Posts Tagged bluetooth headset
A Cell Phone Booster that Works: Wilson Sleek
An unusual testing ground for a cell-phone booster
One of the world’s most important wetland areas might seem like an unusual place to test a cell-phone booster. But swampy Caddo Lake, surrounded by moss-draped cypress trees and straddling the Texas-Louisiana border, is mighty tough on mobile phones.
So that’s one of the places I went to test Wilson Electronics’ new Sleek Universal Cell Phone Signal Booster. There could be no better test than driving down Pine Island Rd., where I’ve spent a lot of time and always had trouble making calls. Sure enough, my phone soon showed no signal. Nothing. Zip. Completely out of touch.
I stopped in a dreaded “dead zone,” not too far from Caddo landmarks like Mill Pond, Alligator Thicket and Hell’s Half Acre. Then, I plugged in the Sleek amplifier. Just like magic, my phone began showing three and four bars (instead of none) and I was able to make calls like I was back in civilization.
Simply put, the Sleek works. And it works well.
The Sleek is scheduled for release in March, but the folks at Wilson invited me to try one before it hits the stores. Basically, the Sleek is a small amplifier, made for cars, that boosts both the received signal and the signal being transmitted back to the cell tower.
It can (and did) increase a cell phone’s received and transmitted signals by 10 to 20 times. That can mean the difference between a mediocre signal and a very strong signal, which means fewer dropped calls. Or if a phone shows no signal, the Sleek may be able to provide enough of a boost to actually make calls.
I did some further testing in other areas and found the Sleek would typically increase the signal strength displayed on my HTC Tilt2 by two to four bars (out of five). Then, I put the phone in test mode so I could see the actual received signal strength. The Sleek consistently increased the received signal by at least 10 times. Better signals also mean improved battery life.
It can be used with all cell-phone models and providers, except the iDEN/Nextel network.
All this works in a very small package that only takes minutes to install. The light and compact amplifier is built into the back of a cradle that holds the phone. The cradle is adjustable to fit different sizes of phones.
An adhesive mount is included. Wilson also offers other options, including a mounting arm that fits in a cup holder and a suction-cup mount that attaches to the windshield. These mounts are very handy if you also use your smartphone for GPS navigation.
The Sleek is powered by a lighter plug. The cradle also includes a mini-USB port which can be used to charge your phone. The amplifier is connected to a small, magnetic-mount antenna which attaches to the top of your car.
The phone must be in the cradle for the amplifier to work. But you should be using a Bluetooth or other hands-free device while driving anyway, right? If you need a Bluetooth headset, check out a couple of my faves: the Motorola Endeavor HX1 and the Plantronics Discovery 975.
(If you’d prefer an amplifier that works without placing the phone in the cradle, Wilson also offers the Signalboost MobilePro that connects wirelessly to the phone. It can be used in a car or hotel room to boost voice or aircard signals and a home adapter kit is also available. The phone needs to be within two or three feet of the amplifier, but it provides similar performance gains to the Sleek.)
Wilson Electronics' Chief Operating Officer Joe Banos demonstrates the Sleek at the 2010 International CES
The Sleek sets a new price point for cell-phone boosters, with a retail of $129. The actual street price may be close to $100. The Sleek is expected to be available through major online retailers and some brick-and-mortar stores.
Wilson products are made in the U.S. and the company offers free tech support, by phone or e-mail, from its manufacturing facility in Utah.
The Sleek will also include a 30-day, “no questions asked” return policy.
Wilson has been making cell-phone amplifiers for years, but the Sleek is a breakthrough product because of its small size and attractive price point. Other than not working on Nextel/iDEN networks, what’s not to like? In a world filled with advertising hype, it’s nice to find a product that delivers as promised.
If you do ever visit Caddo Lake, it might be a good idea to leave the cell phone behind and enjoy the scenery. But if you do need to make a call there, or in thousands of other places where signals are weak, the Sleek could have you saying, “I can hear you now” instead of watching your phone search for a signal. And that could be worth more than a case of mosquito spray at Caddo.
More on Caddo: Caddo Lake is included in the Ramsar designation of the world’s most significant wetland areas. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department operates Caddo Lake State Park and Wildlife Management Area. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also recently opened the Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Caddo is also a favorite place to visit for musician Don Henley of the Eagles.
Posted by JohnG in Business Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on February 8th, 2010
Holiday Shopper Review: Plantronics Discovery 975 Bluetooth Headset Aims for Simple Operation
A Bluetooth headset is a gift sure to please the frequent traveler. But Santa’s task of picking which one to stuff in the stocking isn’t easy in the crowded field of hands-free communication.
Plantronics positions the Discovery 975 as “ingeniously simple.” And with gadgets adding more features and getting more complicated, simpler can be an advantage. Many of the Bluetooth headsets I’ve used in the past left me thoroughly confused as they beeped and flashed.
