Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with bluetooth

Best audio/communication solution for snowsports helmet?

Señor Pantalones — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:45:09 -0800

Best ski/snowboard helmet w/audio (mic preferred) integration? Current system of wearing iphone mic'ed buds (attached to a pocketed iphone) under a Bern helmet is nonoptimal. Too many moving parts, fumbling around to find things, etc.

Options:
1. bluetooth audio helmet (giro omen, burton red)
2. wired audio helmet (boeri vortex, poc receptor bug, burton red etc.)
3. DIY (find a good helmet, attach dedicated iphone mic'ed buds to it)

Any reviews/recommendations/experiences? Price is not as significant as ease of use and functionality of the setup. I'd like to be listening to music all day and have the ability to answer calls.

I don't always want to listen to music in the snow, but sometimes I do, and I need an ideal system for it.

Canadian Bluetooth Blues

WilliamWallace — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:48:19 -0800

Jabra Stone Bluetooth earpiece availablility in Canada? If not, recommendations for quality Bluetooth headsets that aren't grotesque? So Jabra has just released the Jabra Stone Bluetooth earpiece. From my research it seems that it's exclusive to AT&T stores in the US, but it give no information about availability in Canada.

I've found a few for sale on eBay, but I'd like to see if I could get one through a store in Canada (Southern Ontario, FWIW).

On that note, do you have any recommendations for quality Bluetooth headsets that aren't hideous?

Need remote waterproof speaker

Joleta — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:48:53 -0800

Does anyone make a waterproof bluetooth speaker that I can use in the shower to listen to audio books from my iPhone. It should be something I can permanently stick to the shower wall, so this won't work. I read this question but it doesn't really address my problem, as I don't have a glass shower door, only a curtain. (And no, I really can't hear the iPhone audio over the shower.)

Bluetooth receiver for home Hi-Fi?

grahamwell — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:50:31 -0800

How do I stream music from an iPod Touch to a conventional Hi-Fi wirelessly? Bluetooth A2DP would seem to be perfect - but I need a gadget wired in to the hi-fi that will receive the signal and play it. What gadget (from the UK)? The objective is to sit in an armchair, call up some music (using Spotify) on the iPod Touch, press 'play' and hear it in exquisite quality on the sitting room Hi-Fi. All of this without wires. Bliss.

What I need (I think) is an A2DP receiver with a couple of RCA outputs that would plug into the Hi Fi. Quality matters and such a device is hard to find. It's tempting to buy a BlueTooth Tube. like this and pull it apart to find somewhere to run some wires to the HiFi input. An FM transmitter is an option but clumsy and low quality - strictly a last resort. There must be a better way. Ideas?

Motorola S9 Headphones - Hard Case?

intrigued — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:51:59 -0800

I need a hard case for my Motorola S9-HD Wrap Around Headphones. They came with a cloth pouch, but I need something solid to protect the headphones from being crushed while in my bag. Does anyone in the MiFi crowd have these headphones and a hard case, or know where I could buy one? I would even be willing to pay to have a case made.

All thoughts are welcome!

- - -
Photos of the headphones:

Here is a link to the Motorola site:

http://www.motorola.com/staticfiles/Consumers/global/flash_content/microsites/s9hd/index.html

And a few random google image results of the headphones:

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&rlz=1C1GGLS_enUS315US320&um=1&sa=1&q=motorola+s9+hd&aq=f&oq=&aqi=&start=0&imgtbs=z&imgsz=m

Hope me the legitament phone filter

shoebox — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:01:26 -0800

Help me choose a legit new cellphone that's on the market now that can meet all of my 21st century needs and demands. My trusty old cellphone recently met with the business end of cutting edge Swedish furniture design (phone in pocket; bumped into table). Higher powers have recognized that a phone is essential for them to keep tabs on me - so they in their great wisdom have decided to fully subsidize my replacement and left the details up to me. However, I really have not been keeping up with current technology. That is where I need you, hive mind.

My budget is ~$500 CDN, although the less spent the better. I don't mind if it goes over, but nothing too ridiculous. The plan is to basically get a phone second hand/off ebay/the black market/whatever and stick in my current Rogers SIM card. However, I don't have a data plan (on family plan right now) and don't plan to get one, so I suppose a smartphone would be out of the question.

