Oh! Gizmo

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.

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By Chris Scott Barr

Talking on the phone while driving can be something of a hassle when you don’t have any sort of handsfree device. I have had the opportunity to check out one of the latest offerings from Parrot in this department. The Minikit Chic is a sleek little device that clips to your sun visor and offers a little more than some similar products on the market.

The first thing you’ll notice (other than the floral pattern) is that there really isn’t much to this little device. It’s roughly the size of my iPhone, only a bit thicker. You’ll find two buttons, a knob, a USB port and a clip. The clip is obviously for attaching it to your visor, while the USB port is used for charging and interfacing with your computer if needed. All of the functions you’ll use are controlled by the knob and two buttons, which seems rather simple for all it can do.

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By Chris Scott Barr

You know what I hate? Pushing buttons. Sure, pressing one might save me the effort of doing a task that would otherwise require strenuous amounts of work, but it’s just damn annoying. Take my garage door opener for example. When I’m pulling in my driveway, I have to press the button on my remote two, sometimes three times while still focusing on my very slow driving. It’s so bad that I’ve been tempted just to park outside and go through the front door, but then I’d have to use a key. Don’t even get me started on keys.

The Blueguard Self-opening Door is a handy little contraption that uses a Bluetooth signal from your cell phone to open up the door when you’re approaching. This eliminates the need for one of those little garage door clickers that you’ve got attached to your sun vizor. My first obvious concern was that every time I walked to the kitchen my garage would open, but apparently it’s smart enough to detect whether or not you are approaching in a vehicle. Unfortunately there is no information on pricing. Oh, and just so we’re clear, despite the fact that I was extremely sarcastic in my opening paragraph, I would totally buy one of these if the price was right.

[ EMX ] VIA [ Coolest-Gadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The last moment announcement that the iPhone 3.0 firmware update will finally add A2DP bluetooth support means I can start looking at wireless BT headphones again. At the moment there’s a few contenders on the market, but as of today there’s now one more thanks to Sony announcing their new DR-BT100CX in-ear headphones. While the wires aren’t completely gone, you at least won’t be tethered to your cellphone while listening to music, and the small dongle hanging off the earbuds lets you control playback, volume and even answer calls. It’s also recharged via USB instead of some proprietary cable, and you can expect to get about 8 hours of use between charges.

According to the Sony press release, the DR-BT100CX headphones are available for order on the Sony Style Europe site, but I can’t seem to find them at the moment.

[ PR - New Sony noise cancelling Bluetooth® headphones produce flawless wire free audio ] VIA [ Tech Digest ]

by Shane McGlaun

Guys have lots of choices when it comes to a Bluetooth headset. Most of the offerings on the market are masculine looking with black or silver colors and blocky designs that a dude can wear without feeling girly. The ladies on the other hand have but a few headsets that are decked out in girly glitz.

A new Bluetooth headset from ChicBuds has been announced that is called the PinkTooth. The PinkTooth has a lithium-polymer battery good for 200 hours of standby time and six hours of talk time. The glam part of the headset is the pink or white Swarovski crystals that decorate the earpiece.

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By Andrew Liszewski

If the speaker on your cellphone or bluetooth equipped MP3 player just isn’t cutting it, Sony Ericsson’s new MS500 portable speaker might be of interest to you, as long as you’re not expecting much. The wireless speaker connects to your devices via Bluetooth A2DP, and has a range of about 32 feet. It comes attached to a lanyard allowing you to clip it to your belt or bag keeping it in easy reach, but if you do decide to push the limits of its range, the MS500 also has its own set of play and volume controls which means you don’t necessarily need to have access to the device it’s connected to.

A basic set of AA batteries should provide up to 5 hours of music, and the splashproof shell means you can take it to the beach or use it during other outside activities. Unfortunately there’s no info on pricing or availability at this time, but when it is released you’ll have your choice of the black and orange color scheme pictured above, or white and pink.

[ Sony Ericsson MS500 PR ] VIA [ SlashGear ]

By Evan Ackerman

At Mobile World Congress 2009 this week, LG was displaying a new cell phone with a solar panel battery back that won’t need to be plugged in until the sun goes dead in 6-odd billion years. Ten minutes of sun gets you three minutes of talk time, which is not half bad… The phone is due to be released in Europe by the end of this year, but hopefully LG will take the obvious step of just manufacturing battery backs with integrated solar panels, which would allow existing handsets to be quickly and easily converted to solar charging.

The other thing in that picture is a solar powered Bluetooth hands-free speakerphone, the LG HFB-500. LG was giving these out at their press conference at CES, and it was just too nifty to include in our CES swag giveaway (sorry). It comes with a suction mount to stick it in the windshield of your car, as well as a power adapter that you’ll ideally never use. It’s got an on/off button (it shuts off automatically), a big call answer button, and some volume buttons. That’s it. I’ve had it up on the windshield of my car since January, and I’ve never had to charge it, it’s just always there and ready to go. The LG HFB-500 costs $70 or $80 depending on where you look, which is maybe a little steep, but having gadgets that are ever present and functional without any plugs or maintenance whatsoever is worth a little extra money, I’d say.

[ LG Press Release ] VIA [ DVICE ]

By Luke Anderson

One of the main reasons that I miss calls is that I’ve left my phone on vibrate, and I don’t feel it go off. If an important call comes in, there’s no really good way to know I’ll get it without turning the ringer back on, or leaving my phone out where I can see it (or hear it vibrate). One solution we’ve seen in the past is the Vibrating Bluetooth Bracelet. It was an interesting gadget, if a little plain. Well the idea has been updated, with one very important new feature.

The new Bluetooth Bracelet also vibrates to let you know there is a call, but takes things a step further by displaying caller ID info. Now you’ll know if it’s that important call you’ve been waiting for without pulling the phone out of your pocket. The price is right too, at $26, it’s almost half the price of the original.

[ Chinavision ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

While they’re far from being the smallest earbuds on the market, the Philips Tapster stereo headset takes advantage of bluetooth to cut the cord between your earbuds and your MP3 player or smartphone. It supports Bluetooth HSP and HFP profiles for making calls and is A2DP compliant for streaming stereo music. Their overall size is no doubt a by-product of the Tapster’s batteries, but on the plus side the large surface is touch sensitive, and doing things like adjusting the volume or answering calls is accomplished with simple taps or swipe gestures.

And while the Philips website makes it look like the Tapster headset is a shipping product (there’s even a ‘Buy’ button on the page), from what I can tell that’s not the case just yet.

[ Philips Tapster Bluetooth Headset ] VIA [ DVICE ]