The Discovery 975 aims to simplify things with only two buttons on the headset, one LED light and voice prompts. One button turns the headset on and off. The other controls the volume and mutes calls. Some of the beeps still left me wondering at times, but the voice prompts speak up when the headset is muted, the battery is low or if the connection to the phone is lost.
The desgn features a small microphone boom that extends about an inch and a half from the earpiece. The two microphones deliver very good audio quality and are designed to reduce noise. The microphone boom uses several different methods to block wind noise, but the WindSmart feature isn’t perfect. A friend I called could hear lots of wind noise when I was outside in a 15 mile an hour breeze.
The range is normal for a Bluetooth headset. Indoors, I could walk to the next room without dropping the connection. Pairing is quick and, yes, simple.
The silicone ear tip, with a patented design, is comfortable and stable and made to stay out of the way of glasses or sunglasses. Three sizes are included for a comfortable fit.
One feature I really like is the carrying and charging case. It can keep the headset from being broken or crushed in a pocket or bag. But the case does much more.
It also has a built-in battery which can be charged before leaving on a trip. Then, the headset plugs in and charges inside the case, which can eliminate the need to carry a charging cable. The case battery holds enough power for two full charges.
The Discovery 975 works with most Bluetooth-enabled phones. The list price is $129.99.
Aside from the convenience of a Bluetooth headset, some states are cracking down on handheld cell phone use while driving. In six U.S. states, it’s illegal to use a handheld phone while driving. A hands-free headset solves that problem.
Plantronics is a trusted name in communications headsets, with nearly half a century of experience. The Discovery 975 builds on that experience with a headset that doesn’t skimp on features—and proves Bluetooth doesn’t have to be complicated.
Posted by JohnG in Business Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on November 30th, 2009
Jaw-Dropping Technology: Motorola Endeavor HX1 Bluetooth Headset Raises the Bar
Move over, Jawbone. Motorola’s impressive new Bluetooth headset, the Endeavor HX1, takes noise reduction to the next level.
The noise-destroying features in this headset are truly revolutionary. Motorola combines its CrystalTalk noise-cancellation technology with a new stealth mode that will allow you to talk (and actually be understood) in places where you can’t even hear yourself.
Most of the time, the headset will work fine in normal (CrystalTalk) mode. This handles everyday types of noise, using two external microphones. The sound quality is very good. Friends I called had no trouble understanding me. On the other end, it delivers plenty of volume on my HTC Fuze and fits well in the ear.
Then when things really gets noisy, push a button and switch to stealth mode and the magic begins.
There are differences in the way competing Jawbone headsets and the HX1 reduce noise. The part of the Jawbone that touches your face senses when you are talking and then turns an external microphone on and off. But the HX1 doesn’t fudge on bone-conduction technology.
In stealth mode, the HX1 turns off its two exterior microphones and uses only a sensor that touches the inside of your ear.
“This is true bone conduction, picking up through bone conduction and not through external microphone,” says Natanya Ray, Motorola’s director of category marketing.
For the technology, Motorola partnered with Invisio, which developed the bone-conduction method and uses it in headsets for special military forces all over the world.
Does it work? Motorola has tested the HX1 in wind speeds up to 40 miles an hour. But I wanted to see what it would do with a lot of noise, so I headed straight to the toolshed for a couple of tests.
Test 1: HX1 vs. leaf blower. My blower is pretty loud, 70 db at full throttle. So, I cranked it up, called myself and left a voicemail. On the recording, in stealth mode, I could hear myself fine. I couldn’t hear the leaf blower—at all. The winner by a knockout: Motorola HX1.
Hmmmm, what do I have that’s louder than the leaf blower?
Test 2: HX1 vs. air compressor. I’ve got an air compressor that’s really loud. And with the sound bouncing off the walls in a semi-enclosed carport, I can barely hear myself talking. But the headset got rid of the noise. Completely. The winner and undisputed champion: the Motorola HX1.
The voice does sound slightly muffled in stealth mode. But remember, we’re talking about the difference between being heard and understood as compared to being completely drowned out by noise. So that’s an impressive performance by any measure.
If the HX1 can handle those kinds of noises, airport commotion or driving down the road with the windows down should be no problem.
There’s a lot more to like about the HX1. It fits solidly in my ear so I don’t worry that it might fall out. Unfortunately, I can’t say that about some other headsets I’ve owned.
There are four different eargels included. My advice is to try each one to see which fits and sounds the best.
Also included is a clip that goes behind the ear for a really secure fit. You may not need it, depending on the fit with the eargel.
