Archive for 2007

Philips Bluetooth Stereo Headset SHB6100

Philips is probably one of the last brand names that would come to mind when you think about wireless, mobile or Bluetooth technology, but that could be set to change if Philips get thier way as they are now moving in to the Bluetooth headset market.

There are currently 4 products in the range, each of them offering Bluetooth wireless connectivity and offering music as well as voice call capability.

Philips kindly sent us their Bluetooth Stereo Headset SHB6100 “Neckband for phone and mp3 player” to have a look at and in the video below you can see me unboxing and having a look at them.

What I like about this headset is that it comes with a Bluetooth ‘dongle’ that you can plug into almost any audio device to make it Bluetooth capable.

You can see the full PDF specification HERE.

Oh, and that elastic thing that I didn’t know about in the video was actually a ‘Wrap around pouch’ for ‘Extra portability’ – The mp3 dongle comes with a wrap around pouch to tie your mp3 player and the mp3 dongle into a tight bundle.

The audio quality of the headphones is really quite good, with very little hiss or other noise that I have experienced with other bluetooth headsets. The large (32mm) speakers give a good base response that you don’t tend to get from in-ear heaphones. They are also quite comfortable to wear as the ear-pieces are filled with a soft gel. Despite having a built in Bluetooth receiver and battery they are not much heavier than a normal set of headphones.

As I metioned above, the headphones can be used for stereo audio playback OR as a headset for making/receiving calls. This is an either or situation though as you have to set up two different Bluetooth profiles – one for stereo and one as a headset profile. You cannot have one profile for both jobs. However, in practice you can use the Philips Switchstream. With SwitchStream you will hear a ring tone in the headset when you are receiving a call on your Bluetooth enabled phone. You can then pick up the call from your headset and return to your music after ending the call. I wasn’t able to get this working when using the headphones with my laptop and receiving calls through Skype.

Pairing the headphones with the included Bluetooth dongle could not be simpler and is a matter of a few button presses. I did try this out with my MP3 player and it works quite well.

When using the headphone with my laptop I was able to use the buttons on the headphones to skip between tracks, play and pause etc. but this was not something that I was able to do when using the headphones with my Windows Mobile device.

Overall I like these headphones, definitely worth considering if you are looking for Bluetooth stereo!

As with all of our videos, there is a higher res version available to download HERE.

Posted by: Matt

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, HTC, Philips, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Stereo Headset SHB6100, Tracy & Matt]

Nokia N95 podcast review

Following on from Matt’s unboxing video last week I have been using the Nokia N95 as my main device. I have to say that I am really very impressed with it. So here for your listening pleasure is my overview/review podcast.

The keypad on the Nokia N95 is revealed when the screen is slid open upwards.

And the media buttons allow you to control music and video playback when the device is in landscape mode.

On the left hand side you can find the headphone socket and the microSD card socket complete with its cover.

On the right are the camera and volume controls.

The camera on the N95 is 5 mega pixels and has Carl Zeiss optics.

The (N95) camera has leap-frogged my existing Fuji digital camera… Still images; wonderful, Video; remarkable. The sound and picture quality is astonishing!

The Nokia N95 is one of the best mobile devices I have ever had…!

You can download the MP3 of the podcast directly without subscribing using this link or to subscribe to the Podcast simply add this link ( http://feeds.feedburner.com/tm/podcast ) to iTunes or your favorite Podcast downloader.

The N95 is available to buy now from Clove Technology.

Posted by: Nick

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Windows Mobile blog, Nokia N95, Clove,Tracy & Matt]

Vakaadoo iPod case video review

You may have seen my earlier post about a new company called Vakaadoo that make cases for Apple iPod. Today I managed to get my hands on one of their new iVak cases for the iPod Nano 2nd Gen and thought I’d put together a quick video to show you just how good they are and how easy to fit!

For those of you not wanting to watch the video here are the main points: The iVak case comes in two parts that clip on the front and back of your iPod to completely enclose it. There is a clear window on the front that covers the screen and stops it from getting scratched. Also in the box there is a clear plastic cover for the click-wheel, a lanyard and a rubber Vakwrap that keeps your headphone cable tidy. The case is made from the same material that crash helmets are made of (not metal as a first thought) and are finished with a soft touch rubber-like paint.

The cases come in all the same colours as the iPod including white so can either match your iPod or to act as a contrast.

Vakaadoo also tell me that they are in the middle of updating their website and products but the new website will be up shortly where the new nano case will be available, as well as new special offers on the older models such as the 4g,5g iPod and the 1g Nano iPod.

If you would like to download a higher res version of the above video you can do so using THIS LINK.

Posted by: Matt

[Post tag(s): iPod Nano, Vakaadoo, iVak, iPod, Tracy & Matt]