speakerphone

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

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

The most interesting thing about Yamaha's new speakerphone isn't its VoIP technology, which Engadget notes is actually trailing the competition. Nor is it the 1.25-pound size, though that's certainly preferably to the spaceship-sized models that still dominate so many conferece rooms. And its USB connection? What doesn't have a USB connection these days?

No, what we like most about the PJP-25UR is its Transformer impersonation. In its compact form, the unit appears to be an innocuous triangular box, maybe a USB hub. But look! It has two arm-like microphones that swing out to reveal its … Read more

If you've decided that you actually like creepy gadgets like eyeball-shaped speakers, you might find the following item a perfect accompaniment for you Addams Family household: a speakerphone with mechanical moving lips.

Going by the deceptively innocuous name of the "Hands-Free Desk Lips," this nightmare-inducing device clips onto any mobile handset and reacts accordingly when the caller begins to talk, according to Uber-Review. What makes it weirder still is its flat, eyeless head, which makes it look something like a miniature monster from Alien. Maybe that's why it goes so well with the eyeball speakers. If … Read more

As the evolutionary convergence of the mobile phone and media player forges ahead, so too do accessories that play to both camps. The "B-Tube" from Linx, for example, is a portable stereo that can be used as a sound system or a speakerphone.

Using Bluetooth 2.0 connections, the aluminum cylinder can transfer MP3 music wirelessly from a phone or computer or allow hands-free conversations with its built-in microphone. TechShout says it's also small enough to be stored "just about anywhere." Just be careful not to mistake it for a cigar tube.

BlueAnt is an Australian company specializing in Bluetooth products, and it has been slowly making a name for itself in the American marketplace as well. We've even reviewed several of its more popular headsets, the X3 Micro and the T8 Micro for example. Well, the company has released a new Bluetooth speakerphone at CTIA this week, called the BlueAnt Supertooth Light, a Bluetooth speakerphone to be used in the car for easier hands-free driving. A full-duplex, high-performance speaker with clear voice capture and noise cancellation, it is designed to fit neatly onto your car's visor. It has a … Read more

Our somewhat unhealthy obsession over wireless speakers notwithstanding, we now see that we totally overlooked a related technology in the workplace: the wireless speakerphone.

Even the best speakerphones seem to require people leaning over with their noses in the microphone to ensure that they're heard. (It can be quite undignified.) And when the boss speaks, a gaggle of minions invariably rush to place it in front of him--often dragging cords and knocking over cell phones and coffee mugs in the process.

That can all be a thing of the past with a new wireless speakerphone from Panasonic and Willcom, … Read more