Jabra BT8010: Non-geeky Stereo Headset

A few months ago I had a chance to review a wireless bluetooth stereo headset for Mobile. I loved the freedom of listening to music without wires. However that particular headset was too bulky and made me feel like a Borg whenever I need to walk around.


Now Jabra is releasing a new wireless bluetooth stereo headset that *may* be a bit more wearable than its predecessor... the Jabra BT8010. It is actually a "convertible" setup where a user may use one for doing phone calls, and then connect the other one for listening to music. Costing $149 (around Php 7,500), this gadget is on my wishlist for my next bonus!

NextGen Windows Mobile Screens Leaked: Ho hum!

MSMobileNews has leaked some screenshots of the upcoming Windows Mobile version code named "CrossBow". They look, well, Windows.

I've been "lucky" enough to used at least three "flavors" of Windows Mobile and I can say that even though the latest version is their most stable so far, it has yet to reach the level of "maturity" where normal, non-geek users would be comfortable in using it. Despite its stability compared to earlier versions, it has yet to reach a point where a users can simply turn it on and forget it -- it still needs a regular reset to maintain a certain zippyness. And my biggest gripe against Windows Mobile? Its need for an "installer" before one can add an application -- a category where PalmOS still shine.

Rumors has it that "Crossbow" will be available in the first or second quarter of next year. Will it be better than the present offering of Microsoft in the Portable Digital Assistant (PDA) arena? I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

Wibree: Yet Another Wireless Standard?

In the "olden days" (as my 6-year-old kid refer to any time beyond last year) Nokia started churning out cellphones with Ir (Infra-red) connectivity. However, these early model cellphones didn't seem to follow the Ir standards since it was very difficult to connect them to other devices such as a Palm PDA or even a computer. Nokia eventually got it right and now, most of their devices uses standard Ir connectivity standards which allows it to communicate with other devices wirelessly. They also came out with BlueTooth phones which also allows them to wirelessly communicate with other mobile devices.

With BlueTooth reaching its maturity, the computer industry is poised to launch a new, presumably faster, wireless connectivity standard called Wireless USB. But with the wireless USB standard still up in the proverbial "air", Nokia is proposing different standard called Wibree (not to be confused with WiBro) which is supposed to be some soft of "Bluetooth-on-steroids" kind of thing.

I can see it now, a battle royale between the tried and tested BlueTooth, battling the upstart Wireless USB and Nokia's Wibree. Who will win this wireless standard free for all?

I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

hField WiFire: Extending Wi-Fi Sans the Pringles Cantenna

It looks like somebody has took notice of the need to extend wi-fi signals and did something about it. It used to be that the only solution to the problem of extending wi-fi access to beyond the 100 ft. range is to use a Pringles cantenna but a startup company called hField has now released their Wi-Fire wi-fi range extender.



The Wi-Fire is a directional antenna that can be attached to any computer through the USB port. To get a signal, the user must point the antenna towards the nearest wi-fi access point.