Jan 07

Sony debuts four new Bluetooth-ready digital photo frames

Posted in: bluetooth, sony, Today's Chili

We know, the digiframe market is just downright saturated with ho hum offerings that offer little innovation and oodles of boring, but Sony’s got four out today at CES that are just a step or two above the rest. Kicking things off is the top-end DPF-X1000 ($300; March) and second-tier DPF-V1000 ($250; March), both of which offer 10-inch panels, an alarm clock, auto dimmer, a variety of slideshow functions, an auto orientation sensor and a bit of magic that “auto corrects the white balance” in your photos. The former model arrives with 2GB of internal storage and sports a black / wood-trimmed motif, while the latter fellow gets half the storage and a less striking silver trim. Following those two are the 9-inch DPF-D92 and 8-inch DPF-D82, both of which have a VGA panel, 1GB of memory and would love be wall-mounted.

Gallery: Sony debuts four new Bluetooth-ready digital photo frames

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Sony debuts four new Bluetooth-ready digital photo frames originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 07

CES 2009: TriSpecs Headphone Sunglasses With Bluetooth

Posted in: bluetooth, headphones, Today's Chili

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I’ve never seen the appeal of sunglasses with built-in earphones. OK, I suppose I get the theory, but in reality, there are time that you want to listen to you music when you don’t necessarily want to be wearing sunglasses–like at night, for example (yeah, yeah, Corey Hart, I know, I know). That said, plenty of companies have been jumping into the space with both feet ever since it was pioneered by Oakley a few years back.

The latest is Step Labs, which is showing off its new TriSpecs at CES. These guys offer “high fidelity,” according to the company, plus Bluetooth for pairing with your handset. The headphones also offer fairly good speech quality–I can attest to that, having tried out a pair last night. Also, unlike the Oakley Thumps, they actually look like something non-crazy people might wear in public.

According to Step Labs, the glasses are available now–well, sort of. The company actually doesn’t have any distribution in the States. So in the meantime, if you really want a pair, be sure to check out the site.

For PCMag’s full CES coverage, go to http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,2806,2235882,00.asp.

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Jan 06

The word is on the street about Altec Lansing’s BackBeat Bluetooth headphones

Posted in: bluetooth, Today's Chili
The word is on the street about Altec Lansing's BackBeat Bluetooth headphones

We all yearn for a life lived sans wires, yet many of us still find our media players dangling from the things. Mono Bluetooth headsets are already everywhere, but this could be the year that those of the stereo variety take off, and Altec Lansing’s hoping its new BackBeat series will be a contender. They’re made in partnership with earpiece-guru Plantronics, so callers will find integrated voice dialing, omnidirectional microphones, 7 hours of talk time, and AudioIQ to boost volume when you’re in a noisy situation. For the music listener the sets include tune-channeling, canal-sealing buds, a behind-the-head band, and support for A2DP, AVRCP, HSP v1.1 and HFPv1.5. For those devices that list doesn’t cover (we’re looking at you, iPhone), the $130 BackBeat 906 includes a small transmitter. Everyone else can opt for the otherwise identical but transmitter-less BackBeat 903, which is $30 cheaper. We look forward to getting our ears on these at CES — hopefully after they’ve had a thorough cleaning.

[Via iPodNN]

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The word is on the street about Altec Lansing’s BackBeat Bluetooth headphones originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 05

Scosche Introduces Slew of iPod and iPhone Accessories

Posted in: bluetooth, earbuds, earphones, iPhone, ipod, iPod Nano, ipod touch, MP3, MP3 Digital Audio, Today's Chili

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Following the introduction of their passPORT iPod and iPhone car integration kit last month, Scosche has announced several new products this week ahead of CES 2009. The first three are stereo earphones: the IDR400M features noise canceling, a hands-free cell microphone, 10mm drivers, and single and dual flanged soft silicone inserts. The IDR600 has slightly larger 11mm drivers, a sliding magnetic cable management system, and a 24K gold-plated 3.5mm audio jack. The HZ5 tuneSTREAM Bluetooth Headphones give iPhone and iPod owners up to 30ft of wireless range (though probably less in real-life), the ability to answer hands-free phone calls, and up to eight hours of continuous battery life.