A few other things to consider:

Wifi capability would be excellent. I am almost always in a multi-bar zone and would like to put it to good use.

Must have a decent music player (and expandable storage). I was thinking of getting a new mp3 player to replace my old zen micro from eons past, but now that cellphones can do virtually everything, this seems like a good way to kill two birds with one hand-held device.

A decent camera would be nice (same reason as above).

FM Radio. For when my music gets monotonous.

Bluetooth would be cool.

Must be black. I can live with blue or dark gray.

Most importantly, I plan to take care of this phone and need to last a long time, so something that wont be obsolete in at least a few years or so would be preferable.

That's Bluetoothwang!

cmoj — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 12:48:28 -0800

Help me get a wireless/bluetooth keyboard and mouse that don't suck. I have MacBook Pro with 10.5.8. I have it hooked up to a home theater screen and want to be able to use either from anywhere in the room (no more than about 30 feet, almost always more like 15).

Theoretically, bluetooth should have plenty of range for this, but the Rocketfish bluetooth combo I have now ranges from annoying to unusable. It lags. I assume this partially has to do with varying interference. The scroll wheel on the mouse and the volume, etc. buttons on the keyboard don't work unless I use the bluetooth dongle it came with, but the connection gets randomly dropped when I use it. This happens anyway, but less often when they're connected directly.
I know the Rocketfish wasn't meant for use with the Mac.

What I want: The number one consideration is reliability and accuracy. I game only moderately, but it makes me flip out when I lose something because my mouse is acting wonky. After that, things like extra mouse buttons and volume/playback control on the keyboard are preferable, but not the top consideration.

I don't care if they come as a combo or not, and within reason I care about quality over price.

Noise cancellation = tinny sound. No noise cancellation = @#$$o moth(&. I*s Br++m!

IAmBroom — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:09:19 -0800

Best bluetooth for the car? I'm willing to go over $100 if it's really a good bluetooth. Boom mikes are OK. Car-mounted mikes that use the car sound system are OK. I just want to be clearly hear & be heard, and my damned HTC Apache (AT&T Tilt) doesn't have a cellphone jack. (OK, it does, but it's a mini-USB jack, and even most USB headphones won't work with it.)

bluetooth headset options

boo_radley — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:53:00 -0800

Is there a bluetooth receiver that will function as a mic but allow me to use my own earbuds? I'm pretty tough on headphones. While I'd like to get a nice a2dp headset for my G1 phone, I worry about having a cord fray, or having a headband snap in two.

Get words to mah team!

razzamatazm — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 23:21:56 -0800

Is it possible to connect a Jawbone headset via bluetooth to an intel mac bootcamp'd into XP? I have tried multiple bluetooth stacks, and it seems like I've gotten close, but so far no cigar (or Team Fortress 2 chat). Does the hive have any experience with this conundrum? For what it's worth, I do have a seperate bluetooth dongle that I can plug in. It's very generic so I can't give many specifics.

How to fix mouse problems in OS X

backwards guitar — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:09:44 -0800

Why doesn't OS X recognize my mouse's middle button click and why does it slow down over clickable objects? I've got a Logitech Bluetooth MX Revolution (part of the Logitech MX 5500 Keyboard/Mouse bundle). The keyboard works fine, and the mouse gets recognized fine, and generally works, but:

1) If I mouse over a clickable object (link, icon in the dock, etc.) the mouse slows down - as if it's aiding me in being able to click (not quite snapping-to the object, but slows down when I mouse over it). I haven't changed anything in Universal Access, and for the most part nothing seems out of the ordinary there (mouse keys off, nothing checked, Initial Delay and Maximum Speed are both on the far left).

2) My middle mouse button doesn't work. It worked briefly, but now not at all - I can scroll just fine with it, but clicking does nothing. I downloaded Steermouse, and the middle click is not being registered there either. I've used the mouse on a Windows machine, and the middle click is fine.

