By now most of you have probably already forgotten about the Philips Tapster Bluetooth headphones we first wrote about way back in February. But that’s a good thing, because according to CNET’s Crave blog, the device will never be hitting store shelves.

While Philips apparently didn’t have any official comments as to why, Jasmine France chocks it up to the device… well… sucking. “The major draw of the Tapster is the playback and volume controls, which are manipulated via light tapping and swiping on the ear modules. In theory, this is a sweet idea, because pressing tactile buttons on an in-ear headset has a tendency to dislodge the earbuds. Unfortunately, although we tested the Tapster with four different devices, it never worked completely as advertised.” Oh well…

[ Crave - Philips Tapster shies away from retail ]

The addition of a touch screen has made the Nintendo DS a very popular console for the homebrew and ‘hacking’ community, and the creators of the DS brut have made things even easier for would be tinkerers with their DS Bluetooth Adapter. The Slot-1 compatible cart allows the DS to communicate with other devices like GPS receivers, expanding its capabilities, and its hardware schematics and software library is all open source if you’d like to build your own. (I’m pretty sure pre-assembled units are not actually available for sale.)

Almost two years in the making, we’re happy to finally release our DS Bluetooth adapter. The tiny Slot-1 cartridge allows you to hook up the Nintendo DS wirelessly with other devices such as GPS-receivers, robots and so forth. Today we’re making all materials of the project openly available, including the schematics and a GPL-licensed software library for the Nintendo DS, because we believe in open hardware design and want to encourage collaboration in the hardware hacking community.

[ Nintendo DS Bluetooth Adapter ] VIA [ Make ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Ever since Dick Tracy, people have been wanting phones on their wrist. We’ve seen various, albeit poor implementations of this very thing, but nothing that feels right. One of the biggest hurdles in crafting the perfect wrist-mounted phone is that it’s tough to cram everything you need in a tiny watch. So what if you had your regular phone, and the watch merely complemented it, and gave you easy access to core functions? That seems to be the idea behind this inPulse.

The inPulse is said to be a Bluetooth accessory for your BlackBerry. It doesn’t appear to give you control of your BlackBerry per se, but it does do something rather useful. When a new message (or perhaps phone call?) comes in, it will appear on the screen of your watch. This lets you check the message with just a quick glance to your wrist. If it’s nothing important, you can go about your business. Otherwise, you’ll pull out your phone and take the necessary actions. Honestly, if this thing could let you make phone calls, I’d say it’s the perfect accessory.

VIA [ Crackberry ]

I know, a lot of you have probably given up your landline phone in favor of just using a cellphone, but those of you who haven’t will be happy to hear that traditional phones are getting a bit more useful. Panasonic’s new KX-TG9382T two-line phone for example comes with Bluetooth which not only allows you to use it with a Bluetooth headset for handsfree operation, but also allows you to wirelessly transfer up to 600 contacts from a Bluetooth equipped cellphone to its own phonebook directory.

It also features a 40-minute digital answering machine so you don’t have to pay for voicemail, three-line conferencing capabilities and a Silent Mode allowing you to turn off the ringer at preset times of day, like when you’re trying to sleep at night. $169.95 for a single handset unit and $229.95 for a double.

[ Panasonic KX-TG9382T ] VIA [ Akihabara News ]

There, was that so difficult? I can’t tell you how long I’ve been hunting for a simple Bluetooth headphone adapter that will let me use my OWN headphones, not some crappy bundled pair. Well the Sony DRC-BT30P appears to do just that, complete with buttons for answering calls as well as volume and playback controls given the device you’re paired with supports those features. And if for some reason you don’t choose the black model, white, pink and blue color options are also provided.

[ Akihabara News - New Bluetooth Headphones from Sony ]

By David Ponce

If there’s one thing that’s stayed quite analog during the digital revolution, it’s been the stethoscope. Not to miss an opportunity to reinvent the wheel, 3M and Zargis Medical have partnered to infuse some actually useful tech into the Littmann 3200 Bluetooth Stethoscope. The device will be able to communicate with nearby computers and offload any data it collects (through Bluetooth, natch), to be analyzed later with included software. They’ve also included what looks like active noise reduction, eliminating up to 85% background noise without eliminating critical body sounds.

Heck, there’s a whole bunch of features into this high-tech stethoscope, and you should keep reading to find out about all of them. Out here you get the more than reasonable price (considering how expensive regular stethoscopes already are): $379.

