Bluetooth headsets, bluetooth accessories for cell phones and smartphones

“Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth Headset- Silver/Grey” ()

“Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth Headset- Grey [Bulk/Generic Packaging]” ()

These days, it seems that wireless Bluetooth headsets are a dime a dozen, but Aliph’s Jawbone stands apart from the pack not only due to its unique looks but also thanks to some seriously amazing noise canceling technology. Originally developed for DARPA (The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) to create a communication headset that would pick up voice in hostile environments, the Jawbone offers some of the best clarity from a Bluetooth headset we’ve experienced. This version comes in gray, but it’s also available in red and black.

Sophisticated modern industrial style meets the next step in audio technology with the Jawbone Bluetooth headset.

It can be worn on either ear, and you can customize your fit by choosing from one of the included earloops and earbuds.

The first thing you notice about this headset is its rather chunky size and cheese grater-like texturing on the exterior. Designed by Yves Behar, an award-winning industrial designer who also contributed to the design of the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child, aka the $100 Laptop), the Jawbone certainly has that iconic modern look that will be copied for years to come. It’s also a bit large on the face (due to the embedded technology and speech sensor), which reminded us of Lando Calrissian’s assistant, Lobot. But then there’s no easy way to disguise a Bluetooth headset, and it’s probably an advantage as passersby won’t think you’re just muttering crazily to yourself.

The Jawbone can be worn on either ear, and it comes with four earloops of varying sizes to fit your lobe. Made of solid metal with a rubber cover, they’re fairly comfortable around the ear. The trick, however, is getting it on over the ear, and this is the Jawbone’s biggest disappointment. Because it’s so stiff, you literally have to use both hands to try to slip it on over your ear. And since we don’t wear our headset constantly, we missed a few calls while performing this dance. Also, the metal frame does bend (as we found after carrying it in our pocket), which can be viewed as an annoyance or as a feature–enabling you to form-fit the frame to your ear. It also comes with five ear pads of varying shapes and sizes, and we tried one of the teardrop shaped pads to secure the Jawbone inside our ear sans metal frame–it was comfortable and worked for awhile, but isn’t a solution if you’re moving around a lot.

As with Steve Jobs, Behar is not a fan of protruding buttons. Thus, the Jawbone’s two controls are hidden within the headset, requiring you to press either the front or back of the unit to answer calls, adjust volume, or turn on/off the noise cancellation function. While we’ve read some reviews that complained about these hidden controls, we had no problem in accessing them and appreciated their tactile response. The Jawbone also comes with a custom-fit recharging cable that can either plug into a PC’s USB port or into the included wall jack. We enjoyed the flexibility of the USB charging, but wished the cable could have been a more standard USB mini-jack (for those times when you forget to bring the cable along).

But the true test of the Jawbone is how its “noise shield” performed. First, a little about this technology. The Jawbone has a small piece of rubbery plastic that protrudes from the bulbous microphone and sits flush against your face, and this sensor tells the Jawbone whether or not you’re speaking and can remove background noise from your ongoing speech signal. It can also dynamically adjust the volume of the incoming audio from your call.

We tried the Jawbone in a number of different situations, and for the most part it worked flawlessly. Sitting at our desk with the stereo volume cranked up while playing The Chemical Brothers, our call partner was none the wiser. She didn’t hear any of the music coming through, and our voice came through strong on her end. While standing on a street corner, the undulations of traffic noise never made it through to our caller, while we noticed an uptick in volume with an increase in traffic noise.

However, the Jawbone wasn’t perfect, as it doesn’t do a great job in windy situations. Still, for the good majority of situations you’ll find yourself in–from busy airports to talk-heavy coffeehouses to traffic-laden city streets–the Jawbone should perform very well, masking the surroundings to improve fidelity for you call partner as well adapting your ear volume to the surrounding environment. We just wish the ear frame was a bit more flexible.

Pros:
Amazing background noise masking capabilities–even when faced with loud, thumping music
Outstanding adaptive volume as the environment around you changes
Options for customizing the fit
Cons:
Metal earloop frames are hard to quickly put on
Non-standard USB connection is a bummer if you forget the cable at home

Product Description
Designed by the renowned Yves Behar, Jawbone takes mobile style to new heights. Jawbone’s perforated shield curves to match the outline of your face while the inside surface is made from medical grade plastic to provide a soft and smooth feel on the skin. Jawbone can be worn on either ear, and you can customize your fit by choosing an earloop and earbud from the several shapes and sizes provided. Jawbone’s ergonomic design enhances the acoustic performance and keeps the device lightweight, stable and comfortable. How it works- Jawbone measures the ambient noise around you and automatically enhances the incoming audio and adjusts the volume to make every incoming call sound crystal clear. Using adaptive sound technology, the Jawbone uses two microphones and a voice activity sensor. When placed against the cheek, the sensor detects voice vibrations rather than picking up the sound from your mouth. Excellent sound quality, adaptive noise cancellation, catchy design and comfortable fit.

