Yesterday saw the release of a major software update for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The update brought over 100 new features, but one of the best new features is that the iPhone 3G and 2nd generation iPod Touch now support Stereo Bluetooth. Stereo Bluetooth lets you enjoy your music in stereo and without wires connecting to your phone. As Stereo Bluetooth has been around for years there are plenty of Stereo Bluetooth Headsets to choose from.
Thereare a couple of points that you’ll need to remember though, the iPhone and iPod Touch support the A2DP profile only. If you have an iPhone this means you can answer & end calls, play / pause your music, but not control it fully. If you have an iPod Touch 2G then you will be able to play / pause your music and adjust the volume, but you won’t be able to use these headsets with any of your VOIP apps (such as Skype) on your iPod.
In order for you to be able to control your music fully, the iPhone or iPod Touch would need to support the AVRCP profile – hopefully we’ll see this in a future software update from Apple. Stereo Bluetooth is not available on the first generation iPhone or iPod Touch.
UPDATE: It appears that volume control when using a Bluetooth Headset is a bit of a mystery – it works on some headsets, but not on others. We’ve tested the headsets shown here and listed whether or not the volume levels can be adjusted.
Right, on to the headsets! With so many to choose from, it can get a bit overwhelming, so I’ve been through our current range of Bluetooth Headphones and compiled a list of my top 5 Bluetooth Headphones for the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3G S and iPod Touch 2G.
Sony Ericsson HBH-IS800 Stereo Bluetooth Headphones
Sony Ericsson IS-800 Stereo Bluetooth Headset These are without doubt my favourite Bluetooth Headphones, hence they’re at number 1 in my list. It’s incredibly small, and although it still has a wire, the IS-800 is pretty much the only headset that doesn’t feature a fairly bulky control unit. Instead this has a small, simple in-line control that allows you to answer and end calls. Battery life is impressive at upto 270 hours – especially considering how small this headset is. The IS-800 doesn’t support AVCRP, which in this case is a good thing as it means you’re not going to be paying for features that you can’t use. Volume levels are currently fixed when using this headset, but hopefully a fix from Apple is on the way.
Sony Ericsson HBH-DS200 Stereo Bluetooth Headset
Sony Ericsson DS200 Stereo Bluetooth Headset The DS-200 is designed to hang around your neck in a similar way to the Jabra BT3030. It comes with ‘in ear’ style headphones that can be replaced with any standard headphones with a 3.5mm jack plug. Battery life is great with upto 300 hours stand by and 6 hours of music play back, and an LCD Display will let you know when you’re running low. This headset allows you to control the volume levels by pressing and holding the play button.
Jabra BT3030 Stereo Bluetooth Headset
Jabra BT3030 Stereo Bluetooth Headset The Jabra BT3030 is probably more suited to the iPod Touch than the iPhone. The reason I say that is because the BT3030 is a Multipoint Headset – this allows you to connect to two devices at once, so you can connect it to your mobile phone and your iPod Touch to listen to your music, and when a call comes in, it will pause the music and answer the call from your mobile. It hangs around your neck on a chain or can clip to your belt or pocket, and can be used with any 3.5mm headphones. Volume control on the BT3030 is not a problem, press the ‘+’ or ‘-’ keys to adjust the volume.
These are probably the most normal looking headphones of the bunch. They’re solid, comfortable and well built and have the best battery life out of all the headphones listed here with up to 19 hours of music playback, 18 hours of talk time and 2 weeks standby. Sound quality is excellent and set up is incredibly easy. Volume is controlled using a slider on the base of one of the ear cans and worked as you’d expect.
Nokia BH-501 Stereo Bluetooth Headphones
Nokia BH-501 Stereo Bluetooth Headset
The baby brother to the BH-604. A smaller more compact design that goes around your head rather than over it, and folds away neatly when not in use. The controls for music and calls are mounted on the outside of the earpiece and are easy to use. One of the more comfortable headsets thanks to the large, padded earphones. We weren’t able to test the volume control on the BH-501, but as all Nokia Headsets work in the same way, we would expect the volume controls to work perfectly fine on this headset.
This isn’t the full range of Stereo Bluetooth Headsets for the iPhone and iPod Touch, so if you’ve not seen one here that does what you want, take a look at all our Stereo Bluetooth Headsets.
We’ve tested these headsets with a 2nd Generation iPod Touch running OS 3.0 and can confirm that the microphone on a Stereo Bluetooth Headset will work with VOIP apps on an iPod Touch.
If you’ve got any questions or queries about Stereo Bluetooth on the iPhone get in touch with us using the comments form below!
iPhone software 3.0 Beta 1 is now available to developers, and as we couldn’t wait to get our hands on it, we asked our guest reviewer Darryl Mitchell to have a play with the new software and let us know what’s new and if it’s any good. This is his review:
I’m going to start with the Home screen and work my way through. The new things about the home screen that are noticeable so far is there are a few new icons. Its not all that noticeable, but the phone icon, the ipod icon and the messages icon have changed, and now have a more contemporary brushed effect. You’ve also got the new spotlight feature which is really helpful if you want to search for songs, emails or contacts, it searches everything. You just swipe to the right and it brings up the spotlight search screen. Its a really good feature and is surprisingly fast, I thought it was going to lag for quite some time, but it’s quick and snappy. That is it for the new home screen.
