a2dp

It seems that antenna issues are not the only problems surfacing with the new iPhone 4, or at least that's what one of our readers has experienced. Al, a Buzz Out Loud listener, wrote in to report that his Jabra Stone and Kensington A2DP headset would not connect to his new iPhone 4, whereas his wife's Motorola mono Bluetooth headset worked with it fine. We were intrigued by this development, and decided to test it with the headsets we had in the office.

The two A2DP headsets we tested with the iPhone 4 were the BlueAnt T1 and … Read more

In a world populated with devices that are "Made for iPod" and that "Work with iPhone," the uninformed Android phone owner might mistakenly feel neglected and confused by the lack of Android-specific solutions for using their handsets in their vehicles--specifically for listening to music on the road. Fret not, ye Android loyal. Thanks to the magic of standards, there is no need for a "Made for Android" badge, because chances are that the technology is already there for you to utilize.

In this How-To Guide, we'll be outlining three ways to play music stored on your Android handset (and in some cases, on the cloud) through your car stereo. We'll be using the Motorola Droid running Android OS 2.0.1 and a variety of aftermarket and OEM car stereos, but these instructions should work with any Android phone and any stereo that meets the requirements listed below.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--Pioneer is taking steps into a segment of the car audio market that up until now has been monopolized by Alpine, with its first ever mech-free receivers, the MVH-P8200 and the MVH-P8200BT.

Tossing out the often-unused CD drive, the single-DIN MVH-P8200 has no moving parts--hence the designation "mech-free." The receiver was designed to work best with Apple's iPhone and iPod, but it should play back MP3, WMA, and iTunes AAC music files via USB and SD memory card. The USB port is located directly on the front face of the receivers and the SD memory card … Read more

"If you have a third-party Bluetooth-enabled device, you might be able to pair it with the BlackBerry Visor Mount Speakerphone VM-605."

That is Research In Motion's official line about the VM-605's compatibility. In English, this means that while RIM would rather you use this first-party accessory with its BlackBerry smartphones, there's nothing proprietary about it to prevent you from using it with your iPhone, Android phone, or Windows Mobile phone.

But why would someone without a BlackBerry even want a BlackBerry branded accessory in the first place? Well, the VM-605 has a feature set similar … Read more

One of the Garmin Nuvi 765T's coolest features is its capability to connect with a Bluetooth-compatible phone for hands-free calling, but did you know that this Nuvi also supports A2DP audio streaming?

In this Quick View video, I'll show you how to pair your Garmin Nuvi 765T to a Bluetooth compatible car stereo (in this case, the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid) to hear your turn-by-turn directions, MP3s, or Audible.com audiobooks via your car's speakers, instead of the Garmin's tiny speaker.

Are you looking for a stereo Bluetooth headset that works as well for music as it does for calls? After spending a week with Altec Lansing's $99 BackBeat 903, I think I've finally hit on a Bluetooth headset that can successfully juggle both tasks without breaking the bank or making me cringe.

It's hard not to be picky when it comes to technology you wear on your head. Some people can't stand headsets that pinch their ears or rub against the neck, or they hate designs that make them look like blinking Bluetooth cyborgs. There's … Read more

Audi has announced that it is giving the navigation system and MMI (Multi Media Interface) operating system in the A3, TT and R8 much needed updates for the 2010 model year.

Under the hood, Audi's navigation system gets a new 600 MHz processor that allows for faster route calculations and smoother operation. Lane guidance, topographic maps, and speed limit data make the navigation system much more useful to drivers.

Audi's USB/iPod music interface remains, for the most part, unchanged and is still optional. The only new feature is that it now charges external devices, such as iPods … Read more

We're big fans of Alpine's line of car audio receivers, particularly the mech-less media receivers like the iDA-X305 that we recently reviewed. These receivers have great interfaces and work extremely well with iPods and removable drives, but they don't really offer very many features out of the box. This is where Alpine's line of add-on modules comes in, such as the Alpine KCE-400BT Bluetooth Interface Module.

The KCE-400BT is a hideaway black box that connects to your Alpine headunit via a high-speed, proprietary Ai-NET connection to add Bluetooth connectivity. Powered by Parrot--makers of the excellent sounding … Read more

At first we found the 2009 Toyota Venza to be a bit off-putting, with its genre-bending form factor. After a week with the Venza AWD V-6, we're convinced that Toyota has hit upon an interesting sweet spot between SUV utility and sedan livability.

Once seated in its spacious cabin, we found even more to like about the Venza, including an impressive cabin tech package that features Bluetooth A2DP audio streaming and a clever center console cable-management system that had us all asking, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Make the jump to check out our full … Read more