bluetooth

Bluetooth developer Open Interface announced today that it has a new lossless audio codec that leaves the existing A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) standard in the dust. The codec is called SoundAbout Lossless and promises low-latency, low-complexity, multichannel Bluetooth audio, without compromising audio fidelity. Open Interface's Chief Operating Officer Rick Romatowski ran a demo of the new Bluetooth codec at our CNET offices last week, and we were definitely impressed. Jasmine France and I viewed a few scenes from House of Flying Daggers and were blown away by both the sound quality and the undetectable latency introduced by the … Read more

Musician and inventor Aleksei R. Stevens has created a concept product called the SoundBall. The SoundBall is a soccer ball that is filled with motion sensors that detect when the ball is being rolled, dropped, kicked, or spun. The motion data is then transmitted over Bluetooth to a local computer that bleeps out corresponding electronic noises.

My guess is that he's got some kind of Arduino or Parallax board inside the ball and Cycling '74 Max/MSP music software running on his computer. Whatever he's using, it looks like a fun way to kill some time and annoy … Read more

LORDSBURG, N.M.--Sometimes, as in climbing Mount Everest, you have to do something just because you can.

For more than a week now, I've been carting a box full of high-tech gear with me on Road Trip 2007, my sojourn around the Southwest.

One of the gadgets in that box is the Hewlett-Packard Deskjet 460 wbt, a mobile, Bluetooth-enabled printer designed for the road warrior. I guess I count as one of those.

That's why, in the middle of my drive from Tucson, Ariz., to White Sands National Monument near Las Cruces, N.M., I decided to … Read more

I've come to the conclusion that the iPhone is a very picky Bluetooth dater. It doesn't like its own kind. It doesn't like MacBooks. And it gives mixed signals toward my car. Maybe it's just not into it. I'm not sure; time will tell.

I came to these conclusions playing matchmaker while testing out the iPhone's Bluetooth capabilities with various Bluetooth-enabled devices. First my car, then my friend Max's iPhone and my friend Max's new MacBook.

Date No. 1: My Bimmer

The iPhone hasn't even launched yet and there are already dozens--if not hundreds--of iPhone accessories ready to be purchased. Sure, most of them are universal dock iPod accessories that happen to be iPhone-compatible, but there are also quite a few that were made with the iPhone in mind. From Apple's own Bluetooth headset and iPhone dock to a plethora of cases and headphone adapters, it looks like new iPhone owners will be spoiled for choice when it comes to the right accessory for their brand-new cell phone. Here are just a few that have caught our eyes recently. … Read more

A couple of small--but I think somewhat serious--issues regarding the audio output of the iPhone have been percolating on the Web for the last week or so. The issues involve the iPhone's headphone/headset jack and the phone's ability to output stereo sound via Bluetooth.

Let's start with the headphone jack. In Walt Mossberg and Katherine Boehret's iPhone review for the Wall Street Journal, they state, "The headphone jack, which supports both stereo music and phone calls, is deeply recessed, so you may need an adapter for existing headphones." Why the port would be … Read more

When Apple fans across the country flock to their neighborhood Apple Store to pick up their shiny new iPhone next Friday, they'll also have the opportunity to buy a Jawbone Bluetooth headset to go along with it. That's right; the Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth headset will be sold alongside the iPhone at all Apple Stores (plus Apple's online store) starting June 29, 2007. Designed by Yves Behar and decked out with military-grade noise-canceling technology, the Jawbone is certainly no slouch in the design and performance department, but we can't help but wonder whatever happened to Apple's own Bluetooth headset that Steve Jobs showed at MacWorld … Read more

Not content to rest easy after its announcement of a slew of new cell phones and a Bluetooth watch, Sony Ericsson has also announced several new accessories as well. They are all music-related in some way or another, starting off with the MDS-65 Music Desk Stand, which acts as a portable speaker of sorts for your Sony Walkman phone, and the MMR-70 FM transmitter for playing music on a nearby FM radio.

And what's a cell phone accessory announcement without a few headsets? The HBH-DS200 is the only stereo Bluetooth headset in the group, and it has a few … Read more

Sony Ericsson today took the wraps off six new cell phones and three Bluetooth watches. The phones include two Walkman models, a Cyber-shot model for the North American market (yay!), a 3G handset for our European friends, a mid-range camera phone, and a basic mobile phone.

The three Bluetooth watches put some basic cell phone controls on your wrist. You can view caller ID, reject calls, or adjust the audio volume. Check them out in our slide show.