The company has also announced the passPORT Home Dock, which will charge the iPhone 3G, the 2G iPod touch, and the 4G iPod nano; it can snap into existing docking stations. In addition, there’s the reCOIL retractable car charger for the iPod and iPhone; it features a four foot cord and a magnetically locking dock connector. Finally, the company has announced new Protect and kickBACK (pictured) polycarbonate cases for new iPod and iPhone models, as well as the showTIME six-foot A/V output cable. Release dates vary, but most will be available either this month or by Spring 2009.

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Dec 31

DIY external iPhone keyboards get a tad more practical

Posted in: bluetooth, iPhone, keyboard, Today's Chili

That 360 Chatpad hack we saw back in November was certainly an impressive enough proof of concept, but if you want to get a bit more typing done with a bit less cluttter, you’ll no doubt be quite a bit more impressed with this latest mod by the very same Ralf Ackermann. This setup uses a Robotech Bluetooth module that’s placed in a modified battery sleeve and connected to an unlocked iPhone (or iPod Touch) which, in turn, communicates with the keyboard using the Bluetooth SPP profile (a VNC server and a few other tricks also come into the picture). Of course, that’s still a long ways from an officially supported solution, but if you’re looking to give it a go, Ralf is promising to dish out the necessary schematics and source code soon.

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DIY external iPhone keyboards get a tad more practical originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 31

Nextar Launches Bluetooth Car Kits

Posted in: bluetooth, mobile, Today's Chili

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Nextar has announced the NXBT-001 and NXBT-002, two solar Bluetooth hands-free car kits designed for use when clipped to a sun visor. They recharge in standby mode without having to plug them into a DC power socket.

The NXBT-001 is a bit ungainly looking but offer up to 250 hours of standby time and 10 hours of talk time when fully charged. It includes a LED signal display, and supports A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) and AVRCP (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile) Bluetooth profiles.

The smaller, sleeker NXBT-002 (pictured) offers 150 hours of standby time and up to six hours of talk time, but includes a backlit LCD display and caller ID. Both units will debut at CES next week and hit retailer shelves in the spring, with MSRPs of $59.99 (NXBT-001) and $69.99 (NXBT-002), respectively.

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Dec 30

Nextar cuts the cord with solar-powered in-car handsfree kits

Posted in: bluetooth, Today's Chili

While we feel that some objects shouldn’t be solar powered for the sake of being solar powered, we can’t help but dig Nextar’s approach here. The NXBT-001 / NXBT-002 seem to primarily differ only in the amount of charge they can hold, with the former offering 250 hours of standby time / 10 hours of talk time and the latter boasting 150 hours of standby time and 6 hours of yappin’. As for functionality, both devices are designed to enable handsfree calling in the car with any Bluetooth-enabled mobile, and of course, they each soak up the sun while you’re out cruising about. The best part? The fact that you no longer have to run yet another power cable to that 8-port cigarette adapter hub sitting in your center console. The pair will ship this Spring for $59.99 / $69.99 (thanks to a bundled caller ID display), respectively. Full release is after the break.

Continue reading Nextar cuts the cord with solar-powered in-car handsfree kits

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Nextar cuts the cord with solar-powered in-car handsfree kits originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 25

Cowon S9 firmware update adds Bluetooth speaker support

Posted in: bluetooth, firmware, firmware update, FirmwareUpdate, PMP, Today's Chili, update

For early adopters who have already taken delivery of their shiny new Cowon S9, they’ve already sucked down one firmware update to fix some of the more obvious issues. Now, there’s round number two (v2.06) to endure. The company has loosed the second firmware update for its just birthed PMP, with this one adding JPG album art support (for files with the .jpg extension) and fixing a bug that occasionally caused a system reboot after the “remove hardware from PC” message appeared. Most notable, however, is the new inclusion of Bluetooth speaker support, meaning that this device can now stream tunes to BT-enabled sound systems sans cabling or any other black magic. Tap the read link to get your download a-goin’.

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Cowon S9 firmware update adds Bluetooth speaker support originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 23:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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