Constantly evolving, the technology of Bluetooth started off as a basic wireless connection standard but has since then been adapted and proven with many different uses and functions.

A good example is Bluetooth for cell phones. It enables mobile users to connect to their hands free headset without using wires. Bluetooth technology will also allow mobile phone users to connect with their hands free kit as well.

Another handy use of Bluetooth is file sharing. It allows the sharing of files between two cell phones, between a cell phone and computer, which makes the sharing of files a snap. If you have a cell phone and computer, you can easily transfer data between the two.

Say for example you wanted to put an MP3 on your phone from your computer you could do it easily with Bluetooth. All you would need is a Bluetooth adapter for your computer. It doesn’t stop with the swapping of files either,as you can use your computer and phone to synchronise phone books, send SMS messages, and much more.

Although Bluetooth may be dandy for cell phones, it also comes in handy for the home office as well. Utilizing Bluetooth is a great way to set up a home office - two computers, a printer, and even a scanner. They all can be connected using Bluetooth technology with effective ranges of up to 10 meters.

The technology and devices of Bluetooth will be around for years and years to come. As years go by, Bluetooth will provide even better wireless solutions for different applications. Even though Bluetooth has a short range, it has that short range for a reason. Bluetooth is easily the best in wireless technology - which it continues to prove time and time again.

Creating a good wireless headset for Bluetooth is actually difficult to do. The regular wired headsets are easy to design - with ranging styles.

Bluetooth headsets can never be as small or as light as wired headsets, simply because it needs to include the battery and extra functions. This extra size will impact how the headset mounts on or around your ears.

Comfort

There seems to be two main styles of headsets for Bluetooth. Some are held into place with a loop around the ear. These styles are normally more comfortable, although they may be less secure. The others are held in place by being jammed into your ear - and usually prove to be less comfortable.

Factors to consider

Cost
The cost is an obvious issue, something that you really need to think about.

Ergonomics
1. Check to see if the device is easy to quickly and conveniently put on your ear then take it off again.
2. Are the control buttons on the headset easy to use?
3. The headset should be comfortable to wear for long phone calls.
4. Can you use it with a pair of glasses?
5. Check to see if you can wear it with either ear.
6. When you aren’t wearing it, you’ll need to se how you would carry it with you.
7. The weight is important as well, as you don’t want something that has the risk of falling off.

Ease of use.
1. The commands and controls should be easy to remember.
2. The volume level should be easy to adjust.
3. The unit should turn on quickly.
4. The manual should be very well written and easy for you to understand.
5. There should be a support number for you to call if you should experience any types of problems.

Features
1. You’ll need to know about the battery, the talk time, type, and how to tell when it is going dead or fully charged.
2. How many devices can the unit be paired with?
3. Compatability is also important, as well as the warranty period.
4. Check the sound quality for both sending and receiving audio.
5. What type of range does the headset offer you?

Other important capabilities include voice tags, last number redial, tranfer calls, 3 way calling, link to other phones, call reject, and mute. You’ll also want to note if it looks attractive, and if it’s too big or too small.

Bluetooth technology offers three different types of defined ranges, based on output ranges. Class 1 devices are the most powerful, as they can have up to 100 mW of power, with a regular antenna giving them a range of around 130 - 330 feet.

The class 2 devices are lower power, offering up to 2.5 mW of power. A regular antenna will give them a range of around 50 - 100 feet. Class 3 devices use even less power, up to 1 mW of power to be exact. With a regular antenna, they will have a range of around 16 - 33 feet.

Even though you may not realize it, Bluetooth wireless technology has never been intended for anything other than short distance types of communication. With Bluetooth wireless, the short range is actually a benefit.

For one, the short range will reduce the change of interference between your devices and those that belong to others who are nearby. Overall, this is a basic type of security, designed to protect you and your devices.

Secondly, the lower power used for short range means a longer battery life. Most Bluetooth devices will get their power from a battery, meaning that anything you can do to lengthen the battery life is very important.

