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Posts Tagged “

Bluetooth

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question of the day

Question of the Day: Do You Support Hands-Free Laws?

It seems like common sense—if drivers have two hands on the wheel they are less likely to get in an accident on the road. Therefore, all states should adopt a hands-free law when it comes to driving and cellphone use. However, there are studies out there that suggest hands-free driving with a Bluetooth headset is as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol. Whether that is true or not, there is still the problem of implementing the law in such a way that it becomes a truly effective deterrent. So, despite these potential shortcomings, do you support hands free laws? More »

5:00 PM on Fri Jul 18 2008
By Sean Fallon
6,516 views, 119 comments

Latest by DirtySocks: There are assholes on both sides of the wheel. While driving, I'm always getting cut off by bicycles who jump out into traffic for fun. On my bicycle, cars are always trying to kill me. Cellphones, radios, fast food, teenagers more »

iphone stereo bluetooth

iPhone Gets Stereo Bluetooth A2DP Adapter

The iPhone (both 2.5G and 3G) might not come with an A2DP Bluetooth in place, but you can easily add it on yourself with this Infinixx adapter. It's $62, but works with the iPhone, iPod touch, iPod nano, iPod classic, iPod video, iPod color and iPod mini, meaning you can basically turn any fairly recent iPod into a wireless stereo device. You can also pair your Bluetooth headset to the iPhone directly to answer calls, which isn't supported through the dongle transmitter. Until Apple decides to put A2DP in the iPhone itself—and shorten the battery life even more—this is your only hope for wireless stereo music. [Brando]

1:40 PM on Thu Jul 17 2008
By Jason Chen
7,106 views, 65 comments

Latest by n/a: @yogibimbi: It does support it but requires an app Softick Audio Gateway that works and sounds AWESOME!!! I use my Centro wirelessly in my carthrough my BT enabled deck abd I can charge the phone while it's playing wirelessly with my more »

wireless

Sony and Others Form TransferJet Consortium to Make Short-Range Wireless Tech

Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Toshiba JVC, Kodak, Hitachi and a bunch more companies have today announced that they're forming the Transferjet consortium to develop an "interoperable wireless transfer technology." Sounding like a challenge to Bluetooth, Transferjet will apparently operate at a theoretical 560 Mbps rate. Plus it could allow pairing as simply as touching two devices together: your camera could display pics on TV simply by sitting it atop the screen. Sounds like a great consumer solution, but since the consortium has yet to define specs, it'll be a while until the project bears fruit. With big players like this aboard though, other wireless data systems must be feeling the pressure. Press release below. More »

5:14 AM on Thu Jul 17 2008
By Kit Eaton
1,412 views, 14 comments

Latest by n/a: lol at the Sony haters. Can't read the rest of the details to see its lots of other CE's involved? more »

dealzmodo

Bluetooth Headset Deals For Anyone Who Breaks the Hands Free Law

Congrats on being a lawbreaker! Why? Because it will earn you a $20 discount on a new Jawbone Bluetooth headset thanks to a new promotion Aliph is running on their product website. Not a fan of the Jawbone? No worries—Headsets.com is giving away a free Plantronics Discovery 925 (a $149.95) headset to the first 734 applicants who have been busted by the long arm of the law. Apparently crime does pay! [Jawbone via Boing Boing Gadgets and Headsets.com]

3:26 PM on Wed Jul 16 2008
By Sean Fallon
5,248 views, 21 comments

Latest by n/a: @pockygt: Speaker phones are allowed under the law, as well as holding the phone for dialing purposes.Read the law...[www.dmv.ca.gov] "Q: Does the new "hands-free" law allow you to use the speaker phone function of your wireless telephone while driving? A: Yes." more »

bluetooth

Give a Bluetooth Handgun Handset a Shot

Got an unused airsoft gun from your guns are cool teenage years? Why not transform it into a Bluetooth handset that you'll probably still never use. A user at Instructables did just that by rewiring an older Jabber handset inside an airsoft gun. Even though it's probably the biggest and most absurd Bluetooth handset, the workings of it are pretty cool. The trigger has been wired as the call button, the barrel as the speaker and the grip as the mic making it perfect for taking calls with the wife when she finds out you stole her Bluetooth handset and put it into a gun. Hit the jump to see iPhone lovers' reactions to such a Bluetooth device called iGiveUp.

