers a bit, so if you like your music to bump you may want to look elsewhere.

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There are very few uses for a Bluetooth access point, but I’m sure you all can think of something. ComputerWorld has the latest on a WAP from Anycom, a German manufacturer, that ups the ante for range and power.

The new Anycom EDR-AP access point has a range of up to 300 feet and a throughput of 1.2Mbits/sec. Though the range may be comparable to your usual 802.11b/g wireless access point, the price is definitely not in line. The Anycom EDR-AP is priced at $299, which makes it far out of the price range for the regular consumer.

Six Bluetooth profiles are supported and include the Object Push Profile and the DUN profile. Otherwise the access point works just like any other wireless access point except that it connects via Bluetooth rather than Wi-Fi.

The market for this device is most likely going to be retailers who will offer products and services to Bluetooth users whose phones are able to receive those messages.

Link [ via ComputerWorld ]

The Blueant V12 is packed with features including vibrating call alert and a status LCD display. MobileBurn has posted their Blueant V12 review and gives it their recommendation, although with a few caveats as you will see.

The reviewer found that the LCD screen came in quite handy, but that the overall design of the Blueant V12 was quite boring. In terms of comfort, the V12 was fine for casual use, but over long periods of time became less enjoyable to wear.

Audio quality was so-so, not bad or good, but definitely usable. However, battery talk time stood out at an impressive 11 hours.

For the price, this doesn’t look like such a bad headset. Take a look at the full review for more info.

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BlueQ is set to release the BlueQ Wristband, an aptly named device that connects to your phone via Bluetooth and vibrates whenever your phone is receiving an incoming call. When might this be useful? In a loud bar, while dancing, while listening to your iPod, in class or at the movies are just a few ideas from BlueQ’s website.

The wristband has only two buttons, one for power and the other to transfer the call to your handset if your cell phone requires it. The BlueQ will be available in July for $39.95.

Link [ via Slashphone ]

Sailing World takes a look at the Globalsat BT-338 Bluetooth GPS receiver. The review doesn’t focus so much on the unit as it does on the subjective reasons for actually having the unit. The reviewer tells about his history with GPS receivers and how much the BT-338 will help him. If you are into sailing or extreme sports that take you out and away from civilization I would definitely suggest giving this a read.

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Kyocera’s Bluetooth Stereo Headset with Pendant Controller (model TXCKT10162) gets reviewed at CNET, garnering a 7 out of 10 rating. The audio quality on the Kyocera stereo Bluetooth headset is described as “quite spectacular.” However, some discomforts could occur since the earpieces do not come in multiple sizes. Also, the pendant piece was a bit awkward, swinging too much to be much use for running. Other than that, the controls were very versatile and overall this seems to be a good choice for a stereo Bluetooth headset if you aren’t doing any extreme physical activities.

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