Hasta La Gadget!

Got an iPhone, or a 2G iPod Touch? Or any device which can beam out A2DP stereo Bluetooth? Want to connect it to a stereo for some big, room-filling sounds? Finally, in this rather contrived Q&A, are you too lazy to simply walk to the stereo and plug a 3.5mm jack into your device?

If you answered yes to all those questions (except the one about plugging in a jack), then you’re in luck! With Belkin’s tiny little Bluetooth Music Receiver you can stream music directly from your iPhone to the stereo, with no side effects save the premature draining of your battery due to the Bluetooth. Even the plugging in isn’t so painful, as you only have to do it once.

The dongle comes with a jack-to-jack cable, and a jack-to-RCA cable for fancier rigs, and will happily receive and convert your music into analog peaks and troughs from up to 33-feet away. It’ll even remember six different devices.

The price is a reasonable $50. And until Apple allows music streaming directly over Wi-Fi from iPhones to Airport Express units, it’s a good option for stereo hookups. Or you could just suck it and use a cheap old cable.

Bluetooth Music Receiver [Belkin via TUAW]

Belkin has unveiled the Bluetooth Music Receiver, a gadget that lets you stream music tracks wirelessly from an iPhone or iPod touch through a home stereo system.

Basically, it’s a little wireless puck (pictured). The new receiver works up to 33 feet away, pairs with up to six devices
(though only connects to one at a time), and comes with standard-size
3.5mm-to-RCA and 3.5mm-to-3.5mm cables in the box. It’s available now
for $49.99.

Since it’s over stereo Bluetooth, music tracks should sound *somewhat* better than an FM transmitter. If anything, there won’t be any static, and you’ll have a slightly wider frequency range.

But it won’t be audiophile quality: you still need a dock or other direct connection for that, at least until we see a new Bluetooth 3.0 spec. Actually, scratch that–Bluetooth 3.0 is already out, at least in spec form, and it does nothing to improve stereo audio quality. Oh well.

Just now dusting off those vinyl-wrapped cabinets from the glory days of disco? Good, ’cause Belkin‘s about to breathe new life into ’em. The outfit’s newly unveiled Bluetooth Music Receiver presents itself as the device to stream your iPhone and iPod touch jams to your home stereo, but in realty, this thing will work with any BT 2.0-enabled music streaming device. Phones, PMPs, genetically modified children — you name it. Simply plug the base station (shown after the break) into your home stereo, pair up to six Bluetooth devices with it, and watch as your favorite tunes are transmitted from device to driver sans cabling. It’s almost magical, but we’re not quite sure if it’s $49.99 magical.

Continue reading Belkin Bluetooth Music Receiver adds BT functionality to your 70s era home stereo

Belkin Bluetooth Music Receiver adds BT functionality to your 70s era home stereo originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Novero has unveiled a series of five cell phone accessories that build on the company’s existing TheFirstOne Bluetooth headset.

TheTalkyOne is a Bluetooth speakerphone that works with calls and music, and is designed for home, office, and in-car use. Next up are two car kits: TheTrulyOne (pictured) is a Bluetooth car kit with a remote control and an LCD display. TheTrustyOne is a more basic hands-free Bluetooth car kit.

Finally, there are two new chargers. The TravelOne is a microUSB wall charger that comes in white or black, and includes adapters for North America, the EU, the UK, and Australia and New Zealand–193 countries in all. Finally, TheCarOne is a universal microUSB charger that works with any car’s cigarette lighter.

All products will see an official unveiling at CES on January 7th, and will soon be available at Amazon.com and other retailers.

BlueAnt has unveiled the Interphone F4 hands-free communication system for motorcycle riders–and at first glance, it looks brilliant. The system lets riders speak to each other via a wireless intercom, and also lets each rider make or receive cell phone calls using their voice–without having to let go of one of the handlebars.

The Interphone F4 comes with a main unit that mounts on a helmet, plus two earbuds on wires and a extra-long boom mic (pictured–helmet is translucent). Riders can answer calls simply by saying “hello.” (I wonder if that means you’ll have to say hello twice–once to answer the call and again to greet the other party?) The system also streams stereo music through A2DP, and supports voice dialing and redial.

BlueAnt designed the Interphone F4 to work clearly at speeds up to 110 mph, and can connect with other F4 units as long as bikers cruise within 1,640 feet of each other (just over a quarter of a mile apart). Each F4 will pair with up to eight Bluetooth devices, and contains multipoint technology for pairing with two of them simultaneously. The F4 offers 10 hours of talk time, 700 hours of standby time, and comes with a 2-year warranty.

The Interphone F4 is available now at www.blueantwireless.com for $225.00.