Accessories news

**nauriceprivat** · #1 (**permalink**) 11-05-2007, 07:45 PM

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We’ve already posted [Only Registered and Activated Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...][Only Registered and Activated Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...] about Motorola’s active Bluetooth headset - [Only Registered and Activated Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...]. Now it’s time to shortly review it — after all, we’ve already seen them reviewed in great depth by several websites.
First the good things. The S9 is perfectly designed for its targeted audience. Even though it’s kinda strange to wear them for the first couple of times, you’ll get used to it pretty quickly thanks to the great ergonomics. The sound quality is good but the bass is where the S9 really shines. Finally, the overall look and build quality is there as well, even though Motorola managed to keep them lightweight (about 30 grams).
As for the negatives, the S9 will NOT work with all handsets — it is required that your device supports stereo Bluetooth (A2DP), but that’s actually not a problem with most of the modern handsets. In addition, the battery life of up to 6 hours of music listening, and 7 hours of phone talk time isn’t that great, though it’s more than enough for the average user, myself included. Then there’s the speech transfer quality which is somewhat expected — there’s external microphone. Finally, it takes some time to remember where each of the buttons is located.
The question is should you buy? If you jog, go to gym or do some other workout often, the answer is YES! The ROKR S9 is THE headset for “active” people. However, be warned that you’ll also want to have another (mono) headset for everyday’s use. When you’re driving for instance…

**nauriceprivat** · #2 (**permalink**) 11-07-2007, 05:40 PM

Following up on their [Only Registered and Activated Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...] of wireless broadband connectivity solutions, Sierra Wireless has gone official with their Apex 880 USB HSPA modem. As the model name implies, the [Only Registered and Activated Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...] uses your laptop’s (and presumably desktop, but we can’t imagine anyone using this on their desktop) USB port to pull down all that glorious data at HSPA speeds.
That’s right. This sucker’s a full-fledged HSPA modem, which means you’ll be plucking bytes from the air at 7.2Mbps and pushing them out at 2Mbps (AT&T, [Only Registered and Activated Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...]) - forget DSL, bring on the HSPA. Oh, and the Sierra Wireless Apex 880 rocks a microSD card slot because it can’t decide if it’s a USB drive or a wireless broadband modem.
The 85mm x 37.5mm x 15mm modem features a tri-band UMTS radio and even quad-band GSM/EDGE compatibility to ensure that, while you may not always get 3G speeds, you’ll never be left wishing for some sweet, sweet wireless data.
Look for the [Only Registered and Activated Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...] in January at an unknown price point.

**nauriceprivat** · #3 (**permalink**) 11-07-2007, 06:30 PM

It’s not all about phones at Sony Ericsson today. They’ve also announced a new mobile broadband modem - MD300. As a matter of fact it’s their first such modem which relies on USB connection, as opposed to PCMCIA.
Similarly to other USB modems, the MD300 is designed to help you stay connected wherever your are. It measures 70×32.5×13 mm, meaning you won’t have any problems finding a place for it. As for the connectivity options, the MD300 support quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900) and triple-band HSDPA/UMTS (850/1900/2100) networks. It is expected to start selling during the Q1 2008.

**nauriceprivat** · #4 (**permalink**) 11-07-2007, 06:42 PM

Following on their “TrueComfort” line of [Only Registered and Activated Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...], Motorola has just announced their newest Bluetooth headset - the Motorola MOTOPURE H12 Universal Bluetooth headset. The sleek, silver, almost Mac-like design (notice the MacBook Pro-esque main button and perforated metallic bezel) adds a touch of style to the headset’s impressive feature set. And, the MOTOPURE H12 isn’t just a looker, it’s diminutive size makes it all but disappear on your ear.

The MOTOPURE H12 Universal Bluetooth headset rocks Motorola’s CrystalTalk audio-enhancing technology, previously only found on the company’s high-end mobile phones, to ensure that you can hear the conversation clearly, even in the noisiest of environments. But, it’s not all about hearing the conversation, Motorola wants to make sure that you can be heard clearly and accurately as well. The MOTOPURE H12’s noise-reduction technology works in tandem with a dual-microphone setup to isolate your voice and deliver sharp, natural sounding speech to the listener.
But, all the features in the world do nothing for the user experience if the headset is a pain to wear. So, Motorola has also designed the MOTOPURE H12 with the “[Only Registered and Activated Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...]” philosophy of headset design that we saw launched with the [Only Registered and Activated Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...] Bluetooth headsets. As the new flagship of Motorola’s Bluetooth headset lineup, the MOTOPURE H12 Universal Bluetooth headset packs in all the features that Motorola has at its disposal. The feature-set reads like a rundown of Motorola’s Bluetooth headset know-how - high-fashion design, CrystalTalk technology, noise-reduction DSP with dual microphones, and TrueComfort wearability. Oh, and the MOTOPURE H12 Universal Bluetooth headset is good to go for 5.5 hours of talk-time with continuous noise-reduction.

What more could you ask for? What’s that you say? You want the price? Well, dear reader, the price is not yet known, but we can tell you that the MOTOPURE H12 Universal Bluetooth headset will be hitting the market in Q4 2007.

