bluetooth

One of my favorite convenience features for cars is smart keyless entry and start. This transponder-based system lets you unlock your doors by simply approaching the car, touching the door, and pushing the starter button -- no fumbling with the key fob required thanks to RFID technology.

Ford thinks that if this sort of walk up and unlock technology is good for your car, it should also be good for your laptop, which is why it's announced its Ford Keyfree Login software. After downloading and installing the Chrome extension onto a laptop or desktop computer that features Bluetooth connectivity, … Read more

On today's 404 episode, we'll solve the mystery of phantom cell phone vibrations and why we're so often tricked into thinking our phones have a mind of their own. One psychologist from the University of Sydney thinks that it has to do with electrical currents running through parts of the body surrounding the phone, while another professor of psychology believes it's in ours heads, that our addiction to technology has made us paranoid about e-notifications.

Walking around New York in this heatwave is enough of a workout for anyone these days, but some gym-goers in Canada are so sick of skinny people making them look bad that they've issued a ban on anyone that can't be described as "plus size."

According to the NY Daily News, Body Exchange gym in Vancouver claims to be a "safe haven" for overweight people that feel scrutinized when they work out next to those without an addiction to food. Unfortunately, we'll have to defer to Richard to comment on this story, as neither Jeff nor I have ever been inside a gym.… Read more

As some of you may recall, about two months back we partnered with our good friends at Outdoor Technology to bring the CNET audience an awesome deal on Bluetooth headphones. Not only did we sell out, but Outdoor technology was kind enough to give the CNET audience extra product so no one went home empty-handed. This week, Outdoor Technology is back with an even better deal on its top-selling DJ Slims wireless headphones! Grab a pair of the awesome DJ Slims for less than $45 with free shipping.

It's time for all of you to jump on the Bluetooth … Read more

Today marks the summer solstice; it's the longest day of the year and the midpoint of the summer. No doubt many of you are planning to enjoy those extra hours of sunshine by dropping the top on a convertible (or maybe just opening the windows or a sunroof). However, with open air motoring comes increased wind and road noise, which can all but drown out the sound from some low-powered OEM audio systems.

That's why this week I'm helping a CNET reader to boost the audio quality and quantity of his drop top's stereo system with … Read more

Hi-fi has a dated, almost "Mad Men" ring to it, but it predates Don Draper's 1960s time frame. Sound-quality advances in hi-fis first grabbed the public's imagination 10 years earlier, in the 1950s.

A hi-fi system could be configured in a variety of ways, but the basic setup had a turntable, amplifier, and a pair of speakers. That sort of rig, with a CD player, still works for today's audiophiles, but they're probably 1 percent of all music listeners. For the other 99 percent, their "hi-fi" is in the car, or maybe … Read more

Though it's listed as out of stock on its own Web site, iLuv tells me that it's begun shipping its Mo'Beats iSP245 portable stereo Bluetooth speaker stand.

Since it uses Bluetooth for wireless audio streaming, you can use the Mo'Beats with any Bluetooth-enabled tablet, smartphone, or laptop, though it's more ideally suited for tablets. It has a built-in rechargeable battery for mobile use and there's an auxiliary input to connect non Bluetooth-enabled devices.

iLuv's highlighting the product's "cradle" design, which allows for either landscape or portrait viewing "while accommodating … Read more

Most of us can agree now that Bluetooth connectivity is something that every tech car should have, but why is it important? Is it enough for a car to simply support Bluetooth or is there something more that you should be looking for?

In this week's ABCs of Car Tech, I'll do my best to answer those questions and explain the ins and outs of Bluetooth wireless technology.

What is Bluetooth? When most people hear the word "Bluetooth," they immediately think about speakerphones and wireless headsets for hands-free calling. That's partially correct in that these … Read more

If you're looking for a way to share Internet connectivity from one of your Android devices to another tablet or laptop, this guide can help you. Open Garden is an app that will broadcast your Internet signal to devices around you via Bluetooth, in hopes of creating a seamless mesh network. The idea behind the app is to make the connection process easier so you can spend more time being productive or surfing the Web. Here's how to get connected:

Install Open Garden on your mobile device that has a connection to the Internet. This would … Read more

Most phones sold these days have a speakerphone mode. This setting is usually good enough for an impromptu hands-free call in a quiet office. However, when you get on the road in a noisy car, the phone's flaws are made apparent. For example, the built-in microphone can be less than ideal for canceling the levels of road and wind noise present in a car at highway speed, which leads to poor quality on the receiving end of your calls. I'm sure that you dislike repeating yourself to callers as much as I do, so let's look at how to improve call quality.

Visor-mounted Bluetooth speakerphones feature more sophisticated microphones with noise and echo-cancellation technology located closer to your head, which can dramatically improve sound quality. How much of an improvement should you expect? I've recorded outbound calls from five speakerphones (and my test phone's internal microphone) to demonstrate. … Read more