Name: PLANEX BT-HP01AD
Category: audio peripheral
Price: JPY6980
Release date in Japan: Early June, 2008
Wireless headsets are nifty, but can be pricey. Here's a solution just about any Bluetooth-equipped audio player owner would find handy: PLANEX Communications' new stereo audio Bluetooth adapter for any normal headphones, the BT-HP01AD.
Plug your favorite 'phones into the little lozenge-shaped BT and slip it into a pocket. Play audio from your Bluetooth gadget, whether mobile phone or PC, and enjoy the sound without the annoying tether. With a range of up to 10m, it's perfect for someone who wants to use headphones while roaming about the room.
While most PCs these days sport Bluetooth, not all audio players do; iPods are notably 'toothless. PLANEX fixes this with the BT-DockT (JPY6980), which transmits iPod audio over Bluetooth to your new BT.
The BT also sports a built-in microphone, letting it handle hands-free voice chats while you pace the floor. Yet another trick: the BT acts as a wireless remote control for your player, with play, pause, forward/reverse, and volume control.
As most readers will know, you have to "pair" Bluetooth devices to each other (otherwise, you'd get a mess of promiscuous devices trying to interoperate with every other device in range). The BT will "pair" with up to two devices, such as an audio player and a mobile phone. If you're listening to the player's audio when a call comes in, the BT will switch to the paired phone, letting you take up the conversation from there.
PLANEX is throwing in one more incentive for buyers: a free download of "Keitai Bannou Lite" software for backing up, editing, and managing mobile phone address book data on a PC.
Other specs: Class 2 Bluetooth. Up to 6 hours operation (or 200 hours standby) on 2-hour recharge. Size 4.4 x 2 x 1.8 cm; weight 14 grams, or half an ounce.
More info: http://www.planex.co.jp/product/bluetooth/bt-hp01ad/index.shtml (Japanese)
http://www.planex.co.jp/product/bluetooth/bt-dockt/ (BT DockT iPod adapter, Japanese)