We see a lot of Bluetooth headsets come our way for review here at PDAToday. Most are not very sexy and with the proliferation of these types of headsets recently they can tend to be a ho-hum accessory that gets ignored by the larger gadget websites who focus on trendy MP3 players and the like. We gladly pick up the slack to cover even daily use consumer electronics because when you spend that hard earned money it’s nice to know what’s of value and what’s not; besides who likes to sit in the return line at (insert favorite shopping place) all day.

In this review we will look at the Bluetake BT400 G5, their new flagship offering Bluetooth headset. Bluetake has managed to package a headset that borders on exciting and creative in the world of boring Bluetooth headsets. The BT400 G5 Bluetooth headset is stylish and is finished in a very nice tactile rubber coating surrounded with a snazzy plastic shell. They have opted to go with a marine theme to this line of products…mmm fish. The front is adorned by rubber ridges that disguise the two front buttons to create a scaled look. Weighing in at a scant minnow like 20 grams its light on the ear and features a moldable turntable ear hook. Bluetake uses a hard molded ear bud that rests in your ear canal. If you have abnormally small or large ear canals this may pose a potential problem. I found the unit to fit comfortably and to be easily adjustable. Volume was never a problem.

Read our full review of the Bluetake BT500 G5 Bluetooth Headset…

Bluetooth headset are great for giving a wireless, hands-free connection to your mobile phone, but when I am in the car or office I want a speakerphone.  I want the ability to talk without something in my ear.  I want to talk comfortably without any physical obstruction to my work or driving.  A few mobile phones offer a speakerphone feature, but they almost always have poor performance, weak speaker volume, and poor microphones.  Jabra’s latest SP500 Bluetooth Speakerphone brings true hands-free functionality to your car, office, or home.

The SP500 is the latest update of the original SP100 product.  The SP500 is a 6 ounce, 4.9” x 2.9” x 1.3”, rechargeable Bluetooth speakerphone with a pivoting microphone that gives excellent audio quality and voice pickup.  Most people that I have talked to with the SP500 said that they could hear me clearly.  A couple of people complained about not hearing me clearly or hearing static.  Moving the microphone seemed to fix the problem.  The SP500 now features a noise canceling microphone, which was not available in the original model.  The volume levels from the 2 Watt, 96 db speaker are good, but I wish it had more amplification since I drive a noisy sports car.  The volume levels should be fine for most cars and environments.  The microphone pivots on a soft, flexible arm for optimum voice pickup.

Read our full review of the Jabra SP500 Bluetooth Speakerphone

When Bluetooth (short range, radio frequency communication standard for wireless connectivity) first became available, one of the first devices to take advantage of this new protocol was the cellular phone.  The protocol was perfect for short range use such as synchronizing the phone to your computer, using the phone as a modem, or wireless, hands-free headsets.  I have always been a fan of hands-free headsets.  You could talk on the phone while keeping both hands on the car steering wheel and the earpiece made it easier to hear the person you were talking with.  Not to mention reducing the radiation dangers from holding the phone to your head.

However, I hated the design of the older wired headsets.  I would have to wrap it up after using it, unwrap it while a call is waiting, and it would get tangled up with the keys in my pocket.  When Jabra released their EarGel products, I immediately bought one.  The comfortable EarGels made the headset easier to use for long periods of time, but there was still the issue of keeping it untangled in my pocket.  When they released the EarBoom Winder, I bought it and it became my standard headset.  It was small, compact and the cord auto-winds when I am not using it.  But it still had a cord.

Bluetooth headsets promised to be the ultimate answer to the hassle of using a wired headset with a cellular phone.  But would it be everything that we could hope for?  One of the first companies to produce a Bluetooth headset was Jabra.  By combining a sleek headset design with their comfortable EarGel technology, Jabra introduced the FreeSpeak Bluetooth headset.  Now Jabra has updated the former “FreeSpeak” product line with the new BT500, the latest model in their original line of Bluetooth headsets.

Read our full review of the Jabra BT500 Bluetooth Headset…

About a year ago I wrote a review of the excellent Documents To Go Premium Edition 7.0 from DataViz. I recently got an opportunity to take a look at their newer version.

Like the previous version, 8.0 has a very well-designed and functional desktop application that lets you select files to download to your Palm device, and support to allow you to view and edit files from Word, Excel, and Powerpoint as well as the ability to view JPG and BMP files on your Palm. As I said in my earlier review, Documents to Go does these functions remarkably well and will allow you to do all of the common editing functions on these files and can save them in native format, which means that a Word file remains a Word file even after you edit it, allowing you to share it back to your desktop with changes and open it back up in Word.  Documents to Go is simply the best solution for working with Office files.

Read our full review of Documents to Go Premium Edition 8.0

With the wide array of mobile device that can play MP3 music and / or video, the one thing that almost every one of them lacks is good sound output. From MP3 / MP4 players to PDAs and mobile phones, most devices have a tiny mono speaker at best. Even many notebook computers have a very basic pair of small speakers that are incapable of producing quality, high-fidelity sound. All of these devices are design to use a pair of stereo headphones for listening to music or watching videos, but what if you want to enjoy quality sound without being tied to a set of headphones?

The Boomtube H2O1 from Think Outside, creators of the Stowaway Keyboard, is a portable speaker system designed to be easily stored and transported, but still able to deliver a quality, audio experience. Whether in your home, office, hotel room, boat, or any location, you can have great sound from your mobile device.

