Bluetooth And The iPad - What You Need To Know
14/05/10 06:31 Filed in: iPad Bluetooth
In a really excellent article on iPad accessories, MacWorld/Playlist offers some very important insight on choosing and using a Bluetooth headset on an iPad. Specifically, that the iPad OS currently really rewuires an A2DP stereo compatible headset for listening. And just as revealing - that only the built-in mic - and not a Bluetooth headset's microphone is CURRENTLY supported in the 3.0 version of the OS.
Audiophile Quality HandsFree Wireless Speaker for Mac iPhone iPad
19/04/10 17:04 Filed in: Hands-Free Portable Speakers
Hearing is believing when it comes to the high-end stereo Soundmatters foxLv2 Bluetooth Pocket Loudspeaker
. This is the ultimate audiophile quality compact portable Bluetooth speaker for Mac OSX Leopard, iPhone-touch, and iPad users.
If it's $199 seems a little steep - watch this video first to get a better sense of the word class engineering involved - and why "You get what you pay for"
Implementing both A2DP Bluetooth stereo audio - and Hands-free call management for cell and iPhone use, this does it all - on your desktop - within range of your iPad - or on the go. Measuring only 5.6"x2.2"x1.4" . Even the rechargable LiOn 5hr battery is integrated into a bass radiator design at the rear of the speaker to truly get frequency response down to 80HZ.
Too rich for your blood? Ponder this alternative that MacWorld.com rated #2 behind the FoxL in it's Mac Bluetooth speaker roundup: the Altec Lansing inMotion SoundBlade Speaker
. This is the ultimate audiophile quality compact portable Bluetooth speaker for Mac OSX Leopard, iPhone-touch, and iPad users.If it's $199 seems a little steep - watch this video first to get a better sense of the word class engineering involved - and why "You get what you pay for"
Implementing both A2DP Bluetooth stereo audio - and Hands-free call management for cell and iPhone use, this does it all - on your desktop - within range of your iPad - or on the go. Measuring only 5.6"x2.2"x1.4" . Even the rechargable LiOn 5hr battery is integrated into a bass radiator design at the rear of the speaker to truly get frequency response down to 80HZ.
Too rich for your blood? Ponder this alternative that MacWorld.com rated #2 behind the FoxL in it's Mac Bluetooth speaker roundup: the Altec Lansing inMotion SoundBlade Speaker
Wireless Bluetooth 2.1 Speaker for Mac, iPhone, iPad
09/04/10 18:07 Filed in: 2.1 Computer Speakers
Man Bluetooth computer speakers up to this point have been compact, portable wireless systems since Bluetooth is largely a close-range MOBILE sort of audio solution in the car and on the go. But as the Bluetooth device market matures, and as consumers continue to want the freedom of wireless connections any way they can get it - larger 2.1 stereo wireless speakers for the home and office.
Creative Labs have come up with a good wireless 2.1 home speaker system for Apple Mac users : The Inspire S2 Bluetooth audio system which features compact desktop satellite speakers - and a 19 watt subwoofer to crank out the tunes hardcore.
Creative Labs Computer Speakers
2.1 A2DP Stereo Streaming
Few Mac users will need the included Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR USB transmitter dongle that's included since Apple has made Bluetooth standard equipment on Macs for several years now. But for those with older Macintosh models, it might come in handy. The latest 2G and beyond iPhones, 2nd generation iPod Touch and now the iPad all support high-fidelity stereo Bluetooth A2DP audio now as well.
Creative Labs have come up with a good wireless 2.1 home speaker system for Apple Mac users : The Inspire S2 Bluetooth audio system which features compact desktop satellite speakers - and a 19 watt subwoofer to crank out the tunes hardcore.
Creative Labs Computer Speakers
2.1 A2DP Stereo Streaming
Few Mac users will need the included Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR USB transmitter dongle that's included since Apple has made Bluetooth standard equipment on Macs for several years now. But for those with older Macintosh models, it might come in handy. The latest 2G and beyond iPhones, 2nd generation iPod Touch and now the iPad all support high-fidelity stereo Bluetooth A2DP audio now as well.
HandsFree Bluetooth Speakers For iPhone
22/10/09 15:48 Filed in: Blue-Tooth Audio
The millions of iPhones being sold are doing good things for the Bluetooth speaker market. The somewhat 'niche' market of Bluetooth speakers - especially hands-free models with built-in microphones for cellular call management in autos - is exploding. For around the house, below are some options currently available. Expect CES - The 2010 Consumer Electronics show in January to to bring a flood of revisions and new home Bluetooth audio products to market. In the meantime:
Fiddle-Futz : Living With Mac Bluetooth Settings
20/07/09 22:37 Filed in: Bluetooth Pairing
Take a look at this great utility for your OSX Menu Bar: SoundMenu 1.5.1 (available at versiontracker.com ) -- is just a great must-have utility to save your sanity - and save extra steps trying to cope with Apple's Sound Preferences panes: This handy little menu item shows available audio out and input sources and makes switching them on the fly as easy as possible. Which is good because...
