Bluetooth bonanza: wireless wonders of the future
Ξ September 18th, 2008 | → | ∇ Gadgets |
Bluetooth is everywhere these days - in your phone, on your computer and even in your games consoles (as long as it’s a PS3). And there’s a ton of tech looking to put that wireless connection through its paces, for handsfree calling, streaming music, cable-less typing, and about a million more things.
We rocked up at a special Bluetooth event this morning, showcasing the new Bluetooth goodies that’ll be out and aiming for a place in your stocking this Crimbo. Here’s what we found:
Sony Ericsson HBH-IS800 (Q4 08, £TBA) - The smallest set of Bluetooth headphones we’ve ever seen. Imagine an ordinary pair of earphones with only a short cable connecting the two mini ‘buds, and that’s it. One tiny control button disguises the mic, and the charge port is hidden cleverly behind the left ear cup.
Plantronics Discovery 925 (Out now, £60 - £70) - To stand out from the crowd of Bluetooth headsets, the 925s have a trick up their sleeve. Well, it’s in the case actually. This doubles as a charging station for the headset itself, so if you’re a chatterbox and have blazed through the headset’s 5 hour talktime, you can get another full charge from the case itself. Smart. It’s already out, but a pink version is landing soon. Erm, yay?
Freedom Slim Keypad (September, £40) - Freedom Input already makes foldable keypads sporting full sized QWERTY keys designed for smartphone users. But for times when you don’t have flat surface to type on, you may need something handheld. Enter the Freedom Slim Keypad, a palm-sized QWERTY pad that strikes a balance between your handset’s keys and a full sized board. Special downloadable drivers enable shortcuts and customisable functions.
Freedom Mobile Power (September, £30) - Okay, we’re cheating a little bit here. This gadget isn’t Bluetooth enabled, but it is still darned handy. It’ll charge your phone twice from its own power, you can leave it plugged in all the time and it won’t kill its own battery, and it’ll even hold the bulk of its charge for as much as six months.
Logitech Z-500 Wireless Notebook Speaker (September, around £120) - Free your music from your tinny laptop speakers with Bluetooth. Don’t worry if you don’t have a Bluetooth chip on board; it comes with a Bluetooth dongle that doesn’t require drivers. It provides 12 hours of use from a single charge (and can use mains power). It’ll also pair with your mobile for handsfree and conference calling.
LG HFB-500 Bluetooth Solar Car Kit (Out now, £45) - Forget charging - harness the power of the sun for INFINITE battery life. You can use it for making handsfree calls, or if you’re in a pinch you can use it to charge your phone. It’ll take 33 hours to get a full battery, mind, but it’s better than nothing as a last resort.
LG HBM-800 Privacy talk car kit (Q4 08, around £60) - This Bluetooth car kit has a headset built in. If you don’t want to share the call with your other passengers, you can just pull out the headset and chat in private. Others will still hear the other end of your call though, so we recommend establishing a code for “Not right now, the wife’s here”.
Parrot Party Black Edition (Out now, £80) - Although it’s already out in the wild, this was one of the more futuristic devices on show, thanks to its use of Near Field Communication (NFC). You won’t find it in more than a smattering of handsets yet, but more are on their way. NFC gets rid of that pesky Bluetooth pairing business, instead letting you waft your handset in the proximity of a compatible player to start streaming. Parrot even had a prototype NFC photo viewer on show, which was very smart.
Parrot MKi series (Out now, £129 - £189) - Parrot’s upcoming car handsfree kits all sport iPhone / iPod compatibility, which will give you full control over your player from your dashboard. Plus there’s speech recognition technology that doesn’t have to be taught to recognise your dulcet tones - it’ll automagically read your handset’s phonebook and match your garbled drawl to you contacts for easy dialling.
Polaroid Pogo (Out now, £99) - An ink-less colour printer the size of a fag packet which prints business card-sized photo stickers from absolutely anywhere either through PictBridge, USB or Bluetooth. The rechargeable battery is good for up to 50 prints. It’s already out, but metallic red and metallic pink versions will be out for Xmas.
Motorola S9 HD (Q1 09, £TBA) - Ultra-bendy, behind-the-head A2DP Bluetooth headphones. They’re designed for streaming music while you sweat it out in the gym or get caught in a mid-jog downpour. A full set of music and controls are hidden above the left and right ears.
Jabra BT530 (October, £49.99) - Welcome to the Noise Blackout, the new noise cancellation system that uses dual microphones and DSP to eliminate background noise without reducing the sound of your own voice. The headset also supports A2DP (although you only have a single speaker…) and looks pretty slick to boot.
Mr Handsfree Blue Alert (November, £85) - There are a lot of gadgets that you can mount on a dashboard, providing an irresistible lure to thieves. Blue Alert sensibly combines two very handy ones: Bluetooth handsfree and speed camera alerts. Aside from announcing your incoming calls automatically and voice dialling, it provides up to 5 hours talktime even with the GPS alert system running.
PlanOn Printstik printer (Soon, £199) - Inevitably, there was some profoundly business orientated gadgets to be found. The Printstik sounds like a sure fire hit for legal types who want to want to get important deals signed whilst they’re still on the 07:12 from Didcot Parkway. It’s a wireless, ink-less, battery powered A4 printer that’ll churn out 3 pages per minute, good for up to 40 pages. Handy if you need it, though we pity you if you do.