Moving on to the phone features, there’s not much added to the this bit, however, when you get a missed call or it shows you your recent calls, it now shows you what they called you from, for example if you called them on their mobile, or work phone you can now see this in the Recent calls screen. So that’s a really easy way of showing where they called you from.
Considering they only do one phone, the amount of attention drawn to the Apple iPhone is quite surprising, and at this time of year the Apple rumour mill kicks into overdrive. Apple are well known for introducing yearly updates for most of its products. The iPod for example has been updated around September almost every year since its introduction. It seems as though Apple are keen to follow in the iPod’s footsteps by announcing a new iPhone around June/July. We had the first generation iPhone announced in July 2007, and the current iPhone 3G was announced last June at their annual Developers Conference (WWDC).
Apple have just announced that this years Developers Conference is scheduled for the 8th June, and its already been discovered in the code of the new iPhone 3.0 operating system that there could be 2 new iPhones and 2 new iPod Touch models being announced. So what are we likely to see?
UPDATE: Apple have confirmed that the iPhone 3.0 software update will be available to download on the 17th June and will be free for iPhone users and there will be a small charge for iPod Touch users. More Information
In case you may have missed it, yesterday, Apple announced a new version of its iPhone software (iPhone 3.0) that also runs on the iPod touch. While a lot of the new features will only be available on the iPhone, there are a few new features that will make it onto the iPod Touch.
Applications will be smarter and able to do more, Copy & Paste will be added for email, but probably the most exciting addition to the iPod Touch (and iPhone 3G) is the introduction of Stereo Bluetooth that will allow you to listen to your music using Bluetooth Headphones, Bluetooth Car Kits and Stereo Bluetooth Speakers.
Did you say Bluetooth? On an iPod Touch?
You might be thinking I’m going a little bit crazy as the iPod Touch doesn’t have Bluetooth. Well, no I’m not crazy, the iPod Touch 2G does infact have Bluetooth built in, but Apple chose not to use it.
When the 2nd Generation iPod Touch launched last September, several people decided to take it to pieces and examine the components. Amongst them they found a Bluetooth chip, that until iPhone 3.0, has been lying dormant. This new version of the operating system will enable the chip to allow Bluetooth connections for peer-to-peer connections and the use of Stereo Bluetooth accessories.
Great news for all you music fans who are fed up of getting tangled in cables. Looks like its time to dig out my Motorola S9’s.
Apple are still to confirm whether you will be able to control your music using controls on Bluetooth Headphones, or whether it is only going to play music, either way its still an unexpected feature that will be more than welcome on the iPod Touch & iPhone 3G. The only bad news is that Stereo Bluetooth is not going to be available on the first generation iPod Touch or iPhone.
iPhone 3.0 will be a free upgrade to iPhone users and is expected to be available in June this year. iPod Touch users will have to pay a small fee for the software, which I’m guessing will be around £15.
Since Apple launched their original iPod back in October 2001, the range has grown and evolved. Although iPod’s look fairly similar, each one is individual, and has its own range of accessories. Here you can determine which iPod you have, and find out what accessories are available for it.
What does the “G” mean? When Apple launched the early iPod’s, they weren’t given names like they are today. The original iPod was replaced by a newer model also called iPod. As the newer model had several advanced features over its predecessor, it was dubbed the new generation of iPod, this over time change to 2nd Generation, which in turn got shortened to 2G.
The number preceding the “G” just determines where that particular model sits in the range of iPods. Even now with the Nano iPod, we are seeing 2nd and 3rd Generation models. The original style of iPod is now called the iPod Classic, and no doubt as time goes on, more generations will follow. The only exception to this is the iPhone 3G, where the 3G refers to the technology within the phone, and not the generation of iPhone.
Fed up of cables trailing across your desk? Do you find yourself constantly crawling under your desk to find the end of your charger? Well this Wireless Charging Pad from WildCharge could be the answer that you’re looking for.
Wireless Charging has been floating around for a while, but never really taken off until now. WildCharge is a simple concept. You have a charging pad that is connected to the mains, and a protective skin for your phone that has built in contacts to supply the power to the battery. To charge your phone, simply place it on the pad. It doesn’t matter how your phone is placed on the pad, as long as its facing upwards. The pad is completely safe and can be touched with no risk of getting a shock.
Now, I have to admit I was a bit weary of wireless charging, but was extremely surprised at how well it works. As soon as your phone is placed on the pad it starts charging, and charge times are the about the same as they would be using a standard charger.
The WildCharge is available now for the BlackBerry Pearl and BlackBerry Curve and is priced at £49.95. Replacement charging skins will be available to purchase separately, so when you replace your phone, you’ll only need to replace the skin. Wireless charging for the iPhone and iPod Touch are coming very soon.