Other notes. I'm running a Fall 2008 Unibody Macbook Pro. I just upgraded to Snow Leopard, and was hoping that'd fix the problem, but no. In Steermouse, problem 1 goes away, which is great, but I'd like to get this working without Steermouse if at all possible. The mouse's other buttons all seem to be fine in Steermouse.

Mostly question two is the one I'd really like answered, as I can live with spending the money on Steermouse if need be. Thanks.

Free A2DP drivers for Windows XP?

postergeist — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 09:03:21 -0800

Any free A2DP Bluetooth driver options for Windows XP? I have a Sony stereo which has a bluetooth option on it which allows you to play music through it wirelessly. After buying a simple bluetooth dongle for my laptop, I was able to pair with the stereo but was not able to browse for the blueooth service which facilitates that function. (basically, the stereo becomes like a pair of wireless headphones) So after a little research I discovered I needed to have an A2DP compatible device. According to the A2DP website, there were two programs I could download, one called BlueSoleil and the other called Widcomm. Widcomm didnt work but BlueSoleil did manage to allow me to do it succesfuly. Only thing is, BlueSoleil is a whole package of stuff that costs $30. (trial version limits output to 2mb). The only thing I need is the A2DP part. Im not sure exactly what BlueSoleil did but its clear that the problem wasnt with my dongle or its compatibility. So, can anyone explain what exactly BlueSoleil did that allowed me to access my stereo's bluetooth service and also if there is any way to do this for free?

iPhone app limitation by Apple?

DandyRandy — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:25:31 -0800

I'm wondering if there are Apple-imposed limitations that would prevent this no-brainer iPhone app from being created. I'd love to be able to go to one place on my iPhone to turn off/on all the power-sucking tidbits: WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G, etc. As it is now, you have to drill down through all parts of the interface to access that stuff. Does Apple allow an app to access the WiFi on/off function, for instance? I'm no programmer, so if anyone wants to take this and run with it and make a buck or two, have at it - just let me know when it's ready.

And I'm not interested in jailbreaking my communicator.

PC Remote?

rossination — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:39:17 -0800

What is the cheapest remote control option for our pcs? We've been watching a lot of downloaded TV lately on a VLC on a Dell laptop, connected to our TV via HDMI cable. It's a great low-cost option for watching torrented episodes of The Wire, but it's a pain to get up to pause, rewind, etc.

What is the cheapest, easiest remote control option? I'm thinking something like the Apple remote, but for a PC. It looks like my options are:

>> wireless (USB or bluetooth) presenter remote. These look good but are about $50 (a little more than I'd like to spend) and I want to be sure that I can map the powerpoint-specific buttons to VLC functions (or just map them to space bar, alt-left/right, etc).

>> iPhone or Windows Mobile app to control VLC from a fancy phone or iPod touch. I don't have one of these, so it isn't an option.

>> PS3 bluetooth remote? This looks the most promising, but I don't see anything about whether or not it can be used on a PC, and I don't know how the keymapping would go.

>> expensive Logitech universal remote like the Harmony -- way too expensive.

At the very least, I want to be able to pause, rewind, and fast-forward. I know we could get better results by switching to a media center application, but at this point it's not worth setting up, so I'm only interested in a means to play files through VLC.

It seems like this would have come up before, but I'm Googling around and can't find anything.

I'm trying to share my PC's net connection with my BT phone, not the other way around

bartleby — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:11:44 -0800

How do I share my computer's (wired) Internet connection with a smartphone, over bluetooth? That's PC->BT->phone, not phone-as-modem->PC. I've got a Motorola Q9h (AT&T) WM6 smartphone, which is my work PDA and my personal phone.
It's great on the smart, as a nifty PDA; but it's not so hot on the phone - the call quality is bad.

I can just swap out the SIM to a better phone-phone and cancel the data plan that made it a good PDA.

What I'd like to do is keep using the Q9h as my work PDA - but the only way it would be functional (for my uses) is if I could get Internet on it through some other means when I'm in the office and at my house.

The Q9h does not appear to have WiFi (unless there's some hack I haven't found?), and the Micro-SD WiFi card is still a dream.