I especially like the voice prompts and control buttons on the HX1. With some headsets, it gets confusing over which button to push or hold. The HX1 has an on-off switch; one button to answer, reject a call, hang up, put a call on hold, or use voice dialing; a rocker switch for volume control and to mute/unmute calls; and a separate button for entering stealth mode.
The voice prompts tell the battery level and when the headset is paired and connected with the phone. That’s a very nice feature that makes the headset easy to use. But if anyone finds them annoying, the voice prompts can be turned off.
Another interesting feature about this headset—it can be connected to two different phones at the same time. So if you have one phone for getting work e-mail and a second phone for personal calls, it’s easy to switch back and forth with the headset.
Battery life is rated at up to seven hours of talk time and up to 10 days of standby.
The price is on the higher end of the range for Bluetooth headsets. The HX1 retails for $129.99 and is currently available only at Sprint.
As for the price, I’ve spent more than that buying an array of other Bluetooth headsets that didn’t work as advertised and wound up gathering dust on a shelf. This one is a solid performer that won’t be tossed aside and forgotten.
I normally don’t gush over gear. But the Motorola Endeavor HX1 offers impressive performance, ease of use and extreme noise reduction when you need it.
After many unsuccessful attempts in the past, I’ve finally found a hands-free headset I can depend on. In the Bluetooth world, this headset is a game changer.
Posted by JohnG in Business Gear, General Gear on October 12th, 2009
Keeping in Touch: Sony Ericsson Walkman Phone and Bluetooth Stereo Headphones
After owning the portable music market for years with Walkman cassette and CD players, along came the Apple iPod to topple Sony’s domination. Now, Sony Ericsson tries to regain some of its mojo with a media-friendly cell phone and wireless stereo headphones.
The Sony Ericsson W760i is billed as a Walkman phone, positioned somewhere between barebones cellular sets and feature-packed smartphones. If you don’t need all the capabilities of a Blackberry or iPhone or HTC device to stay in touch while you’re on the road, this phone offers features that deserve a serious look.
The W760i handles the basics extremely well. In my hands-on testing, call quality was excellent. The slim, lightweight slider design hides the keypad when not in use. Battery life is respectable, easily lasting two or three days of normal use.
Diving into the features, built-in applications let travelers track appointments and keep up with contacts. Mobile e-mail setup is easy for accounts such as Yahoo!, AOL, Windows Live and major Internet service providers. Some models of the phone allow instant (push) e-mail from Exchange servers. But curiously, the Exchange application is left out of AT&T’s version of mobile e-mail.
You can play your favorite MP3 tunes from an optional memory card (up to 4 GB is supported) and the phone also has a built-in FM radio. For an added cost, more music is available from subscription services such as Napster and eMusic. And MusicID will help identify the title and artist of tunes you don’t know.
With high-speed 3G data, the built-in web browser handles mobile sites and cellular video surprisingly well. The browser even does a credible job on websites not optimized for mobile devices. The screen is not a touch screen, but I found it easy to navigate through the menus with the keys, even when clicking on links and filling in forms.
A built-in camera will record video and 3.2-megapixel still images for sending back those vacation pictures. The unlocked version of the phone will operate with GSM carriers worldwide, which should also be of interest to travelers.
This phone was one of the first to include a shake control, letting you shake or tilt it to advance to the next music track or control some games. The screen auto rotates when the phone is turned sideways. Travelers will also appreciate the flight mode, so applications can be used on airplanes with the phone radio turned off.
There’s also a built-in GPS. But if you want to use it for guided navigation, you’ll pay a monthly fee. My preference is for other GPS apps that are free or involve a one-time cost, such as Garmin Mobile XT which I recently reviewed.
That brings up one of the limitations of this Walkman phone. The operating system means doing without the wide range of applications available for other phones running Windows Mobile, Apple or Android.
A useful companion to the Walkman phone is Sony Ericsson’s HBH-IS800 Wireless Stereo Headphones. Since they are stereo, the two earbuds help block out the roar in crowded airports and other noisy locations. Conversations were understandable on both ends. Several people I called heard a faint static noise in the background.
For listening to music, the bluetooth headphones were not as crisp and clear as wired earbud and microphone combinations such as the V-Moda Vibe II. But the bluetooth headset would be convenient for music listening if you’re moving around a room or taking a jog.
The list price for the wireless stereo headphones is $179.99. The street price for the unlocked phone (if you don’t want to be tied to a specific carrier or contract) is around $250. Currently, AT&T is almost giving it away with a rebate and two-year contract.
Some of the more-demanding, hardcore business travelers—or music lovers who need more than 4 GB of storage—will want more than what this phone has to offer. But overall, the Sony Ericsson W760i Walkman phone has a lot of built-in features that should meet the needs of many road warriors.
Posted by JohnG in Business Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on October 5th, 2009
