Hasta La Gadget!

For the most part, the headsets we’ve seen from Plantronics this year have been aimed at gamers, but make no mistake, the outfit is still churning out Bluetooth earpieces for road warriors: the company just announced its fifth-generation Voyager headset, the Voyager Legend. In many ways, it’s an iterative product, with longer battery life (seven hours, up from six), and more mics (three instead of two). It also has an elongated windscreen and is 25 percent smaller than its predecessor, though Plantronics claims the in-ear fit hasn’t changed. Key internals include Bluetooth 3.0, not 4.0, and support for streaming over A2DP. All told, exactly what you’d expect from the latest and greatest BT headset.

But even more important than enhanced performance and a more compact design, the headset responds to voice commands in a smarter way. Say, for instance, that you receive an incoming call and happen not to be wearing your headset (maybe you took it out to charge). You can put the earpiece in and the headset will automatically pick up the call. Or, if you’re not wearing your headset you can have it route calls to the phone instead. As for answering calls, you can say “answer” or “ignore,” and you don’t even have to press a button to activate the voice recognition. The earpiece can also announce your caller’s name, so long as it’s in your phone book. Additionally, the headset responds to about 10 other commands such as “check battery” and “pair me,” but in these cases you do have to press a button first. Rounding out the feature list is a new Android-only Find MyHeadset app that uses tones and geolocation to help you figure out where you last saw your earpiece. The headset is available today for $100, and the company is also selling a desktop stand and charging case, both priced at $30.

Filed under: Peripherals, Mobile

Plantronics outs Voyager Legend Bluetooth headset with enhanced voice recognition, improved battery life originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bluetooth speakers continue to proliferate, and with wireless sound no longer sufficient to wow on its own, companies like CUBEDGE are turning to audio quality to try to eke out an advantage. The EDGE.sound, despite having an oddly punctuated name, does at least do its best to hit all the right points on the frequency range, with the battery-powered block delivering 40HZ-20kHz audio.

That’s not quite the same as the average human hearing range, which kicks off at around the 20Hz point, but the top end is roughly the same. Somewhat lacking bass frequencies are to be expected in a portable speaker, however, so we can probably forgive the EDGE.sound that.

Connectivity is via Bluetooth 3.0 – CUBEDGE claims it hooks up 90-percent faster than Bluetooth 2.1 can – and there’s an integrated microphone for hands-free calling. The integrated battery is good for 10-14 hours of runtime off a single charge, it’s promised, comfortably exceeding the 8hrs Jabra promises for its Solemate.

It can even be charged up – at least partially – via an optional solar panel, and the whole thing is finished in sturdy rubber. It’s on sale now, undercutting the Solemate at $149.

CUBEDGE EDGE.sound Bluetooth speaker boots Solemate for battery life is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The new Sony SRS-BTV5 Bluetooth speaker is compatible with any Bluetooth A2DP compatible device. This palm-sized Bluetooth speaker supports NFC functionality to simplify the pairing process. The Sony SRS-BTV5 also has a 1.2 watt speaker, a volume control and a built-in mic, allowing you to use it as a speakerphone. Its rechargeable battery offers up to five hours worth of playtime. No word on pricing or availability at this time. [Gizmodo]

Now that Huawei has shepherded its MediaPad 7 Lite through the FCCs corridors to ensure its WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0 and HSPDA 3G radios all conform, the tab is set to travel. The 7-incher wields a 1024 x 600 IPS display, 1.2GHz Cortex A8 processor, 8GB of storage (32GB with optional microSD), 1GB of RAM, 4,100mAh battery and 3.2 / .3-megapixel back / front cameras. Huawei said it would ship across Asia and Eastern Europe to start with, then land in Germany by October with a price of 249 euros ($315). The slate might have a tough row to hoe against similar competition, considering its tame processor, but maybe that newly stamped cellular radio will tip the balance for road warriors.

Filed under: Tablets

Huawei’s MediaPad7 Lite clears FCC, will soon trek to Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 02:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The technology driving wireless headphones has not yet reached its full potential. But over the past few years, Bluetooth has advanced to a point that less than $500 can buy a pair of headphones with decent audio and respectable battery life. We rounded up four pairs and let ’em duke it out to see if any pair has the stamina and sound you could truly call excellent. More »