So I thought I'd look into a Bluetooth PAN to share the internet connection from my PC with my phone. But all the HowTos I'm finding are for doing it the other way - sharing the phone's mobile data connection with a non-connected laptop = "tethering".

How do I do the opposite - share a PC's internet connection over bluetooth and access it via a Windows Mobile smartphone?

Anyone done this?

Where are the iPhone Bluetooth keyboards?

exhilaration — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:19:43 -0800

Three iPhone keyboard questions: Bluetooth keyboard support in 3.0? Any product announcements? Support for 2G iPhones? Expanded questions:

Is it true that the new Bluetooth support in 3.0 will allow Bluetooth keyboards to work? I ask because the guy that did that Bluetooth keyboard hack a few months back says it will. I can't find any real evidence of this because....

Why haven't there been any product announcements? I'd imaging the portable keyboard makers would be jumping over each other to tap into this massive, lucrative market.

And what about 2G iPhone compatibility? The chart on Apple's site is a little vague about it, unless that's just wishful thinking on my part.

Bluetooth mouse that goes into wired mode?

floam — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 01:38:56 -0800

I'm looking for Bluetooth mice which can be used while being recharged. Been bugging me for years. I don't understand how the big mice makers have somehow skipped over this, but you basically can't buy a wireless mouse that you can use while you charge it. You must set them in cradles. (or swap out fricking AA batteries!) The solution is simple: have a USB cable plug into the mouse to charge it and use it as a wired mouse until it's done.

I found, last year, exactly one company that did make a mouse that does this finally. Unfortunately it looks rather cheap. So: can anybody else find another manufacturer that makes these? My only rules are that they be Bluetooth (not using an RF dongle) and that they be usable as they recharge. I'll probably buy the Radtech one if they're truly the only company with common sense.

iPhone OS 3.0 Questions

Effigy2000 — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:37:22 -0800

With the release of iPhone OS 3.0, I have some questions that I'd like answered. One relates to Stereo Bluetooth headphone recommendations, and the others relate to internet tethering. Firstly, let's get to my questions about the new ability to tether devices to your iPhone in iPhone 0S 3.0.

1. Most reports suggest that those carriers that do end up allowing tethering will charge you for it. Why? I ask because I don't understand their reasoning for charging for tethering and would like to know if there is a legitimate reason to do so aside from profiteering. Tethering a device to your iPhone won't allow you to get any more data than you already pay for in your data packs, right? If so, there's no data you're getting for free and theoretically no extra strain on their network. So what is the phone companies justification for essentially charging you twice for the same data allocation?
2. How would a phone company even know that a device has been tethered to your phone and is using the data? How do they differentiate between your iPhone using data and your tethered device using data?
3. Would it be possible to tether an iPod Touch (2G) to an iPhone?
4. Has anyone read anything about Telstra (Australia) enabling tethering? My Google-fu has failed me.

And now onto my final question, which is much simpler. Stereo Bluetooth headset recommendations. iPhone 0S 3.0 has unlocked the iPod Touch's Bluetooth capabilities to allow for stereo Bluetooth headsets to be used to listen to music. I've done some research and found a few possible headphones that might be worth buying but some have weird form factors, others are 'in-ear' buds which I find uncomfortable and others are great but otherwise too expensive.

Does anyone here have any personal recommendations for a good set of stereo Bluetooth headphones, compatible with an iPod Touch, that are comfortable to wear, deliver good (or even decent) sound and don't cost the Earth?

stream music via bluetooth?

dhruva — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:17:11 -0800

Can I stream music via bluetooth from an iBook G4 with Tiger 10.4.11 to the Sony Ericsson Bluetooth ball speaker? Is it even possible to stream music via bluetooth on tiger?

How can I watch videos on my laptop in the shower?

zinge — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:24:44 -0800

Trying to watch movies on my laptop in a steam shower. How can I see my laptop through a foggy shower door, and how can I hear the sound if the same door is sealed? I'm living with a cousin for the summer, and the room I'm in happens to have a steam shower. Basically, it means I can hang out in the shower comfortably (like a sauna) for longer periods of time without wasting water, and without getting the bathroom all steamy (the glass doors seal shut to preserve the steam). This is a two part question. I have a laptop that I can use in the bathroom. Steam is not an issue because of the sealed shower.