Check out the Video below to see the WildCharge in action.
Parrot have just announced a fantastic new range of in-car handsfree kits. The MKi range is a unique Bluetooth hands-free car kit that can be fitted to most vehicles. It combines the latest communication technologies with a full set of services dedicated to music and are fully compatible with all iPod’s. There are three versions of the MKi Kit, all based on the same setup. The Parrot MKi kits connect to your car audio system and deliver hi-quality conversations whatever the conditions are. All versions of the MKi offer self-learning voice recognition, contact search and text-to speech and come with a multi-functional remote that you can use to answer calls, adjust the volume and control your music. Parrot are also due to launch a new, optional MultiCAN accessory that will allow you to use steering-mounted controls to handle calls where applicable.
The Parrot MKi9000 features an external double microphone and new software which eliminates environmental and in-car noises with full-duplex and zero-echo crystal clear conversations. It includes an independent RF remote control which enables you to take complete control at the touch of a button. The MKi system is supplied with a music cable which enables you to connect your music player via USB or using a 3.5mm cable. The MKi9000 also supports streaming music over Bluetooth from any A2DP enabled device. Order the Parrot MKi9000.
The Parrot MKi9100 has the same specifications as the MKi9000, but with the addition of a blue OLED display screen that lets you see the callers name and number when receiving a call. When you connect your music player to the MKi9100 using USB or Bluetooth and the MKi9100 will display the track title and artist on the screen. The Display screen can be removed easily for added security. Order the Parrot MKi9100.
The Parrot MKi9200 supports all the features on the MKi9000, with the addition of a 2.4 inch colour screen. With the colour screen you can assign photos to contacts, set a background wallpaper, see playlists and album covers. The display screen also has a built in SDHC Memory Card reader, supporting memory cards upto 32GB – completely eliminating the need for a seperate music player. Simply store all the music you want on your memory card, and play it directly from the MKi9200. Order the Parrot MKi9200.
If you’re looking at getting a car kit, don’t forget to check out our guide on Car Kit accessories.
Whether you are a phone user or a gadget lover, one of the most annoying things about getting a new device is having to replace all of your chargers. For my current phone I’ve got a car charger, a spare mains charger at work and a USB charging cable that I carry around in my laptop bag. But what if I carried my iPod and PSP with me, or if my Bluetooth Headset takes a different charging connector to my phone – thats another charger I’d need to carry around with me! Thankfully PowerBloks make it easier to charge multiple devices with just one charger.
PowerBloks are simple adapters that convert any standard Mini USB cable into a USB charging cable, and can also be used to convert Mini USB Mains and Car chargers to work with your device. This is great news, as it completely removes the need to have a seperate charger for each device you own. I’m pretty sure that you will already have a spare Mini USB cable lying around at home that you can use to charge your phone, MP3 Player or games console – they even work on the new iPhone 3G. If you want to use this cable in the car or at work, just connect your cable to a USB Mains Adapter or USB Car Charger Adapter and you’ve got a fully functional charger that you can update as often as you like for a fraction of the cost!
When you’re in the car you can now use the same charger on your TomTom, your phone, your iPod and your Bluetooth Headset, just change the PowerBlok adapter to switch between devices.
PowerBloks are available now for Classic Nokia, Nokia 2mm, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Sony PSP, iPod and iPhone, with other manufacturers due shortly. We’re looking at putting together some bundle packs on the tips – which ones do you think we should do? What other devices should we offer adapters for? Feel free to add your suggestions below!
According to developers who have been dissecting the latest version (2.1) of the iPhone/iPod Touch software, we’re about to get a brand new iPod Touch. The current iPod Touch has previously been referred to in the source code as “iPod1,1″, but the latest software points to a device “iPod2,1″ – and as of yet no such device exists, so leading developers believe a new iPod is not that far away.
This may not mean a lot to most people, and you would be right for thinking that this might just mean a larger capacity iPod Touch coming, but a change in source code has not meant a change in capacity in previous models!
So what are we likely to see then? An all new iPod Nano Touch? A Shuffle Touch? I don’t think we’ll have that long to wait to find out as Apple normally update their iPod line up around September. So as the kids go back to school and you start thinking about Christmas , watch our for some big announcements.
(6 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
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I’m going to start with the Home screen and work my way through. The new things about the home screen that are noticeable so far is there are a few new icons. Its not all that noticeable, but the phone icon, the ipod icon and the messages icon have changed, and now have a more contemporary brushed effect. You’ve also got the new spotlight feature which is really helpful if you want to search for songs, emails or contacts, it searches everything. You just swipe to the right and it brings up the spotlight search screen. Its a really good feature and is surprisingly fast, I thought it was going to lag for quite some time, but it’s quick and snappy. That is it for the new home screen.
In case you may have missed it, yesterday, Apple announced a new version of its iPhone software (iPhone 3.0) that also runs on the iPod touch. While a lot of the new features will only be available on the iPhone, there are a few new features that will make it onto the iPod Touch.
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