There's an awful lot of futzing involved with managing a Bluetooth headset or speaker. In this example, we've got a Sony DR-BT22 Bluetooth Wireless Stereo Headset
. The microphone built into the headset choice is straightforward, there it is in the middle section under Line-In.
But note how the Sony headset output shows up TWICE in the upper section! It takes a simple switch from one to the other to quickly realize that the FIRST entry connects to the headset using HSP - Head-Set Protocol commonly used with mobile phones -- at a low-quality rather hiss-filled so-so sound using Bluetooth's standard voice codec. Fine for talking, but not for music.
The SECOND entry (which it doesn't indicate) is the much higher quality A2DP stereo streaming setting -- and when selected, the hiss fades away and glorious full-frequency response stereo audio comes across.
There's an awful lot of futzing involved with managing a Bluetooth headset or speaker. In this example, we've got a Sony DR-BT22 Bluetooth Wireless Stereo Headset
. The microphone built into the headset choice is straightforward, there it is in the middle section under Line-In.But note how the Sony headset output shows up TWICE in the upper section! It takes a simple switch from one to the other to quickly realize that the FIRST entry connects to the headset using HSP - Head-Set Protocol commonly used with mobile phones -- at a low-quality rather hiss-filled so-so sound using Bluetooth's standard voice codec. Fine for talking, but not for music.
The SECOND entry (which it doesn't indicate) is the much higher quality A2DP stereo streaming setting -- and when selected, the hiss fades away and glorious full-frequency response stereo audio comes across.
iPhone Software 3.0 : Good Things For Bluetooth Audio
07/06/09 14:03 Filed in: iPhone Bluetooth
Apple's recent iPhone 3.0 software introduction - as well as the new iPhone 3GS - finally introduces full A2DP Bluetooth audio support. This means not just the ability to stream to stereo headsets and wireless speaker systems via Bluetooh, but A2DP's much broader range of higher quality audio codecs much more suited to music listening than some of the lower bit-rate codecs used for voice calling. Unfortunately, iPhone 3.0 software doesn't provide support for Bluetooth's Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP), which allows a Bluetooth accessory to control media playback. If you connect Bluetooth wireless headphones or to a speaker system that include playback buttons, only the Play/Pause button will work; you won't be able to skip or scan tracks or otherwise browse media content. This is just a software issue - and subsequent iPhone 3 updates may very well provide increased support for the full AVRCP protocol stack in a future update.
Here's a very affordable BT headset for under $35:
Kensington Bluetooth Stereo Headphones with Microphone
iPhone/Touch users may want to check out these articles:
Stereo Bluetooth & iPhone 3G with iPhone OS 3.0 at iLounge.com for more insights on OS 3's implementation of Bluetooth support.
MacWord's Dan Frakes' Bluetooth insights on paring, usage, glitches and gotchas you should be aware of.
Here's a very affordable BT headset for under $35:
Kensington Bluetooth Stereo Headphones with Microphone
iPhone/Touch users may want to check out these articles:
Stereo Bluetooth & iPhone 3G with iPhone OS 3.0 at iLounge.com for more insights on OS 3's implementation of Bluetooth support.
MacWord's Dan Frakes' Bluetooth insights on paring, usage, glitches and gotchas you should be aware of.
Bluetooth Audio Range : Less Than You'd Like
29/05/09 10:29 Filed in: Bluetooth Transmission
How far away can you roam from wirelss Bluetooth computer speakers? It's important to realize the Bluetooth specification is implicitly a PAN - Personal Area Network solution. It's meant for close-range 10 meter/30 feet easy connectivity to Bluetooth stereo devices
nearby - and was never intended to be a long-distance, long-haul solution. Keep that in mind as you ponder placement of your Bluetooth transmitter, speaker system - or where you wander wearing your BT headphones.
Things have gotten better: Enhancements in Bluetooth 2.0 chipsets, antenna and transmitter sensitivity, and hardware design improvements are adding up to more powerful and robust audio transmission and reception than in Bluetooth's early days. But it's important to temper your expectations. You may find that even 15 feet away you may experience drop offs, degredation and cut out once you go beyond the edge of your limits.
Bluetooth uses FHSS : frequency-hopping spread-spectrum technology to jump around frequencies. And that's a good thing: It really helps minimize the possibility of electrical-RF interference from other devices nearby. As Wkipedia so elegantly states:
nearby - and was never intended to be a long-distance, long-haul solution. Keep that in mind as you ponder placement of your Bluetooth transmitter, speaker system - or where you wander wearing your BT headphones.Things have gotten better: Enhancements in Bluetooth 2.0 chipsets, antenna and transmitter sensitivity, and hardware design improvements are adding up to more powerful and robust audio transmission and reception than in Bluetooth's early days. But it's important to temper your expectations. You may find that even 15 feet away you may experience drop offs, degredation and cut out once you go beyond the edge of your limits.