**nauriceprivat** · #5 (**permalink**) 11-08-2007, 10:17 PM

Full QWERTY keyboards are a must for any self-respecting mobile warrior. Be they hard-keys or virtual keyboards, doing any type of productive work on a mobile device without them is almost impossible. So, what do you do when you outgrow that tiny on-screen or hard-key keyboard on your favorite smartphone? You pick up Targus’s Bluetooth Mobile ThumbPad. The handy Bluetooth-connected module features a large (not ful-size, but big enough for thumb-typing) QWERTY keyboard layout and basically replaces your minute hard-keys or inconvenient virtual-keyboard.
If you just need a larger thumb-board for your mobile productivity tasks, or you just want to be able to shoot out those instant messages with speed and ease, the Targus Bluetooth Mobile ThumbPad is a great solution. The ThumbPad slips onto the bottom of your device and occupies the space that would have been taken up by your keyboard or on-screen keyboard - so you don’t lose any really valuable screen real estate.

It’s just 10 x 6 x 1.5 cm and weighs 65g, so the Targus Bluetooth Mobile ThumbPad is fairly small. But, you’ll have to have a Bluetooth enabled Smartphone or PDA with Windows Mobile 2003/2005 (Pocket PC and Smartphone) / Symbian OS / Palm OS5.
Hit the link for more pics.

**nauriceprivat** · #6 (**permalink**) 11-08-2007, 11:43 PM

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Ever been left high and dry without so much as a drop of electrical juice to power your precious mobile gadget? Well, chances are you were stranded with your digital doohickey in easy reach of some sun-power. The Solio Hybrid 1000 is the [Only Registered and Activated Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...] for all your, well, charging needs. Did we mention it’s solar-powered?
Anyway, a fully-charged Solio Hybrid 1000 is good for topping of your mobile phone’s battery, or 10 hours of juice for your MP3 player. For every hour of sunshine that you give the Solio Hybrid 1000, you’ll get 15 minutes talk time or 40 minutes of MP3 music. Or, if you don’t have any usable sunshine, just plug the Solio Hybrid 1000 through your computer’s USB port.
Grab your own [Only Registered and Activated Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...] for about [Only Registered and Activated Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...].

**nauriceprivat** · #7 (**permalink**) 11-14-2007, 11:42 PM

Just when I thought it’s the [Only Registered and Activated Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...] that I want to use for my car, the little known company (at least for me) Venturi has released its Mini Bluetooth car hub. Basically the new device combines all the functionalities of the MOTOROKR T505 — speakerphone and FM transmitter — but also adds A2DP streamer, 12V charger, as well as audio in and out ports. Meaning you will be able to use it with ANY media player, not just a Bluetooth enabled phone. Now that I’m thinking all I need is an option to stream from my phone, but you never know. In addition, it’s also worth mentioning that the Venturi Mini Car Bluetooth Hub has the ability to display incoming call info on your car’s radio display using RDBS technology.
Anyway, aside from the somewhat awkward look - this Bluetooth accessory rocks. Best of all, you won’t have to break the bank to own it — Venturi will start selling it for $130 this December…

**nauriceprivat** · #8 (**permalink**) 11-14-2007, 11:57 PM

Even though it seems kinda logical to think of Bluetooth headsets as ideal solar-powered accessories, we still wait to see the first such device released. Actually our wait is about to end, as Orange is preparing to release the “world’s first” Bluetooth headset that takes the power from the Sun - Iqua BHS-603 SUN. Apparently, potential buyers of the 14 grams “heavy” accessory should expect up to 200 hours of standby and 9 hours of talk time in complete darkness. Quite decent, don’t you think?
No, we don’t know the exact release date — Orange just says “coming soon” on its [Only Registered and Activated Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...]. And as always, the green will cost you more of “green” if you know what we mean - prepare to pour out £49.99 (about $104 these days) to get that eco badge if that’s what you want…

**nauriceprivat** · #9 (**permalink**) 11-15-2007, 12:42 AM

We’re used to manufacturers flooding the interwebs with press releases and pictures of their newest product launch, but it seems Sony Ericsson has decided to take the more modest approach. Hidden within a press release for their [Only Registered and Activated Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...] is a mid-range Bluetooth headset - the Sony Ericsson HBH-PV703 Bluetooth headset.
The Sony Ericsson HBH-PV703 Bluetooth headset isn’t that much of a looker - it’s a mid-level model, after all - but it boasts some fairly impressive battery life. A full-charge is good for 10 hours of talk-time or 350 hours of standby-time, so you’ll likely never miss a call for want of power. The Sony Ericsson HBH-PV703 also features automatic pairing, voice dialing, and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR.
We’re expecting the Sony Ericsson HBH-PV703 Bluetooth headset to drop in Q1 2008, price is not yet known.

**nauriceprivat** · #10 (**permalink**) 11-15-2007, 12:59 AM

Yes, you’ve read that correctly. Apparently the latest Callpod’s Bluetooth headset allows you to take and make phone calls from 100 meters away from your phone — for those not counting distance in meters, that’s about 328 feets.
In addition to long range connectivity, the Callpod Dragon also packs such features like dual-mic noise suppression technology, walkie-talkie mode, two reversible earwraps for comfort, plus the upgradable firmware in case Callpod decides to update its headset in the future.
Interested? You better be, as you’ll have to pour out $119.99 to end up owning on THE [Only Registered and Activated Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...].