Posts Tagged moshi
Win a Moshi Voice-Control Travel Clock from Practical Travel Gear
The Christmas spirit comes early to Practical Travel Gear.
One lucky reader will win one of my favorite travel gadgets—the Moshi Voice Control Travel Alarm Clock, which I reviewed earlier. This clock is a perfect size for travelers and an ideal way to avoid dealing with those confusing hotel alarm clocks. You can see details and a video of it in use at the Moshi site.
Winning couldn’t be easier. All you have to do is leave a comment here or on our Facebook page. Let us know how you might use the talking travel alarm or what features seem the most interesting.
One winner will be chosen at random on Sunday, November 7, 2010 at midnight CST. Be sure to fill in a valid e-mail address with your comment. (We’ll see it, but readers won’t). Entries without a valid e-mail address will be disqualified.
It’s our thanks for being a loyal Practical Travel Gear reader. Good luck!
Update: Congratulations to Kelly Jackson, winner of the Moshi travel alarm clock, and thanks to all who entered.
Posted by JohnG in Business Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on October 25th, 2010
Keep Your Hands on the Wheel: Moshi Voice Control Bluetooth Car Speakerphone
If your car doesn’t have Bluetooth built in to connect to your cell phone, I’ve found the next best thing.
The Moshi BTHF205T Bluetooth Handsfree Car Kit is an easy way to make and receive calls on the road, while keeping your hands on the wheel where they belong. I’ve been driving around with this in my car and it’s impressive, with just a few limitations.
First-time pairing for the Bluetooth connection to your phone is simple and future connections are automatic.
Moshi will take commands after you say “hello Moshi” or push one of the few buttons on the device. When receiving a call, Moshi will announce the number from caller ID. Then, you can say “accept” to answer the call or “ignore” to send it to voicemail. Say “redial” and Moshi will call the last outgoing number. Or, if you miss a call, saying “call back” dials the last incoming call.
Moshi will also call up to seven of the speed dial numbers in your phone. Say “call information” and it will dial Microsoft Bing’s 411 handsfree information service.
If your phone itself supports voice dialing, like mine, Moshi can then tap into your entire address book. Saying “phone command” will activate the voice dialing on compatible phones. A very nice feature, indeed.
Voice commands can also be used to check the connection to the phone and the battery level on the phone and the Moshi. The BTHF205T is rated at six hours of talk time and 40 hours standby time. The kit includes a car power adapter and charging cord.
The Moshi is small, easily fitting in the palm of my hand. A clip slides on to the car’s sun visor and Moshi attaches securely with two magnets.
As I mentioned, there are a few limitations. Moshi’s vocabulary is not that large. For example, it’s not possible to say a phone number and have it dial (unless it’s through your phone’s voice command setup).
Voice quality is very good. I’d rate the received audio as excellent and plenty loud for most driving situations. Some of the people I called thought it sounded slightly fuzzy, but still perfectly understandable, even from the passenger’s side and back seat of the car. I listened to a call myself and agree on the slightly fuzzy description, but that’s probably due more to the audio limitations of Bluetooth rather than the device itself.
Also, it would not dial the first speed-dial number on my phone, but worked correctly for other favorites. That apparently relates to the first speed-dial number being pre-programmed on the phone to call voicemail, so I just put that number in a different favorite and in my contact listing so I could use the voice dialing.
There’s one other improvement I’d suggest—using a standard, mini-USB charging port instead of the proprietary plug on the Moshi.
This handsfree setup makes a perfect pair with the Wilson Sleek cell-phone booster that’s also in my car and reviewed here. Besides being able to successfully make calls in areas where your phone might otherwise show no signal, it also provides a handy mount for the phone when using the Moshi.
The price is reasonable—$79.99 retail from Moshi’s online store or Amazon. Moshi also makes a voice-command alarm clock that I reviewed earlier.
The Moshi Voice Control Bluetooth Car Speakerphone is an excellent alternative to a wireless headset if you find that in-ear solutions get uncomfortable after a few hours—or if you don’t want to look like a cyborg.
Some states and municipalities now require handsfree adapters when using a cell phone in your car. And the fewer distractions a driver has, the safer the journey.
Moshi Bluetooth Car Speakerphone with Voice Control at Buy.com
Posted by JohnG in Business Gear, General Gear on July 12th, 2010
Review: Moshi Voice Control Travel Alarm Clock
I’ll admit, I’ve talked to my alarm clock for a long time. Saying things like, “No, it can’t be time to get up!”
But now, I’ve found an alarm clock that actually listens.
The Moshi Voice Control Travel Alarm Clock uses voice commands to set the time and alarm and is a convenient size for travelers. It’s very easy to use—something I can’t say for a lot of the alarm clocks in hotel rooms.
I’ve often fumbled around in a hotel room trying to figure out how to set the alarm. My preference is to use a clock instead of getting a wake-up call because, of course, there’s no snooze control on a telephone.
Moshi uses voice-recognition technology to control the clock. Say “set time” and it will ask for the current time, then set the clock. Or, tell it to “set alarm” and it will turn on and set the alarm for whatever time you say. There’s even a choice of three different alarm sounds. And they are loud enough to wake even sound sleepers.
You can also ask Moshi for the room temperature, get the current time, turn off the alarm, or say “snooze” to grab another nine minutes of shuteye. And, in case you ever need them, there are physical controls for setting the time and alarms, turning the alarm on and off and for volume.
The size is perfect—less than four inches wide—and the clock weighs in at under three ounces so it won’t contribute to any overweight baggage fees. It’s powered by three AAA batteries.
The Moshi travel alarm clock comes in four colors—black, white, blue or pink. And the price is a reasonable $24.99.
Moshi also makes two other models for home use—the Voice Control Alarm Clock and the Voice Control Mini Alarm Clock. They have a few additional features, such as playing sleep sounds and the larger clock also has a night light.
The company also plans to release an iPod app soon.
The Moshi Voice Control Travel Alarm Clock is the the easiest-to-use alarm clock I’ve ever tried. And it’s the first one that listens to what I have to say.
Posted by JohnG in Travel Light on December 21st, 2009
