Bluetooth headsets, phones, and macs...

[Uberglitch]

So here's one for ya - I'm getting a new MBP in a few days, and I just got a samsung A900M the other day - one of the razor knockoffs.

What I want to do is get a bluetooth earpiece that will not only work with my phone for phonecalls and whatnot, but can also be understood by my mac and used as a mic for those iChats and whatnot. I hear tell that this is fully doable, as long as the earpiece has drivers for a mac, but I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions on what earpiece to use?

And then I have to figure out the bluetooth mouse debate... wireless MM, or logitech? decisions decisions...

Thanks!

 

[vi2867]

I found these headphones that do the trick. Leo Laporte talked about them on his podcast. They actually work with your phone and iPod or computer simultaneously.

The company is called icombi...

 

[phuong]

I found these headphones that do the trick. Leo Laporte talked about them on his podcast. They actually work with your phone and iPod or computer simultaneously.

The company is called icombi...

vi2876, i think he wants something like a bluetooth microphone + headphone combo, something that allows him to hear as well as talk without having any cords (i.e., he's using it for skype)

as far asi know, any bluetooth headset will do. you only have to pair it with your computer, and in System Preference, change input and output audio to the headset, et voila...

i found many topic like this on google too

 

[Uberglitch]

vi2876, i think he wants something like a bluetooth microphone + headphone combo, something that allows him to hear as well as talk without having any cords (i.e., he's using it for skype)

as far asi know, any bluetooth headset will do. you only have to pair it with your computer, and in System Preference, change input and output audio to the headset, et voila...

i found many topic like this on google too

Here's hoping - i just bought a Jabra BT250v. What's sad is that it should arrive before my new MBP, now that they've pushed back the ship dates.

 

[bousozoku]

Here's hoping - i just bought a Jabra BT250v. What's sad is that it should arrive before my new MBP, now that they've pushed back the ship dates.

Unless the headset specifically says that it works for a certain piece of hardware, I would expect it to work equally well (or not) with any brand. I've been considering a headset for my A900 but haven't really decided though the matching Samsung piece has been discounted heavily.

I'm not sure about the reliability of Bluetooth since I've been using my A900 as a modem, connected by USB cable and Bluetooth. There is a huge difference in the connectivity between the A900 and the PowerBook via the cable vs. Bluetooth.

 

[Counterfit]

I've got the Nokia BH-200. It works very well with my Sony Ericsson S710a and my PowerBook. It even supports Bluetooth 2.0!
The downside is that when using it with my computer, it uses most of the available bandwidth, so my cursor jumps all over the place.

 

[apfhex]

Any standard bluetooth headset should work with the Mac.

I don't know about newer ones, but my SE HBH-660 can only be paired with one device at a time, so if I want to use it with my Mac and phone I have to re-pair it each time. =/

 

[Uberglitch]

Unless the headset specifically says that it works for a certain piece of hardware, I would expect it to work equally well (or not) with any brand. I've been considering a headset for my A900 but haven't really decided though the matching Samsung piece has been discounted heavily.

I'm not sure about the reliability of Bluetooth since I've been using my A900 as a modem, connected by USB cable and Bluetooth. There is a huge difference in the connectivity between the A900 and the PowerBook via the cable vs. Bluetooth.

Sweet, we gotta talk about that- I have an A900m, and I want to know how to connect my computer through the phone, how hard it is, what is costs through the phone company, and which is faster? Cable I'm assuming. Let me know please!!

 

[yellow]

Unfortunately, my BT headset for my phone wouldn't work with my MBP. <disappointment>

 

[bousozoku]

Sweet, we gotta talk about that- I have an A900m, and I want to know how to connect my computer through the phone, how hard it is, what is costs through the phone company, and which is faster? Cable I'm assuming. Let me know please!!

I've checked both various times and connected via the USB cable, I've gotten from 582 Kbps to 1.1 Mbps. Using Bluetooth is more convenient because it charges but I've only gotten a maximum of 314 Kbps and it disconnects a lot when idle. However, both operate in spurts--it's not the smoothest connection but it does work reasonably well. I get 5 bars of signal here but then again, I've seen it drop to zero, so who knows?

It's more expensive to use the phone than a home plan or a hot spot plan but you can get some access anywhere you get a signal. The speed is dependent on your location. If an area hasn't been configured for 3G/high speed data, you're stuck at EDGE-type speeds that the RAZR people have to endure. Also, Sprint is rolling out their enhanced 3G network--it's in San Fran right now and features somewhat enhanced speeds. Both the bottom end and top end speeds are faster but I didn't notice that the average speed varied much.

 

[Uberglitch]

It works!

Little update - I got headset, got it paired to both my mac and my A900m, and it works! Yes, I have to set the mic and speakers on my mac to go to it, but thats not hard. And then I have to have my phone 'connect' to it to transfer to using it for calls - but its not bad all around. can even listen to iTunes and everything through it. The biggest deal for me is that when using it with the phone, there's some static in my ear when I'm talking through it, but people on the other end say they can hear my fine. Gets worse if my phone's blocked by my body or something. But all in all, a good toy.

 

[bousozoku]

Is it stereo or not?

The matching Samsung headset is about $50 but the Bluetooth-enabled headphones I've seen are $200. I'm taking my time, hoping that prices will fall a lot.

 

[Chef Medeski]

Most headsets work as I've found. Just go to "Sound" in system preferences and switch input or output to whatever you want. The output is terrible on the headset but the mic is very clean, clear.