Maximum PC Bluetooth RSS Feed

AIS Debuts WM6.1 PDA, Offers Ruggedness, Generous Connectivity

Bart Salisbury — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:31:35 -0600

The current lot of PDAs, and perhaps their smartphone and Tablet PC stand-ins, are neat technology, but could you go to war with one? (Maybe even more relevant: could you afford to drop yours?) If what you need is something that will withstand a lot more abuse, AIS Industrial Innovations has something that might interest you: the Mobile Rugged PDA (RPDA37), with the looks and brawn that pair well with your cosplay Master Chief outfit.

The Mobile Rugged PDA is MIL-STD-810F/461F compliant, has an “ingress protection rating of IP67” and meets the IEC 60529 (IP65) international protection standard. It’s build to withstand extreme conditions, repeated five-foot drops, and thermal shock. And it has cool rubberized bumpers.

While that’s impressive, perhaps the internal specs aren’t. The RPDA37 has a Marvell PXA270 625MHz processor, 256MB RAM, and a base storage of 256MB Flash ROM. It has a 3.7-inch transflective TFT LCD that’s touchscreen capable. Resolution depends on the option chosen: either QVGA, 240 x 320, or VGA, 480 x 640. And for operating systems there’s a choice of Windows CE 5.0 or Windows Mobile 6.1.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are standard, but GPS/GAlILEO and GPRS/3G/3.5G are optional. Ports include two USB 1.1 Type A connectors, one USB 1.1 Type B mini connector, an RS-232 port, and ethernet port, headphone and microphone jacks, and a Micro-SD slot.

If you really got to have one you’re going to need to save. The base model will set you back $1,899.

Image Credit: AIS Industrial Innovations

Texas Instruments Introduces Chip with Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and FM Radio

Bart Salisbury — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:28:03 -0600

Smaller, faster, cheaper is a mantra for today’s mobile communications hardware. Texas Instruments (TI) has taken this to heart, and tossed in multi-tasking and lower power consumer as well. TI is announcing a new chip, the WiLink 7.0, that rolls up Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and FM radio onto a chip that takes up less room, uses less power, and costs less than current multi-chip solutions.

TI says the WiLink crams all of the above into a single 65-nanometer chip, that requires 30 percent less material to build, and takes up 50% less space than existing two-chip solutions. Furthermore, TI says the WiLink will extend talk time and battery life with “Sophisticated Enhanced Low Power (ELP) technology.”

TI claims the WiLink offers best-in-class 3GPP test performance; supports both Bluetooth low-energy and Bluetooth 3.0; will support WiFi Direct and Soft AP as well as 802.11 a/b/g/n; and has improved FM transmit and receive capabilities with internal antenna support.

And, by placing all of them on the same chip, TI says it is able to reduce RF interference to insignificant levels, allowing all four components to operate at the same time without messing with each other. According to TI, a “mobile-device users could determine their current position with GPS, download a related map over a WLAN connection, and listen to an FM radio station over a Bluetooth headset all at the same time.”

Undisclosed OEMs already have the chip, which leads Engadget to speculate that prototype phones may make an appearance at the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. TI expects the chip to be in mass-produced devices by the end of 2010.

Image Credit: Texas Instruments

New Asus Motherboard Can be Configured from a Cell Phone

Ryan Whitwam — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:32:50 -0600

If you’re bored to tears with all the features high end motherboards tend to have, Asus is aiming this product at you. The new Asus ROG Maximus III Extreme has a trick new to motherboards. You can tweak the settings via a Bluetooth enabled cell phone. So if your CPU is feeling a little tired, why not overclock it via your wireless handset?

The current incarnation of the Republic of Gamers series allows users to connect another computer via USB to adjust settings on the fly. The Bluetooth can also be used for other purposes. “RC Bluetooth is also capable of performing standard Bluetooth functions, such as stereo music playback, Skype messaging, Internet access via a Bluetooth phone, and mobile phone or PDA synchronization,” said the Asus press release.

