Geekzone Reviews the i-Phono Mini Bluetooth Stereo Headset

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?ContentId=5626' target='_blank'>http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.a...?ContentId=5626</a><br /><br /></div><i>"What a difference a few months make. The new Bluetake i-Phono Mini Bluetooth Stereo Headset (BT450Rx) is so small and practical, that when comparing this new model with the previous Bluetake i-Phono it makes the old one look gigantic! I have been using the Mini Bluetooth Stereo Headset BT450Rx for a while now, and it is a great companion to any Bluetooth device."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/ekkie_geekzone_iphono_bt450rx.jpg" /><br /><br />While there is absolutely no selection shortage of Bluetooth headsets designed for standard cellular conversations, the current selection of Bluetooth stereo headsets is still quite pitiful. The initial models that I have seen have been somewhat of a turn-off from a design perspective. Perhaps this market is ready to turn a corner? Geekzone takes a quick look at the latest i-Phono release and appears to come away impressed. The headset itself looks quite similar to some of the more comfortable headsets that I had grown accustomed while in Japan a few years back, which is a plus. So has anyone else had a chance to try these? Give us your thoughts!

[ricksfiona]

I've been eyeing these for a while now... Maybe a Christmas present :wink:

[alabij]

I have them. l use them with my IPaq 6315. the stereo sound quality is ok. the sound quality is ok.
The only problem I have is that my Ipaq has difficulty switching between the Iphono stereo and mono phone profiles.
I downloaded the HP A2DP profile.
Oh! They are very loud too.

[aNiMeMaN14]

so for PPC phones, i can use this to listen to music, as well as talk on the phone? pardon my stupidity

[alabij]

so for PPC phones, i can use this to listen to music, as well as talk on the phone? pardon my stupidity


Exactly! BUT your phonePDA must have an A2DP profile to handle high quality stereo and a remote control profile too.

[Sven Johannsen]

BUT your phonePDA must have an A2DP profile to handle high quality stereo and a remote control profile too.

And there are precious few of these around. HP has the A2DP available for some of their products primarily to work with their own BT stereo headset. While Motorola make a BT steeo headset that supports both the HiFi Audio and handsfree profiles I think there is only one Motorola phone that supports A2DP currently.

The majority of these BT stereo headsets, presently depend on a transmitter module that plugs into the headphone jack of your media device.

Hopefully this will change. MS AKU2 which is mostly tauted for the MSFP will also contain A2DP as one of the BT changes, at least for devices using the MS stack. Broadcom/widcom does support the A2DP, but it seems to have been left out of many implementations at this point.

We have been in a chicken and egg situation for a while. No reason to build a stereo headset since nothing supported the profile. No reason to support the profile as there weren't any headsets. Seems to be breaking loose, though. Hurray.

BTW, there isn't exactly a remote control profile. Remote control features are part of A2DP. It certainly includes things like play/pause, skip/back. I actually don't think volume is supported. Each of the three headsets I have, control the volume directly on the headset, they don't move the volume on the device, PPC, PC.

[arkasha]

I've them. Great experience. I agree with the post about the volume, too loud, and remember that the remote control works with WMP only (not PocketMusic, e.g.)

Bye

[Rubberman]

In one of the previous posts (I believe from alabij) he indicated he downloaded the latest A2DP profile. Can someone tell me where can I get this for my Ipaq 4700? Thanks. Regards, G.W. Quigley

[alabij]

In one of the previous posts (I believe from alabij) he indicated he downloaded the latest A2DP profile. Can someone tell me where can I get this for my Ipaq 4700? Thanks. Regards, G.W. Quigley

Unfortunately I don't have the direct link but its on the HP website. Search for bluetooth headset drivers.

It should come up.

[gibson042]

This is a great product that I'm very excited about. I loved the BT420 (though I never got a pair), and the BT450Rx—being smaller and supporting the limited play/pause/forward/back remote control functionality of A2DP—is even better! The only potential improvements I can see are both minor: noise cancellation; and a way to disconnect the two headphones (for use as a normal Bluetooth headset). C'mon Santa, bring me a pair of these!

Oh, and just for clarification/education: Bluetooth does include the Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP) (http://www.palowireless.com/bluearticles/cc5_newprofiles.asp), but it has even less penetration than A2DP. To be honest, though, that isn't really a big drawback yet because A2DP can handle pretty much everything one would expect from headphones.

[Sven Johannsen]

Oh, and just for clarification/education: Bluetooth does include the Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP) (http://www.palowireless.com/bluearticles/cc5_newprofiles.asp).
Ah, OK. That isn't what's being used by the headsets though for those that might be concerned. As was sort of pointed out though, the player on the PPC must recognize the few commands supported within A2DP. I can confirm that WMP on the desktop (given a BT capability that supports A2DP) and on the PPC (same caveat) both do. I thought I had read of some others working, but don't recall which one(s).

[gibson042]

Right. Mono headsets use HFP and/or the inferior HSP, and stereo headphones use A2DP (which includes basic playback control that should be compatible with every media player on a supported OS, through key mapping if not natively). Combination headset/headphones like Bluetake's use both types of profile. AVRCP could be used in headphones, but it's really overkill. In my opinion, AVRCP will really shine for DVRs and the like.

[Tigeraif]

Does this replace normal headsets attached to the computer? I have a bluetooth enable laptop which I use for gaming.

Will this headset work with teamspeak and in game sounds or does it only work with WM?

Gary

[Darius Wey]

Does this replace normal headsets attached to the computer? I have a bluetooth enable laptop which I use for gaming.

If your laptop is using a set of drivers which supports the A2DP profile (i.e. for stereo headsets), then it should work fine.

Will this headset work with teamspeak and in game sounds or does it only work with WM?

Yes, it should. TS and in-game sounds pass one-way through the audio-out channel, so if it's routed to the headset, you should hear all incoming sounds.

[Tigeraif]

I finally purchased the BT450Rx.

I can pair and get it to work with my 6515 with no problems but when I pair it with my laptop and connect the headset to the laptop via bluetooth all I get is the led on the headset flashing alternately red and blue very quickly and I get a louad noise from the headset.

I have been looking around for some assitance but there isn't much out there.

Can anyone help me?

[Darius Wey]

...but when I pair it with my laptop and connect the headset to the laptop via bluetooth all I get is the led on the headset flashing alternately red and blue very quickly and I get a louad noise from the headset.

How far into the pairing process do you get? Have you been prompted for the passkey? If so, enter 0000.