bluetooth

One of the more interesting things that Suke Jawanda, chief marketing officer of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), ever saw enabled with Bluetooth was a toothbrush. It measures how long you brush and the number of strokes you make.

"It's all these telematics from your toothbrush that are tracked and sent to an app," he said. "And it's like...what can't be connected?"

For Jawanda and everyday consumers, it seems like everything these days features the Bluetooth logo on its box. In fact, in 2011, 50 Bluetooth-enabled products are shipped out every … Read more

It's hard to design really small wireless Bluetooth earphones because you have to cram a battery and some extra electronics into a compact housing the size of something that's not much bigger than, well, an earbud.

That's a challenge Plantronics has managed to overcome with its new $99.99 BackBeat Go wireless stereo headset, which the company has just started shipping to stores. It's one of the smallest and lightest stereo Bluetooth headsets out there, with two slightly oversize earbuds joined by a flat, fettuccine wire that's designed to cut down on tangles. … Read more

If you've been watching "American Idol," you've probably seen a commercial or two for the $399 Beats by Dr. Dre Beatbox Portable audio system, which allows you to stream music wirelessly from your Bluetooth-enabled smartphone or tablet and is available exclusively through AT&T stores. But few people know that AT&T actually has its own portable Bluetooth speaker sans Beats logo. And it's shipping now.

It's called the LoudSpeak'r.

No, that's not a typo. The LoudSpeak'r follows in the footsteps of the Casio G'zOne (see 20 worst-named tech products for reference), … Read more

First, Panasonic's upcoming SC-MC07 Compact Wireless Stereo Speaker reminded me of a UFO. Then I thought Chipwich or some Drake or Hostess snack cake.

Whatever image it conjures up, the $69.99 SC-MC07 streams music wirelessly from smartphones and other Bluetooth-enabled devices. The unit is powered by AA batteries or an included USB cable.

I got a quick sound demo at a recent Panasonic press event and like a lot of these small Bluetooth speakers, it plays louder than you'd think for its size.

Wondering what that logo on the top is? Well, Panasonic says you'll be … Read more

These days, you can order pizza via phone call, Web site, and smartphone app. Add to that list a button on your fridge.

Red Tomato Pizza, located in Dubai, created a tech-infused "very important pizza lovers fridge magnet" for its loyal customers.

This special magnet does not just sit there and look pretty among your other fridge accessories, however.

When pressed, the button's built-in Bluetooth chip connects to your cell phone and transmits a preprogrammed pizza order back to the Red Tomato Pizza restaurant. Once your order's been received, you'll get a confirmation via SMS. … Read more

A few of us here in the office have been looking for a portable Bluetooth speaker that will work in the shower. Alas, G-Project's new $69 G-Go speaker, which just became available in Target stores, is splash-resistant but not waterproof, so it might not quite fit the bill, but it's close.

The speaker comes in three colors and has an integrated handle for carrying it around. There are no built-in rechargeable battery like some portable Bluetooth speakers have, but you can get up to 8 hours of on-the-go use with four AA batteries, according to the company. You can stream music to it from any Bluetooth-enabled device, which includes virtually all smartphones and many tablets, including the iPad and higher-end Android tablets (the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet do not offer Bluetooth). … Read more

Do you like wires? Neither do we. And thankfully, you don't really need them anymore when you're using a smartphone.

No matter your preference -- iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry -- any decent modern smartphone is equipped with wireless Bluetooth capability. In addition to hands-free calling with headsets and stereo headphones, phones can also be used as wireless music sources for an increasingly large array of Bluetooth speakers -- perfect for listening to MP3s on the phone, or Web-based audio services like Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Cloud Player, iTunes Match, or anything else.

As someone who uses Bluetooth gadgets daily, I'd frankly feel lost without my handy assortment of hands-free mobile toys. And I've collected a list of some of CNET's favorites. … Read more

Unless you've been living under a rock, no doubt you've heard all about Apple's new iPad. It comes packed with plenty of welcome upgrades. Among these are a crisp Retina display, a new A5X processor with quad-core graphics to drive all those pixels, and an optional 4G LTE connection for swift cellular data. What slipped under the radar, though, was the iPad's Bluetooth 4.0 support. … Read more

Distracted Driving: Is it the scourge of public safety, or the new normal? What we know is that it's here and its going to grow. Fast.

In this episode of Device & Conquer, Brian Cooley gives us a quick look at the history of understanding distracted driving, what you can do to take control of reducing it in your life, and how the U.S. government may step in to handle that for you. It's the story of driving today. … Read more