More »

7:00 PM on Mon Jul 14 2008
By Christopher Mascari
5,679 views, 27 comments

Latest by n/a: @Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!: pwned again! Once again, the poster changed the post right after I commented. I may now look like a jerk, but at least, deep down inside, I know I was right. :D more »

headset

Precious Metal Cover Makes Jewelry of Apple Bluetooth Headset

Apple's Bluetooth headset is already small and stylish, but designer Andi Monn has come up with a way of adding to it that also improves its utility. His headset "sleds" slide over the device and turn it into techy jewelry, of a sort. Plus they let you carry the gizmo around without wearing it in your ear, and thus you avoid looking overly geeky. The headset is held inside magnetically, and the sleds come with a keyring so you can carry it around discretely, if that's your fancy. However, since they're available in high-grade brushed steel, .925 Sterling silver (or other precious metals, on request) and cost around $253, then hiding them in your pocket is probably the last thing you want to do. [Technabob]

6:14 AM on Mon Jul 14 2008
By Kit Eaton
2,109 views, 9 comments

Latest by apeguero: I was hoping Apple would introduce a new version of this headset with iPhone 3G. Too bad. I was going to buy it at my local Apple store when a rep there told me it wasn't really that more »

diy

DIY Clove 2 Glove Allows You To Type One-Handed, Sans Keyboard

Oh, how I love complicated DIY projects that impress your geeky friends but make simple tasks more difficult! Case in point, this Clove 2 glove that allows users to type without a keyboard using a convoluted set of hand gestures. The glove communicates with your computer using Bluetooth and custom software that translates your finger movements into keyboard actions. I can see how something like this would be useful in a simpler form, so if you are up to that challenge you can start with the complete set of instructions for building the base Clove 2 glove. More »

5:00 PM on Sun Jul 13 2008
By Sean Fallon
3,353 views, 15 comments

Latest by GeekChick: This can be very important for some types of disabled people. It does not require vision, and it only uses one hand (though notice a second hand was needed to turn it on!). It also allows you to more »

videos

Fun Times With Hands-Free Driving

We might have come up with a list of ridiculous things you can do while driving with a handsfree Bluetooth set, but some people actually acted it out. And who wants to read when you can just stare?

8:00 AM on Fri Jul 4 2008
By Jason Chen
5,972 views, 27 comments

CALIFORNIA CELLPHONE LAW

Hands-Free Law, Smands-Free Law: Distracting, Dangerous and Ridiculous Things You Can Still Do While Driving

The big day has now passed for California drivers and cellphones are effectively banned on the road. At least not without a hands-free device...which Californians will inevitably forget to charge or lose. Other states have this law, but California is the driving-while-talking state. California is regularly ranked the worst for traffic congestion, and its 60 million residents spend more time in traffic not driving than just about anybody else. It's a big deal, but also, this law is a joke: The fine is only $20. The dumbest thing, however, is that there is a laundry list of far more distracting gadget and non-gadget tasks that are still perfectly legal behind the wheel of a car: More »

Feature

2:20 PM on Tue Jul 1 2008
By John Herrman
42,837 views, 171 comments

Latest by n/a: Oh, and apparently jackin'-it while driving is still okay because one time I called the highway patrol on a guy for just that and they couldn't have cared less. more »

bluetooth

BlueAnt Supertooth 3 Bluetooth Speakerphone Reads Your Caller's Names Aloud

This Bluetooth speakerphone will take your phone's address book and read out caller ID names on ring. It also can pair with eight devices and connect to the one ringing. [Gizmag]

9:29 PM on Thu Jun 19 2008
By Brian Lam
4,102 views, 15 comments

skin antenna

Skin Antenna Uses Your Body to Boost Battery Life, Skin Cancer

Researchers at the Queen's University Belfast have developed a hockey puck-like transmitter that can connect to gadgets on your body and allow them to transmit waves along the surface of your skin. What's the upside to this? Devices on one part of your person that need to talk to gadgets on another part of your person (medical devices, for example) can do so for twice as long because more waves are transmitting over your skin and and not lost into the air. One application we can think of is for Bluetooth stereo headsets to connect to that cellphone in your pocket. [NewScientist via Textually]