The wireless networking offered by Bluetooth is actually among the best, even though it uses short range communication. Bluetooth is usedwith wireless controllers, the internet, and even wireless headsets.

For the best in short range technology, Bluetooth is extremely hard to beat. If you’ve never tried Bluetooth before, now is the time. It’s the best with wireless networking, especially for those who enjoy hands free talking on their cell phone.

Version 1.1 and earlier

Since the technology of Bluetooth was introduced in 1998, several specification versions have been released. Versions 1.0 and 1.0B had too many issues and problems for manufacturers to develop devices for Bluetooth. The main issue was the lack of communication among the devices.

The core specification version 1.1 is the first successful operating version of Bluetooth. Version 1.1 corrected a majority of the bugs and problems found in earlier versions.

Version 1.2

Many of the newer Bluetooth devices, such as the newer cell phones are being sold with the newer Bluetooth version 1.2. This version offers backward compatability with Bluetooth 1.1, faster transmission speeds, received signal strength, and a host controller interface (HCI) support for 3 wire UART.

Bluetooth version 2.0

It’s true that there may be multiple communication technologies, although they all share one common trait - faster is better. Bluetooth specialists realized this, and therefore worked on improving the speeds of version 1.2. The newest version, version 2.0 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) was accounced in 2004 and became available in late 2005.

Version 2.0 delivers data transfer rates of up to three times that of the original version of Bluetooth. Version 2.0 also provides enhanced connectivity. With Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, you’ll be able to run more devices at the same time - with more efficiency.

Computers and even computer related devices are expected to be some of the first devices to encorporate Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, followed of course by audio and imaging devices.

Version 2.0 is backward compatible with previous versions, three times faster, and offers an enhanced data rate of 2.1 MB a second. It also offers broadcast and multicast support, along with a further enhanced bit error rate performance, making it the best Bluetooth has ever seen.

The technology of Bluetooth is nothing new, but in many respects it can still seem like more of a buzz word rather than an accepted technology. You may see the ads for Bluetooth enabled devices, although you still may be wondering what it is.

Capabilities

The Bluetooth definition is a wireless technology that is a worldwide specification for a small form factor, low cost solution that will provide link between mobile devices and other electronic devices.

Similiar to 802.11 b/g wireless and many cordless telephone systems, Bluetooth operates on 2.4 GHz radio signals. The 2.4 GHz band seems to be a bit crowded, with interferences between the devices a bit hard to avoid. Telephones are now being offered at the 5.8 GHz frequency band, which will help to remedy this.

The technical specifications of Bluetooth will indicate a maximum transfer rate of 723 kbps with a range of 65 - 328 feet, all depending on the class of that particular device. The speed is a fraction of what is offered by wireless standards, so it’s obvious that Bluetooth doesn’t really pose a threat to replacing your wireless network.

Applications

There are numerous products that will take advantage of Bluetooth capabilities, such as laptops, PDAs, headphones, and even wireless printer adapters.

A lot of laptops out there will include an onboard Bluetooth adapter which allows the system to connect to any Bluetooth device right out of the box. For computers that don’t have an adaptor built right in, there are several USB adaptors available for Bluetooth.

For an awesome technology, Bluetooth is actually hard to compete with. For short range wireless, Bluetooth is easily one of the best. The standard for Bluetooth keeps getting better and better, making it a wireless technology that will be around for years and years to come.

Below, you’ll find several specifications for the well known Bluetooth:

1. Throughout the United States and even Europe, the range of frequency is 2,400 - 2,483.5 MHZ, with 79 1-MHz RF (radio frequency) channels. The frequency range in Japan is 2,472 to 2,497 MHz with 23 1-MHz RF channels.

2. A data channel of Bluetooth randomly hops 1,600 times per second between the 79 RF channels.

3. Each Bluetooth channel is divided into time slots, with each one being 625 microseconds long.

4. A Bluetooth piconet has one master and up to seven slaves. The master will transmit in even time slots, while the slaves will transmit in odd time slots.

5. The data in a single packet can be up to 2,745 bits in length.

6. Currently, there are two types of data transfer between devices - SCO (synchronous connection oriented) and ACL (asynchronous connectionless).

7. In a Bluetooth piconet, there can be up to three SCO links containing 64,000 bits per second with each one. To help avoid collision and timing problems, the links of the SCO will use reserved slots set up by the master.

