PocketNow Reviews the Nextlink Invisio Mobile

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=reviews&id=680' target='_blank'>http://pocketnow.com/index.php?a=po...=reviews&id=680</a><br /><br /></div><i>"One problem with mobile phone voice communications is that people can be in very noisy environments when they're out and about... Some headset manufacturers have created software based noise canceling headsets that aim to reduce the ambient noise by focusing on the speaker's voice. Nextlink on the other hand has significantly reduced ambient noise by putting the microphone "inside your head" (via bone conduction) where there is no outside noise."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/ekkie_Invisi41.jpg" /><br /><br />Now THAT is a term that I never imagined I would associate to technology... bone conduction. Nextlink sure isn't short on ideas when it comes to headsets. This latest offering comes with a pricetag that'll set you back more than $300. Is the cost justified? Head on over to PocketNow to get their full opinion.

[Sven Johannsen]

"... by putting the microphone "inside your head"..."

Isn't that going to pick up the voices in my head though. :twisted:

[OSUKid7]

I was sold until I read this:
The Invisio Mobile can be purchased at the Nextlink.to Online Shop for $325. You can also find it at some other online retailers such as Impact Wireless which sells it for $399.
:( Little rich for my taste.

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

"... by putting the microphone "inside your head"..."
Isn't that going to pick up the voices in my head though. :twisted:
:lol:

Freak!

[PetiteFlower]

I'll tell you who WOULD think one of these was worth it - a doctor who wants to dictate his/her notes/reports while driving or doing anything other then sitting in a quiet room without moving. There are some doctors that my company works with who like to do this and their reports come back from the dictation service all full of blank spaces where the transcriber couldn't understand them!

[Darius Wey]

Now THAT is a term that I never imagined I would associate to technology... bone conduction.

At least they've focused on an aspect of hearing other than air conduction, because ideally, this might be suitable for those with AC hearing difficulties. I'm surprised there aren't more of these out there.

[ctmagnus]

OT:

AC hearing difficulties

What's AC? Acute is the only thing I can think of.

[saru83]

Couldnt open the articale :cry: !! so is this a Bluetooth Headset? coz if so, then THIS THING ROCKS :rock on dude!: , coz its freaking small and the price tag is worth it...!!

[Darius Wey]

What's AC? Acute is the only thing I can think of.

Air conductive. Actually, it's better to reference it as a conductive loss in hearing, in contrast to a sensorineural loss in hearing.

Anyway, this is REALLY off-topic. :lol:

[ricksfiona]

The idea isn't that new. There is a device for swimmers that uses bone conduction which allows them to listen to music while they swim. I read about that in a magazine this month.

[Gerard]

Anyone remember the "Bone Fone" - advertised in the 1979/1980 editions of OMNI magazine? It looked sort of like a stiff white towel thing, slung around the neck and contacting the collarbones, supposedly getting audio vibes into the skeleton and eventually up to the ears. They called it 'bone induction' if recollection serves.

I never got to try one. Seems I heard some years later that in fact they had a little ceramic speaker on each dangling bar, and that it made for a sort of portable pair of speakers. The listening was all via air transit, not bone. Just third hand stuff though...

[beq]

Some posters here are mentioning bone conduction to replace the speaker part (ie. to hear with) as opposed to replacing the microphone part that is used by this Nextlink headset?

So you can use bone conduction for both then? That'd be pretty neat...

[adamz]

The idea isn't that new. There is a device for swimmers that uses bone conduction which allows them to listen to music while they swim. I read about that in a magazine this month.

Is this (http://store.finisinc.com/item_detail.aspx?ItemCode=130001) what you're talking about? I would think your ears can pick up vibrations in the air and water better than they can through bone structures.

But yes, bone conduction for voice pick-up isn't new either. Nextlink's Invisio line of products has been available to law-enforcement, emergency services, and government personnel for years. What is new is that now anyone can purchase this type of headset for use with their mobile phone or PDA.

[PetiteFlower]

Off topic...

Water is a very poor conducter of sound, at least to our ears. Ever tried to talk to someone underwater? Can't really do it. The bones in your skull, however (right behind the ears) is a very good conducter of sound, since it's pretty much right next to all the essential structures in your ear.

[Gerard]

Ever tried to talk to someone underwater? Can't really do it.

That's a problem of your vocal cords being in air, and the air/water transition not being a good one for sound propagation. Sound travels with vastly more efficiency in water-to-water scenarios. Witness cetacean communication over many miles, etc.

[PetiteFlower]

Right, but even when you're underwater your ear canals still have air in them (at least they should if you don't want to get swimmer's ear!), so I can't see how water conduction could work.