Hasta La Gadget!

If you don’t actually want to be able to feel that you’ve got a Bluetooth earbud hanging off the side of your head, you might want to take a look at the Motorola Oasis, a new boom-style headset announced today. Though it lacks the HX1’s so-called “stealth mode” that uses bone conduction to practically eliminate every sound other than your voice, the Oasis is still rated for 12mph of wind resistance and uses dual mics to cancel spurious noise. It’ll be available starting October 3 (as an AT&T store exclusive initially) for $79.99, positioning it toward the upper end of the Bluetooth midrange.

We’ve had a chance to play with the Oasis over the last few days, so follow the break for our impressions!

Continue reading Motorola’s ridiculously comfortable Oasis headset announced: October 3rd for $80

Motorola’s ridiculously comfortable Oasis headset announced: October 3rd for $80 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One of the biggest complaints people have about the iPhone is the lack of a physical keyboard. It was one of the reasons people said the iPhone would never sell, and still one of the reasons why some people refuse to buy one.  Lot of people have complained about it, but ThinkGeek decided to do something with the launch of the TK-421 iPhone Case and Flip-Out Keyboard, invented and designed at ThinkGeek.

The TK-421 comes in two flavors, one for the iPhone 4 and one for the 3GS, and both of them keep your iPhone sides and back covered when you use the touch-screen or take calls, but when you want to type on the screen or send an e-mail, simply swivel your iPhone up and over the built-in keyboard hidden in the back of the case. The hinge on the side of the case has a magnetic clasp to keep it in place when open or shut, and pairs with your iPhone using Bluetooth so it can be used with any application.

The case features a rechargeable battery that can recharge via USB, and will start shipping in mid-November for $49.99. ThinkGeek isn’t taking pre-orders, but is taking sign-ups if you want to be notified when the TK-421 goes on sale.

If you really, really have to have a physical, clickety-clackety keyboard to get your words onto a screen, the Jorno might be just the thing. The Bluetooth keyboard gives you the full QWERTY experience but folds up into a pocketable package. The keys themselves are just 15% smaller than full-size, big enough for touch-typists with accurate and not-too-fat fingers.

After key-feel, which you’ll have to try for yourself, the next most important specification is size. Folded out the Jorno is 8.5 x 3.5 x 0.3-inches. Concertinaed closed it measures just 3.5 x 3.5 x 0.9-inches, and all the time it weighs the same 8.8-ounces, including the li-ion battery which lasts a month.

A keyboard like this is clearly best suited to the iPhone, as fast typing is pretty easy on the iPad’s larger screen. With this in mind, the Jorno ships with a separate stand for phones. It will of course work with anything that uses the Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR standard, and Jorno has a photo of an iPad balancing precariously on the small bracket.

Small, add-on Bluetooth keyboards seem to be getting more popular, or at least more numerous, since Apple opened up its iDevices to allow them. I have a feeling that the multi-year delay in allowing these accessories wasn’t for technical reasons but for training purposes, to get us used to the soft touchscreen keyboards. It worked, too. You almost never hear griping about the iPhone keyboard anymore.

The Jorno can be pre-ordered now, for $100 (with $20 off until the end of October 2010).

Jorno keyboard product page [Jorno via Cult of Brownlee]

See Also:

• Hack Lets You Use a Bluetooth Keyboard With Your iPhone
• IPad Keyboard Dock Works with iOS4
• ClamCase Turns iPad into Laptop
• IPhone Case Adds Vestigial QWERTY-Slider Keyboard

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

We were expecting a flood of iPad-oriented Bluetooth keyboards to hit the second Apple announced that its tablet would support them, but it’s basically been crickets so far — except for the AIDACASE KeyCase Folio Deluxe, which we first saw hit the FCC in April and is now finally shipping. But after all the wait, is it actually worth $100 to lug this thing around with your iPad? We’ve been testing a review unit — head past the break to find out.

Update: The video should be working now (if you were having issues). Sorry about that folks!

Continue reading AIDACASE KeyCase Folio Deluxe for iPad Bluetooth keyboard case review

AIDACASE KeyCase Folio Deluxe for iPad Bluetooth keyboard case review originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 11:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When you consider that there are probably loads of AirPlay-equipped speaker docks waiting in the wings, it’s hard to get all giddy about XtremeMac’s Tango TRX. Although the dock has… well, a dock and a line-in jack, it also packs Bluetooth 2.1. On the sound quality end, it boasts a 2.1 digital audio system along with midrange drivers, two dome tweeters and a subwoofer. We got a look at it yesterday, and its orange LED status lights and patterned sides make it fairly handsome, but we couldn’t really get a handle on the acoustics as it was being demoed in a space with lots of loud and rowdy technology journalists. There’s no physical remote included, but XtremeMac is offering a Tango TRX app. Of course, if you’re streaming that music over Bluetooth you could just control it from the device itself, but the app does let you adjust the various EQ settings. The basic model will hit for about $180, but Apple will be carrying an exclusive TRX D version with a separate charging dock for $200. Hit the break for the full PR and the gallery below for a closer look.

Continue reading XtremeMac Tango TRX iPod dock hopes you’ll prefer Bluetooth to AirPlay

XtremeMac Tango TRX iPod dock hopes you’ll prefer Bluetooth to AirPlay originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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