The Maximus III also packs all the features you’d expect plus a little more. It will rock USB 3.0 and SATA 6G. Users will also find 5 PCIe 8x connections. Curiously, this particular board will be socket LGA 1156 instead of the higher end LGA 1366.

Wi-Fi Alliance to Make Finding a Hotspot A Lot Easier

Bart Salisbury — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:12:42 -0500

Wi-Fi’s about to get a whole new look to it, one that eerily resembles Bluetooth. The Wi-Fi Alliance has announced it is nearing completing of specifications for Wi-Fi Direct which will provide peer-to-peer connections between any two Wi-Fi devices, such as mobile phones, cameras, headphones, printers, computers, keyboards, and mice. The new standard will be backward compatible to include all currently Wi-Fi certified legacy devices.

Wi-Fi Direct will make connecting to Wi-Fi a lot easier, and it may well prompt a shake-up in the Bluetooth and wireless router industries. Because Wi-Fi Direct essentially replicates Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi is more prevalent, manufacturers may opt to consolidate on the more widely available standard, and consumers more comfortable with Wi-Fi may likewise put pressure for Wi-Fi direct devices and peripherals. With peer-to-peer relationships available the demand for standalone routers could significantly diminish.

Besides getting to have a wireless keyboard without a dongle, finding a Wi-Fi hotspot becomes simpler, as we all become Wi-Fi hotspots.

Image Credit: Sérgio Codespoti/flickr

Bluetooth 3.0 Use to Grow Exponentially by 2011

Ryan Whitwam — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:18:15 -0500

Don’t get all cozy with your Bluetooth 2.1 products just yet. There is another standard on the horizon that aims to take over your wireless life. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) is touting a report that indicates 23 percent of Bluetooth equipped devices will run the new 3.0+HS standard by late 2010. This is expected to rise to 61 percent by 2011.

Bluetooth 3.0 was adopted on April 21 of this year. The new standard includes support for Alternative MAC/PHY (AMP) transport. AMP allows Bluetooth devices to use the 802.11 protocol for large data transfers. Additional power management technologies are expected to increase reliability as well. Circulation will start with external USB dongles for desktop and notebook PCs very soon.

Thin is In: Microsoft Unveils Super Skinny Keyboard for Bluetooth PCs

Paul Lilly — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:35:12 -0500

Microsoft today unveiled what it claims is its thinnest keyboard ever, the Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000. As the name suggests, the new plank is aimed exclusively at Bluetooth notebooks and desktop PCs, with Bluetooth-enabled notebooks projected to account for more than 55 percent of all laptops by the end of 2010, Microsoft says.

"The design tenets of compact, clean, and refined really set the state for the success of the keyboard," said Chris Kujawski, industrial designer for Microsoft Hardware. "There is nothing extraneous about the design. We removed everything that didn't fit with those ideas and ended up with something we're really proud of -- a compact, sophisticated keyboard that pairs perfectly with Bluetooth computers."

Measuring "just a few millimeters thicker than a AAA battery at the back," the Bluetooth 6000 sports an ergonomic design with a 6-degree curve, a design Microsoft says is preferred by 94 percent of users who have ever owned a Comfort Curve keyboard.

The Bluetooth plank will be available in October for $90. There will also be a separate Bluetooth Number Pad, which is also be available next month, and priced at $45.

Image Credit: Microsoft

Hands-On with the Plantronics Voyager Pro

Gordon Mah Ung — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:26:51 -0500

Geeks have to be suckers for Bluetooth headsets. Don’t believe me? I have purchased no fewer than five Bluetooth headsets ranging from Plantronics, to Cardo and Motorola in the last two years.

Among the most disappointing was the Voyager 855. Although it fit my tiny ear canals well, the reliability of it was, well, everything you’ve come to expect of a Bluetooth headset. Sometimes it would connect with my admittedly mediocre Windows Mobile phone and sometimes it wouldn’t.