2:40 PM on Wed Jun 18 2008
By Jason Chen
2,182 views, 12 comments

Latest by bmoctta: This would be incredibly useful for eliminating cords in the operating room while patients are monitored under anesthesia... although I'd guess it would probably interfere with the electrosurgical unit which wouldn't be good. more »

cellphones

Samsung's Soulb is Soul-Like in Spirit, But with B-Grade

Not so many weeks ago Blam was complimenting the Samsung Soul cellphone for its clever OLED touchpad, and already Samsung is capitalizing on the Soul name with a new phone. But the Soulb isn't a patch on the original "Spirit of Ultra" phone. Instead it's kind of a B-grade pale echo: that neat haptic touchpad is gone and the cellphone is a candybar instead of a slider, with a single keypad. More »

9:15 AM on Tue Jun 17 2008
By Kit Eaton
1,330 views, 1 comment

motorola

Motorola Patents Biometric and Touch Sensitive Bluetooth Headsets

A series of Motorola patents recently made public reveal that the company has given some thought to incorporating biometric monitors into Bluetooth headsets and adding touch sensitive controls to the ROKR S9. Actually, there are two different versions of the biometric Bluetooth headset, both of which utilize a watch-like device to measure heart rate, temperature and other vital signs then transmit them to a cellphone and on to a distant server. More »

3:30 PM on Mon Jun 16 2008
By Sean Fallon
1,682 views, 5 comments

mouse

Kensington SlimBlade Presenter Mouse Sleeps with Your Computer

The SlimBlade presenter mouse is a Bluetooth device with a very smart feature—when your computer goes to sleep, the SlimBlade saves power by going to sleep too. It also does double duty, flipping between laser mouse and handheld presenter with a double-click. It runs for three months on two AAs, costs $60 and is out now, press release below. [Kensington] More »

2:30 PM on Mon Jun 16 2008
By Benny Goldman
1,550 views, 14 comments

cellphones

LG Decoy With Detachable Bluetooth Headset Priced at $180

The LG Decoy is out now on Verizon for $180 (after $50 rebate) with a two year contract. Not bad, considering it comes with a Bluetooth earpiece. Full release after the jump. [Verizon] More »

10:17 AM on Mon Jun 16 2008
By Benny Goldman
3,653 views, 13 comments

bluetooth

Sony's DR-BT140QP Bluetooth Headset Mightn't Make You Look Geeky

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Bluetooth headsets are not a good fashion statement, even Borg-like ones. But with these little earpieces from Sony, you might be able to get away with it and not look too geeky. The DR-BT140Qs double as normal earphones with a frequency response of 16Hz to 24kHz and have 30mm drivers, while the Bluetooth part is 2.0 and supports A2DP/AVRCP/HFP/HSP profiles. The built-in battery will last you about 12 hours, and they're available in July for $138.89 in silver, white, black and pink. [Akihabaranews]

8:10 AM on Mon Jun 16 2008
By Kit Eaton
4,471 views, 11 comments

Latest by n/a: ichi like lots :-) more »

bluetooth

BluePointer Bluetooth Headset-Laser Pointer Mashup Won't Make You a Borg

I mean "Locutus of Borg" rather than the "Bjorn" variety of course... but admittedly, having a Bluetooth headset that you can whip off and use to fire red laser beams around is pretty sci-fi. It's the BluePointer from Brando, and I suppose it's a multipurpose gadget for professionals with little room in their briefcases: it's also got an ultra-bright LED torch and it can be used to flick through the slides in your presentations. You simply pair it with a notebook supporting HID profile and away you go. It's got a talk time of six hours, standby of 120, and does Bluetooth v2.0+EDR class 2. Available now for $90, assimilation into the collective not included. [Brando]

6:15 AM on Mon Jun 16 2008
By Kit Eaton
2,633 views, 16 comments

Latest by Maxwells_Nylon_Hammer: Hmm, sounds Swedish. more »

bluetooth headset

Cellphone Popcorn Video Is Viral Marketing For Bluetooth Headset

You've probably seen the video above where people put cellphones around popcorn kernels and pop them by making a call. Turns out that it's a slightly disingenuous video by Cardo, a Blutooth headset manufacturer, in order to scare people into thinking that cellphones have that much radiation and they really need a headset. The viral video sure did raise awareness for the brand, but there are better ways of selling your products than to try and scare your customers into thinking they need it. [Cardo]

5:00 PM on Thu Jun 12 2008
By Jason Chen
9,863 views, 42 comments

Latest by Anjow: What about the radiation the bluetooth headset uses to communicate with the phone? That's at 2.4GHz. Guess what else is at ~2.4GHz? Microwave ovens! Oh no! If your cell phone has the power to send its signals to a cell tower more »

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