Bluetooth uses FHSS : frequency-hopping spread-spectrum technology to jump around frequencies. And that's a good thing: It really helps minimize the possibility of electrical-RF interference from other devices nearby. As Wkipedia so elegantly states:
"A spread-spectrum transmission offers three main advantages over a fixed-frequency transmission: 1. Spread-spectrum signals are highly resistant to narrow band interference The process of re-collecting a spread signal spreads out the interfering signal, causing it to recede into the background. 2. Spread-spectrum signals are difficult to intercept. An FHSS signal simply appears as an increase in the background noise to a narrowband receiver. An eavesdropper would only be able to intercept the transmission if they knew the pseudorandom sequence. 3. Spread-spectrum transmissions can share a frequency band with many types of conventional transmissions with minimal interference. The spread-spectrum signals add minimal noise to the narrow-frequency communications, and vice versa. As a result, bandwidth can be utilized more efficiently."
Softick A2DP Audio Gateway for OSX 10.4 Tiger Users
29/04/09 21:08 Filed in: Bluetooth Protocols
A missing piece for OSX 10.4 users: Enjoy stereo wirelessly with a low-cost app: Softick Audio Gateway for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger: is software which adds the Bluetooth A2DP and AVRCP profiles stack to your Mac running 10.4. It allows you to redirect your Apple Macintosh sound stream to Bluetooth stereo speakers and headpones
and listen to digital audio played by any Mac OSX application.Charging Tips For Mac Bluetooth Devices
29/04/09 13:15 Filed in: Bluetooth Charging
Bluetooth stereo devices may be powered in several ways: 1. Using standard Alkaline, Lithium or Rechargable NiMh or NiCad batteries, or from external USB cable dongle or docking station to recharge it's built-in LiOn lithium ion battery. Recent Bluetooth 2.x specs in particular, along with advances in efficient electronic circuit design helped Bluetooth gadgets manage power much more efficiently. But like any rechargable device, you often have to have a plan and strategy in place to make sure your Bluetooth devices have power when it's needed.
At Your Desktop: Have open USB ports on a good AC powered hub available for quicker recharging.
In Your Car: There's alot of low-cost charging gadgets for your auto cigarette lighter
Around The House: Given all the electronics gadgets we have in our daily lives, having a good NiMh and NiCd battery quick charger at home is just a smart, money-saving idea. Portable bluetooth speakers can eat thru batteries quick - especially at high volume levels
Out And About: There's some interesting HYBRID solar and battery-backup charging accessories out there. Ones with internal batteries that can provide emergency power in a pinch, and recharge by the sun's solar energy. These often come with a wide variety of USB and iPod and iPhone Dock cables and Nokia, Blackberry, etc cell-phone adapter tips.
may be powered in several ways: 1. Using standard Alkaline, Lithium or Rechargable NiMh or NiCad batteries, or from external USB cable dongle or docking station to recharge it's built-in LiOn lithium ion battery. Recent Bluetooth 2.x specs in particular, along with advances in efficient electronic circuit design helped Bluetooth gadgets manage power much more efficiently. But like any rechargable device, you often have to have a plan and strategy in place to make sure your Bluetooth devices have power when it's needed.At Your Desktop: Have open USB ports on a good AC powered hub available for quicker recharging.
In Your Car: There's alot of low-cost charging gadgets for your auto cigarette lighter
Around The House: Given all the electronics gadgets we have in our daily lives, having a good NiMh and NiCd battery quick charger at home is just a smart, money-saving idea. Portable bluetooth speakers can eat thru batteries quick - especially at high volume levels
Out And About: There's some interesting HYBRID solar and battery-backup charging accessories out there. Ones with internal batteries that can provide emergency power in a pinch, and recharge by the sun's solar energy. These often come with a wide variety of USB and iPod and iPhone Dock cables and Nokia, Blackberry, etc cell-phone adapter tips.
Easy Mac Setup For A2DP Bluetooth Devices
28/04/09 13:04 Filed in: Bluetooth Pairing
Apple introduced Bluetooth support starting in OSX 10.2 Back then when buillt-in Bluetooth stereo device
hardware wasn't available in all Macintosh models, Apple recommended the D-Link BT-02 USB dongle which is officially supported. Fast forward to Bluetooth support on OSX 10.4 Tiger and 10.5 Leopard: Apple's Setup Assistant now supports an ever growing list of supported devices - and now includes advanced Bluethooth 2.1 EDR 2.0 Specification built-in to the Bluetooth hardware now standard on all shipping Mac models.