It didn’t help that the audio levels were just too low. At least the noise cancellation was top notch. Still, I had to chuck it for two Cardo units: The S-640 and the S-800. I had the highest hopes for the S-640 clip-on unit and carded ear piece. Unfortunately, incoming sound quality was dismal and the lack of noise cancellation made conversations in my beater with original struts impossible. Did I mention that it too was quite flakey with the Bluetooth connection. The S-800, however, was quite reliable. It locked onto my phone and worked fine. The volume was also almost painfully loud when set to max. The UI was good and the quick dial feature that let you access the first few slots in your speed dial was awesome.

It’s too bad it didn’t fit very well. It felt like someone had wedged a pinkie into my ear canal. Noise cancellation was also just average. I used it for many months until I decided to buy yet another Bluetooth unit: Motorola’s H680. Its rock solid connections to my phone and its dual-microphone noise cancellation made it my favorite Bluetooth headset – for about four months. Sore after four months of jamming the H680 into my ear, I decided to again upgrade on a shopping trip to Fry’s with the guys and bought a Motorola H710. This headset didn’t have the dual-mic cancellation of the H680 (which is why I picked the H680 over it) but it was the most comfortable Bluetooth unit I had used because it sat on the outside of my ear. The volume was very good, the noise cancellation OK, and it always connected to my phone. What was wrong? Battery life. After five months of use, the battery life became dismal.

I only use my headset in my car and turn it off when not in use. Initially I could get a week or two without having to recharge it. That turned into a week and now it seems like it needs to visit the charger every three days.

That’s when Plantronic’s Voyager Pro showed up. Not exactly pleased with the performance of the Voyager 855, I didn’t expect much. The units bulky look and mic boom didn’t exactly win me over either. It’s hard not to say: “Operator, what number please.”

But, at least it’s not as garish as a Jawbone. Wearing the Voyager Pro is actually a delight. It’s comfortable and you could, if you were so inclined, keep it over your ear for hours without it bugging you. Even though it made me feel like an ass, I did just that at the office.

Audio performance is quite good. Plantronics said the design lets it use a very large 13mm speaker as opposed to the 9mm or 10mm speakers that other designs use. This lets it pump the volume and gives it a fuller range.

The larger body also aids in fairly good battery life claims (I haven’t had it long enough to run down the battery) and, according to Plantronics, longer range because it features much larger antenna. In the few days I’ve played with it, connectivity issues – something that pissed me off to no end with the Voyager 855 – was not an issue. Plantronics said the 855’s problems likely came from the immature A2DP profile implementation.

The key selling point of the Voyager Pro is the noise cancellation. No longer do people just want to talk on their phones in quiet environments or the slightly louder car environment – they also want to do the Bluetooth thing while walking down the street on a windy day.

To that point, I can say the Voyager Pro lives up to its name. I simulated a windy environment with a fan our lab and my previous fave, the Motorola H710, was useless in the wind, the Voyager Pro magically made the wind noise disappear.

So it’s comfortable on my ear and in my ear, reasonably loud, reliably connects to my phone and effectively erases background noise without making me sound too much like a robot from a 1950s movie which heavy noise cancellation can do. To me, that’s a win. Even better, at $99, it’s a pretty good deal in this class of headset even if your co-workers may kid you about heading off to your job at the McDonald’s drive-thru window (not that there’s anything wrong with that.)

IMOVIO Raises Curtain on Linux-enabled iKIT Ultra Mini-PC, the Size of a Nintendo DS

Pulkit Chandna — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:35:35 -0500

A Los Angeles-based manufacturer IMOVIO has announced an avant garde mobile messaging device called iKIT. The diminutive iKIT runs Linux and is as small as a Nintendo DS. IMOVIO is touting the iKIT as an affordable alternative to both smart phones and netbooks.

The device includes a 312MHz Marvell PXA270 processor, Linux 2.4.19, full QWERTY/AZERTY keyboard, an 8GB SD card slot ,Opera Mini 4.1 internet browser and 2.8 inch screen. The iKIT has inbuilt WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities, and supports HSDPA over USB. It has a standby time of 250 hours and power-up time of up to 3 hours.

The suggested retail price of roughly $170 makes it far more affordable than an Apple iPhone – a fact specifically called to attention by IMOVIO. However, practicality of such a product is just as important as the price, if not more, and will play a vital role in iKIT’s case as well.