The two issues are sound and video. The video question is: how do I keep an area of the glass window/door from fogging up so much that I can't see the laptop screen? Is there some kind of film that I could buy in 14" squares or so to stick on the window?
The sound question is: how do I hear the movie? The sealed glass means that turning up the speakers won't do anything, and will annoy my cousins in the next room over. I can't use anything wired because of the sealed door. My thoughts were either an Olympia Soundbug (but I can't seem to find a way to buy one anymore), or some kind of waterproof bluetooth headset (which I also can't seem to find online anywhere).

Seeking bluetooth headset recommendations

adamrice — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:27:41 -0800

Please recommend a Bluetooth headset that's good for both listening to music and talking on the phone. I plan to pair it to both my Mac and my iPhone (not at the same time). In-ear and on-ear are both OK.

Wireless headphones for TV

jjsonp — Tue, 26 May 2009 07:32:33 -0800

Best wireless headphones for TV? I want wireless headphones that have an adapter I can plug into my TV's audio-out jack. I don't want IR/line-of-sight, but the range doesn't need to be more than 10 meters or so.

I don't care if they're Bluetooth or some proprietary format; I just want ones that work well for watching TV in my house. If they're < $100 that would be preferable, and smaller is better (though most seem fairly bulky due to the built-in battery).

Alternatively, if there's some good Bluetooth audio adapter I can plug into my TV's audio-out I could just use Bluetooth headphones...but having had 2 pairs of those I'm not very satisfied with their performance, pairing, etc.

Is it just me or do Bluetooth mice and keyboards suck?

wfrgms — Mon, 25 May 2009 22:36:12 -0800

Is it just me or do Bluetooth mice and keyboards suck? About a year and a half ago I bought a Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5000 keyboard and mouse combo. It was on clearance and I think I paid about $80 for the combo.

It was near Logitech's top of the line so I felt like I was getting a good deal. Additionally, I've had good experiences with Logitech products over the years. I find the "build quality" and "feel" of their products superior to other manufacturers.

That said, out of the box I had immediate Bluetooth-related problems. The keyboard would spontaneously lockup on certain key presses. So I would be writing something like, "wfrgms rocks" and the s-key would suddenly repeat, "ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss" and this would go on for minutes. It was especially frustrating when the "delete" key would repeat causing a loss of written work. I also experienced frequent disconnects.

The mouse worked well enough, but occasionally would become very lagged. (Additionally, but unrelated to the Bluetooth question, the mouse would only charge in its cradle if positioned "just right," tipped to one side and balanced so that it would take a charge.)

I poured over the Logitech forums and found many other people experiencing similar problems. Some solutions seemed to involve installing the Bluetooth radio dongle onto a USB extension cord and positioning this within a foot or so of the keyboard and mouse. I did this and it seemed to get rid of most of problems, but they would still come back randomly.

Normally I would chalk this up to a bum keyboard and mouse (or Bluetooth radio dongle) but recently I acquired a Logitech V470 Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks for use with my netbook. It works fine most of the time, but suffers from occasional random lag.

Additionally the entire pairing and passkey process seems needless for such simple devices. Not to mention that at work and in various other environments I've encountered similar problems with Bluetooth keyboards and mice.

At the same time I've used, in passing, RF based keyboards and mice and found them to work just fine.

In short, I've began to think that Bluetooth sucks. In fact, I've put away my Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and I've been using corded options for the past few weeks.

Is it just me? Will Bluetooth ever work better? Or should I just resolve myself to USB?

Making my laptop behave like a phone over bluetooth

d7415 — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:16:17 -0800

I've noticed that mobile phones have a much easier time talking to each other than to most laptops/PCs. Is there any software out there that can make a PC behave like a mobile phone? For some reason I'm expecting mostly open-source, but anything is welcome.

Blue Keyboards

nam3d — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 09:51:02 -0800

I am looking for an alternative bluetooth mac keyboard that has the same functions keys as bog-standard mac keyboard. Any suggestions?