Proprietary Ambient Noise Reduction Technology (ANR)

Reduces background noise 85% on average without eliminating critical body sounds

13% better ANR than previous models

Acoustic Seal Eartips

Patented 3M™ Littmann® Snap Tight Soft-Sealing Eartips provides [sic] a comfortable fit and excellent seal

Creates a tight acoustic seal from ambient noise entering through eartip connections

State-of-the-Art Sound Sensor

Built to stringent specification

Sound experience equivalent to Littmann® cardiology-grade acoustic stethoscope

The sound received from the sensor is transmitted naturally to ears through the tubing

Frictional Noise Reduction Technology

Helps reduce handling noises compared to previous electronic models

Less distracting than previous models

Lets you focus on critical sounds

Up to 24X Sound Amplification

Extra listening power for when you need it

Helpful when a heart, lung or body sound is especially faint

May be useful for overly obese patients

May be helpful when the patient’s clothing restricts your listening experience

[ Product Page ] AND [ Press Release ] VIA [ MedGadget ] AND [ FayerWayer ]

By David Ponce

Every now and then you see a product and you just assume that it’s a concept. I mean, heck, it’s just too smart for anyone to be producing it! And every now and then you’d be entirely wrong, like now. The Orb is an actual Bluetooth headset that transforms into a ring and vice-versa. Wear it like a ring and its Flexible OLED (in the Deluxe edition) will display caller info, calendar items and voice-to-text info. Feel like answering? Twist it off and hang it on your ear. Sound is transmitted through bone conduction, so there’s no need to even insert it in your ear. It’s really just brilliant.

The best part is that it’s supposed to be available for purchase in early 2010 for $129 for the regular edition, $175 for Deluxe and going up from there depending on what gemstones people might choose to have embedded into it. It is after all, also a ring.

It’s being developed in partnership between Hybra Advanced Technology and AbsolutelyNew. There’s no product page quite yet.

A close-up picture if you keep reading.

VIA [ Dvice ]

By Shane McGlaun

A few weeks back I bought a new car. I figured my kids were old enough that they only need booster seats, so I would go ahead and get the convertible Mustang GT with a 5-speed. The problem is that you can’t drive the car and talk on the phone in traffic and most of the Bluetooth headsets I have tried don’t work with the top down at highway speeds.

Motorola has announced a new Bluetooth headset called the Endeavor HX1 that promises to allow the user to talk and be heard in even the most extreme environment. I think the top down at 70mph on the highway is pretty extreme as far as wind noise goes.

Motorola uses its CrystalTalk noise cancellation technology in the headset along with a stealth mode that activates bone conduction technology. The bone conduction tech picks up your voice by sensing the vibrations in your bones rather than using a mic. Sounds like just what I need for the convertible or any hurricane I may get caught in.

[ Motorola ]

By Shane McGlaun

Bluetooth headsets can be convenient when you are driving and can prevent you from getting a ticket in many states. The issue for some users is that most Bluetooth headsets are expensive devices. Jabra has unveiled a new Bluetooth headset called the BT2080 that is cheap.

The BT2080 headset sells for $39, which is much cheaper than many high-end headsets sell for. To prevent users from accidentally turning the headset off it has a dedicated power button. Support for Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR and eSCO is built-in.

The headset can auto pair with mobile phones and has six hours of talk time per charge. The device can also standby for up to 8 days per charge. The overall dimensions for the BT2080 are 53 x 16 x 9mm and it weighs 8 grams. The device ships with a micro USB cable and a universal car charger.

[ Jabra ]

By Shane McGlaun

I am not a big fan of Bluetooth headsets. I think they have their place, like when you are trying to drive in a manual transmission car. However, if you use one while say walking in the mall you should be kicked in the balls (or punched in the ovaries if more appropriate).

If you are into music on your phone, most go for ear buds because they are compact and don’t look as strange on your head as say your massive headphones from 1984. Nokia has announced a new Bluetooth headset called the BH-905 that is quite large. The massive size looks like something you would see with a home stereo rather than a mobile phone or MP3 player.

The huge headset supports stereo streaming music and has microphones (yes there are more than two) for placing and receiving calls. Bluetooth headsets with two mics are common today and a pair wasn’t good enough for Nokia. The BH-905 has two mics for picking up the user’s voice, and eight of them for picking up external sounds to be blocked. The headset will go on sale globally in August at about EUR 285.

[ Nokia ]