The Power of Bluetooth - Life Without Wires

The first time I was introduced to bluetooth was with the Nokia N-Gage.  Regardless of all the over dramatization of "side-talking", the N-Gage opened up a world of bluetooth opportunities with its multi-game playing capabilities.  In my honest opinion if people looked past the side-talking issue and just purchased a bluetooth headset things would have been fine.  I think thats the way it was supposed to be but not everyone caught on to it.  Point blank... I never held that thing up to my ear!

With the advancement of bluetooth technology and increasing accessories for compatibility it seems that one doesn't really have to connect to anything with a wire. 

During my recent break I used my BH-501 headset, SU-8W keyboard and MD-5W Speakers all connected at various times to my N95 or N75.  What has changed over the years is that the amount of bluetooth accessories that can be connected to one single device is no longer limited.

I'll give a brief summary of these devices after the break.

The Nokia BH-501, which I mentioned before, are the most comfortable headphones that I've used so far.  My music comes through very clear and crisp.  The BH-501 supports A2DP bluetooth profile and although some claim that they can't get it to work, it does in fact work with my N75. 

Using the BH-501 while out in public was of course weird.  Just when the technology lacking consumers out here have finally moved up to having a bt earpiece of some sort, here comes this chick with alien headphones having a conversation on a mic that they can not see.  Lol brilliant!

Using the BH-501 isn't only limited to pairing it with a compatible device.  Nokia has a Wireless Audio Adapter, AD-47W, which comes packaged with the BH-601 (but not the BH-501).  The adapter allows you to pair your compatible Nokia headet to your laptop or PC and listen to your music.  More info can be found here.

The Nokia MD-5W Bluetooth Speakers are actually more than what they seem.  What I like most about them is that there are 2 ways of powering them up.  The speakers come with 4 AA batteries and a Nokia charger so that you can charge using either method.  Since I was at home I used the charger... save the batteries for other things.  The port where you plug the charger was a bit tricky to find since its concealed and covered on the back by a little plastic tab.

The speakers can be connected to your compatible device via bluetooth or the provided CA-63U cable and allows you to listen to music or podcasts that you have stored on your device.  You can also control the music player directly from the speakers using the controls on the front.

Other then using the speakers for listening to music you can also use it as a speakerphone.  Now I'm not gonna lie to you... this came in handy for me during bathtime!  Yeah I know that sounds corny, but this is my example!! 

To initiate the call you must use your phone.  To answer a call, you simply press the answer/end key which is located on the front of the speakers.  More info on the MD-5W can be found here.

I saved the Bluetooth Keyboard for last since I've spoken about this before.  Now whats cool is being connected the keyboard, headphones at the same time.  Currently, I am writing this with the keyboard connected to my N95 while listening to music on the speakers.  Lol!!  All text has been done using the keyboard, but I had to manually add the images via my laptop.

I'm also playing around with the Nokia Digital Pen SU-27W and have tested it a bit by creating doodle messages to put on my Mobile Web Server.  I'll have to cover that another time.

So there you have it!!  Being connected is fun, except of course when people look at you like you just picked your nose or something. 

Comments

[John]

How do the MD-5W speakers sound?

[Angel]

Wow....quite an extensive array of gadgets diva! :)

I'm also curious to know how well the sound is for the MD-5W speakers.

Thanks.

[Darla]

The speaker sound is really loud and clear when listening to my music.
I had someone call me to check the clarity of the sound while in call and they said that I sounded a bit distant, but sometimes you get that same sound using a BT headset.

[Gerry]

This is just annoying, I have been waiting for the N95 for a LONG while, but after getting my phoned nicked on holiday, I needed a new phone, the E65 - HOWEVER it doesn't support A2DP - how come Nokia are producing such amazing phones without it, and shed loads of compatible gadgets?

Frustrated.

[Mackenzie]

Wow. . Great review. . Definitely going to buy the HS 501 this august.
Can you check whether I can use the A2DP headphones with a non A2DP phone like the N70 until i get a better phone ? And do i have to use the nokia AD-41 adapter for my pc or can any bluetooth dongle will do ?

[Hamster]

Gerry, I believe A2DP support was included in the recently released-then-pulled N73 firmware. Perhaps Nokia is planning on impementing support for more devices in future firmware releases - we can only hope. :)

Out of interest, how long will the BH-501 go on one charge? Reports of poor battery life have always made me a little wary of wireless headsets.

[Darla]

@Mackenzie,

Unfortunately you can only use the BH-501 with phones that support the A2DP profile. I wasn't successful at getting the headset to connect to my laptop with just my BT dongle.

[Marion]

I had the battery question too for the BH-601...cool set might like to get them.

How about a nice protective skin for your N76. Don't really like the belt hangers but a nice leather or neoprene skin that will slip in my pocket would be great. Dropped it twice already on concrete so I'm getting a little annoyed. Any recommendations?

[Marion]

Ouch!! Just found the price...never mind. Maybe later.

[DANN]

Lucky you ! I tried combination of A2DP Headphones and bluetooth keyboard on my HTC TyTN and lots of sound interrupts and lags forced me to stop using this devices in the same time. And use of bluetooth and WiFi in the same time is the same story - lots of sound interrupts and lags.
The same situation is with Microsoft's VISTA x64 ULTIMATE - I cannot use my A2DP headphones and bluetooth keyboard or mouse in one time. Even using of A2DP and ActiveSync over bluetooth caused me interrupts problems. So you can say to me it's only problem of (microsoft's) implementation ?