Read our full review of the Think Outside Boomtube H2O1 Portable Speakers with bass tube

A large variety of Bluetooth headsets are now available for almost any mobile phone.  But as features become more advanced and “style” creates large, obtrusive models, it is nice to find a Bluetooth headset that is lightweight, easy to use, and comfortable.

The VIM is very lightweight and easy to wear.  The reversible ear hook makes it adaptable to left or right ears.  A small, rubber tip protrudes a little into the ear to project the sound and is comfortable for most users.  The sound quality is good, but would have been better with more amplification.  Good for most situations, I found the maximum volume to be a little low in noisy environments.

The VIM features:

Full review: Seecode VIM Bluetooth Headset Review

A number of portable, Bluetooth speakerphones are now on the market.  Offering hands-free convenience, ease of use, and portability, these products are a great accessory for the mobile phone user.  Especially a mobile phone user in the car.  With all the new laws concerning use of mobile phones while driving, many companies are bringing new products to the market to meet the demands of these new laws.  While using an earphone does help, a wired earphone can still be distracting and a Bluetooth earphone can be uncomfortable on a long trip.  Some law enforcement officers still discourage the use of any earphone or headphone while driving.  By using Bluetooth, the Speakerphone can be wirelessly connected to the mobile phone and allow the driver to keep both hands on the wheel and eyes focused on the road.

The VISOR Bluetooth Speakerphone is the latest product from the Korea-based Seecode Company.  With its rechargeable battery, compact size, LCD display, built-in dialing, and excellent speaker and microphone performance, it is a great accessory for your mobile phone, both in and out of the car.

Read the full review of the Seecode Visor Bluetooth Speakerphone with Dialer

Bluetooth devices are quite common on many platforms now and Bluetooth keyboards have become a popular option for many computer users.  This year saw the launch of many new Bluetooth options for the mobile user and keyboards were a natural choice.

With the popularity of Bluetooth accessories, it was only natural for Think Outside, the creators of the original foldable keyboard for Palm, to create a Bluetooth model.  The Stowaway Universal Bluetooth Keyboard is a stylish, easy to use keyboard for almost any Bluetooth compatible mobile platform.

Read the full Think Outside Stowaway Bluetooth Keyboard review…

One thing that every mobile technology user hates is traveling with a big bag full of AC Power Supplies.  For me, that includes a different AC Adapter for my US Mobile phone, International mobile phone, Pocket PC, Sony PSP, MP3 Player, etc.  That is a lot of weight to carry around.  There are Universal AC Adapters, but it is really easy to set the voltage selector incorrectly and damage the device pulled into it.  One time, someone changed the selector on me and I did not check it before pulling in a portable hard drive.  That was the end of that hard drive.  Plus it would be nice to have a portable power solution so that I can recharge when there is a no access to a wall socket.  There must be a better solution, especially since most small devices run on 5V DC power and can be charged from a USB port.

The Socket Mobile Power Pack is a portable, 5V DC, rechargeable battery pack.  With the ability to store enough power to recharge a Pocket PC 8-10 times or a mobile phone 12-15 times, the MPP is a great solution for the mobile user who wants to stay mobile, not anchored to a wall outlet part of the time.

Read the full review…

Of all the applications that are available for a PDA, gaming has always been one of the favorites.  Everyone enjoys a good game at least once in a while.  However the available handheld gaming platforms have been limited.  The most successful handheld game platform has been the Nintendo Gameboy.  A great product, but primarily made for the kids or young teens market.  Not the best choice for the adult gamer.  Gaming on mobile phones has been limited to fairly simple games with low resolution and slow processor performance.  The modern PDA has given rise to a new level of handheld games.  Usually equipped with a better processor, more memory, more storage, and 16-bit full color screens, the modern PDA has allowed adults to play games that are more complex and sophisticated.  So is the market ready for a hardware platform that is more advanced than previously available and designed for the adult gamer?  Tapwave believes so.

Passwords.  Yuck.  You?ve got to hate them.  I mean, yes, we all know how important security is and, yes, having unique, strong passwords for every single secure site and account you have is the only way to be safe, but how in the world are you supposed to remember the dozens of passwords and account names you have?  You could use the same user name and password for virtually everything that allows you to make up your own, but that?s pretty much the worst possible solution ? anyone who cracks one account has access to every account you have.  Besides, there are still a lot of accounts that give you the password, username, or both, and those passwords are usually the ones that are pure gibberish and impossible to remember.  Or you could result to the sticky note on your monitor (or far worse, what a relative of mine does, a Word document on his desktop ? talk about an invitation to hackers) but while the sticky note approach is immune to online thievery, it?s kind of like writing the combination to your safe on the safe door.  No, you need the strong, unique passwords and you really need to keep them either in your head or stored somewhere that?s safe from intrusions into your system or anyone who can read a sticky note. 

For many people their Palm device is their primary way to access data when away from the desktop.  Part of the beauty of a PDA is the constant availability of addresses, phone numbers, and important appointments or reminders wherever you go.  This is even more significant when you have a wirelessly connected device where you can keep your device constantly in sync with changes.  But the default software doesn?t give you any way to keep copies of critical documents, spreadsheets, or presentations with you on your PDA.

I recently got the opportunity to try out a few of the game offerings from Astraware. Astraware offers a variety of games, many of which are Palm OS implementations of Pop Cap games that may already be familiar to you.