bluetooth

You've got to wonder what Burt Reynolds would think about a Bluetooth CB radio if he were still around. Oh, that's right--he is still around. Well, we're sure that old Smokey would have welcomed the new-fangled technology because he could have used it to rally other cars for the chase scenes.

Cobra Electronics has brought the iconic CB into the 21st century with a radio that can receive mobile phone calls and includes a noise-canceling microphone to boot. It's even safer to operate, at least theoretically, because it has controls that can indicate the dial's … Read more

You've probably heard of Sony. It's done a few things here and there over the years, including the building of a damn-near indestructible MiniDisc player. Today it's showing off its new Walkman lineup, which includes new versions of the NWZ-A810 series, not surprisingly called the NWZ-A820 series, and is led by an 8GB Bluetooth-enabled MP3 player called the NWZ-A828. There's also a 4GB version, the NWZ-A826.

It's aesthetically a little different to its predecessor, with a central navigation pad and other buttons in new and exciting positions. It's also got a 61mm (2.4-inch) … Read more

Now that they're back among the living (for now), CrackBerry addicts can get their fix in a new way with a "Bluetooth Music Gateway" that will stream tunes wirelessly to portable speakers or another system, according to Boy Genius Report. And it may actually be more useful than originally billed, as Engadget speculates that the new matchbook-sized dongle from RIM can be used with devices other than the BlackBerry as well. Regardless of how it works, anything that keeps the thumbs off the keys is probably a good thing.

Sony Ericsson can be pretty schizophrenic when it comes to mobile phone speakers. While it has some pretty weird ideas at one end of the spectrum, it can be utterly practical at the other. Take, for example, its new car speakerphone.

The Bluetooth HCB-150 clips onto the visor as do many others, with 25 hours of talk time and 700 on standby. But it has a particularly convenient technology that stands apart from the competition: A "text to speech" feature literally tells you who's calling, according to SlashPhone. That way, you can ignore those after-hours office calls … Read more

While scanning the Sony Ericsson booth at the GSMA World Congress, we noticed this eye-catching item in the accessories case. The ball-shaped Sony Ericsson MBS-100 Bluetooth speaker goes far beyond what we normally see in cell phone speaker design. Designed for use with any stereo Bluetooth music phone (it doesn't have to be a Sony Ericsson handset, even though the company might prefer it to be), the MBS-100 can wirelessly broadcast your tunes to the world. And in case Bluetooth isn't your thing, it also comes with a 3.5-millimeter headset for connecting to a stereo. At 3.… Read more

If we understand it correctly, this speakerphone is designed for the person who makes a lot of conference calls but can never remember the phone numbers.

The Bluetooth system can wirelessly synch up with 6,000 cell phone contacts, receiving signals from up to 30 feet away. (Why you'd be that far away is beyond us, however.) It also runs on rechargeable batteries, so you can just pick it up and carry it to the next interminable meeting.

Other than that, it seems to be a pretty standard conference phone that makes the usual claims of super-clear conversations (right). … Read more

In-car voice recognition still has some way to go before it replaces buttons, dials, and good old fashioned manual programming. However, a few automakers are taking the lead in creating in-car interfaces that are easy to use. Among our favorites are Acura and Honda, Infiniti, Mercedes, and now--thanks to the launch of the Microsoft Sync system--Ford. Check out our roundup of cars you can talk to with a good chance of being understood.

When Yamaha shipped me its itsy-bitsy NX-A01 speaker cube last August, I had only two complaints: It needed to include Bluetooth; and it needed the option of being battery powered. Lo and behold, Yamaha got its act together and created the NX-B02, a taller, less tofu-looking, completely wireless speaker based on the NX-A01 design.

The Yamaha NX-B02 includes a stereo pair of 1.75-inch titanium cone drivers, along with the coolest little fluttering bass port I've ever seen (watch the NX-A01 First Look to see what I mean). You also get a standard 3.5mm line-input, Bluetooth 2.0+… Read more

There are two kinds of people in the world: people who use the cheap, nasty, uncomfortable, crappy-sounding earbuds supplied with their phone or MP3 player, and people who upgrade. If you fall into the first group, stop reading now and go back to your musical purgatory. For people in the second group, the Jays BlueStreamer 2 is a widget weighing less than half an ounce that lets you use your favorite headphones with your Bluetooth phone.

Charge the BlueStreamer via USB, pair it with your phone, plug in the 3.5-millimeter jack of your favorite headphones and start tappin' those … Read more