8. A master can support up to three SCO links with either one, two, or even three slaves.

9. The slots not reserved for the SCO links can be used for ACL links.

10. A single master and slave can have one ACL link.

11. ACL is either master to one slave (point to point) or it broadcasts to all of the slaves.

12. The ACL slaves will only transmit when it has been requested by the master. If the master doesn’t make the request, the ACL slaves won’t transmit anything at all.

These days, all communication technology faces the issue of privacy and identity theft, with Bluetooth being no exception. Almost everyone knows that email services and networks require security. What users of Bluetooth need to realize is that Bluetooth also requires security measures as well.

The good news for Bluetooth users is that the security scares, like most scares, are normally over dramatized and blown entirely out of proportion. The truth being told, these issues are easy to manage, with various measures already in place to provide security for Bluetooth technology.

It’s true that there has been some Bluetooth phones that have been hacked into. Most devices that are hacked into are normally those that don’t have any type of security at all.

According to Bluetooth specialists, in order to hack into a Bluetooth device, the hacker must:
1. Force two paired devices to break their connection.
2. Steal the packets that are used to resend the pin.
3. Decode the pin.

Of course, the hacker must also be within range of the device, and using very expensive developer type equipment. Most specialists recommend that you have a longer pin, with 8 digits being recommended.

Fundamentals of security

The “pairing process” is one of the most basic levels of security for Bluetooth devices. Pairing, is two or more Bluetooth devices that recognize each other by the profiles they share - in most cases they both must enter the same pin.

The core specifications for Bluetooth use an encryption algorithm, which is completely and entirely secure. Once the devices pair with each other, they too become entirely secure.

Until they have successfully paired, the Bluetooth devices won’t communicate with each other. Due to this pairing process and the fact that it is short range - Bluetooth technology is considered to be secure.

As the news has indicated, experienced hackers have developed ways to get around this level of basic security. There are ways to get around this threat, as you can install software to prevent hackers from getting in.

With Bluetooth becoming more and more popular, it’s really no wonder that security is always in question. As Bluetooth gets bigger and better, security will always be something that no one really takes lightly.

If you’ve been concerned about Bluetooth security in the past, rest assured that newer devices will offer bigger and better security. Preventing hackers from getting in is something every owner is concerned about - and the manufacturer’s are very aware.

The profile found in Bluetooth will describe how the technology is used. Profiles can be best described as vertical slices through the protocol stack. It will define options in each protocol that are mandatory for the profile.

The profile will also define the parameter ranges for each protocol. The concept of the profile is used to decrease the risk of interoperability problems between the different products. These profiles won’t normally define any additions to the Bluetooth specification, which is why you can add new profiles where you need them. The Bluetooth underlying technology is the same, only the specific method that it’s used is defined.

Generally speaking, all profiles of Bluetooth are based on the GAP (Generic Access Profile). There are 9 profiles that fall in the GAP category, and they are below:
1. AVRCP - Audio/Video Remote Control
Profile
2. ESDP - Extended Service Discovery Profile
3. CIP - Common ISDN Access Profile
4. PAN - Public Area Network Profile
5. HCRP - Hardcopy Cable Replacement
Profile
6. GAVDP - Generic Audio/Visual Distribution
Profile
7. A2DP - Advanced Audio Distribution Profile
8. VDP - Video Distribution Profile
9. HID - Human Interface Device Profile

To put it another way, usage models will describe
Bluetooth device applications and the associated
profiles that are used. The usage model focuses
mainly on three categories - voice/data access points,
peripheral interconnects, and PAN (Personal Area
Networking).

The voice and data access points involve connecting
computing devices to communicating devices through
a wireless link. This way, data can be transferred
in a wireless manor, without the need of cables or
other types of connectivity.

PAN is another very important usage model with
strong appeal to business customers. Bluetooth
networks are easy to set up in virtually any type
of environment. An example would be meeting
others at a trade show.

Instead of having contact information beamed via
infrared, business cards can quickly and easily be
transferred via Bluetooth wireless. The fact is
that many documents can be exchanged this very
same way - making the uses and possibilities
virtually endless.

The Bluetooth profile is very important to the
specification, as it enables you to do so much
more. You can use peripherals and devices with
the profiles, and virtually anything else that you
decide.

As Bluetooth expands and gets bigger and better,
you can count on the profiles to expand and get
even more functions. If you have experience with
Bluetooth profiles, you should know exactly what
they are and what you can do with them. If not,
all you need is a Bluetooth device - and a vivid
imagination.