Bluetooth iPod

The Apple iPhone is probably the most hyped tech product of 2007 so far. Yes, it's the first Apple phone and the first widescreen video iPod. However, in all the buzz, there seems to be one feature that's been overlooked - bluetooth. This is the first bluetooth iPod. We've all been wanting it, and here it finally is. One question remains: will Apple do the right thing and enable the A2DP profile? If they do, we can finally get rid of the stupid wires that connect our head to our pocket. We can finally stop ripping the earbuds out when we catch the wire on something. We can finally roam away from our iPod like we can with our mobile phones.

Stereo bluetooth headphones are currently available have been for a little while. However, the selection is small. This is a technology that has been waiting for a product to drive its development and production. I remember a few years ago when I waiting for Verizon to start releasing bluetooth capable phones so I could use a bluetooth headset. The phones started coming out, and the headsets became prolific. This is the same situation we see with bluetooth headphones currently. They need a driving product. With the release of the iPhone and the typical accessories market for iPods, the bluetooth headphones market could take off finally (again, assuming A2DP).

What other possibilities might the bluetooth iPod open up? Car stereos could start including bluetooth for use with music playback and phone audio over the car speakers (a few models are already supporting bluetooth phones). The iPod could also stream music to home stereos and alarm clocks with bluetooth. Who knows what other ideas manufacturers will come up with. The only problem will be having to occasionally pull out a charging cable.

Before long, we could all be talking on the phone AND listening to tunes without the irritating wires. Please help us out Apple!

Logitech Bluetooth Headphones - Picture Review

Initial thoughts of Palm Treo bluetooth headset

Eh.

That pretty much sums it up, but I'll give a little more detail.

Cons
- The range is still not significantly better than my Jabra BT250. It seems that in general the BT 2.0 devices have a little better range but not enough to justify all the cost.
- The ear loop is not tight enough. This is one of those that flops around way too easily. Irritating.
- The in-ear indicator beeps aren't as distinct as on some other headset.

Pros
- Solid voice quality on both ends of the conversation.
- Same charger as the Treo. That's kinda convenient, but still you have to carry 2 chargers when traveling if you want to charge them both at the same time.

Well it doesn't look good, but I'll try it for a couple days. At this point I'm thinking about just going back to my old headset. We'll see.

Palm Treo bluetooth headset arrives

Ok, it's Wednesday and the new headset is here. I've got it charging and should be able to test it in a couple of hours. I'll report the results later tonight. Boy, I sure hope this solves my headset woes.

One complaint so far, and this applies to a lot more than this particular headset. Why do manufacturers insist on using this sealed, hard plastic packaging? I understand it as a theft-protection device. There's no way someone could slip a small headset or flash memory card or whatever out of one of these and into their pocket in the store. However, these things can't be opened period! Why must they punish those of us who actually made the purchase?! There is no easy way to open it without destroying the packaging, and there's always the danger of cutting yourself on the plastic. Someone out there, please design better packaging for items like this!

Bluetooth headsets and Treo 700w

I'll start with the current device issue and later try to catch up with past devices. I'm currently trying to find a bluetooth headset that works well with the Treo 700W. As it turns out this isn't an easy task. The bluetooth radio on the Treo is known to be weak. I hoped that moving to BT 2.0 would give better clarity and range. We'll see. These are the ones I've tried....

1) Jabra BT250 (bottom right) - BT 1.1 only - used this with my previous phone, Motorola V710 , and it worked great!
2) Jabra BT350V (top middle) - poor fit on ear and very low volume, unusable
3) Jabra BT500 (left) - update to BT250, not any better, about the same
4) Motorola H605 (top right) - behind the ear fit like the Jabra 250 and 500 which I like, horrible outgoing voice quality, I was told I sounded like my face was in a pillow(which it wasn't), pairing unreliable, terrible!
5) Motorola H500 (bottom middle) - update to Motorola HS820 which I owned over a year ago and loved before accidentally washing it :( Good ear fit, solid performer except someone complained about the audio having a weird ring and tinny sound. I like it though.

Through all this though, I'm still getting only moderately better range on some of the 2.0 devices. The H500 is really close except for the complaints.

At this point I'm about ready to get all my money back and just use my original Jabra. I loved it until I got the Treo. However, one more attempt.....the Palm Treo Bluetooth Headset. Some have said online that this actually works well with the Treo. (http://www.mobiletechreview.com/tips/treo-650-wireless-headset.htm) It's on order and scheduled to arrive Wednesday. I'll report on that later.

I sure hope it works, b/c I'm sick of all these headsets!