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The Hartford Courant, Conn., Kevin Hunt column: For iPhone, Touch Users, A Sound SystemAug 16, 2009 (The Hartford Courant - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- App-happy owners of the iPhone and iPod Touch sometimes get so caught up in the cult of Apple that they never suspect they're being deprived of some basic mobile comforts. Here's an alert: Stereo Bluetooth, the wireless transmission of two-channel music from mobile phone or portable music player to a pair of human ears, has been around for several years. Only with the arrival in June of Apple's 3.0 operating system, however, did it become available to both the iPhone and (second-generation only) Touch. Suddenly, it's an awakening. A nation of iPhone/Touch worshipers can now shift from wired headsets or single-ear Bluetooth headsets to stereo Bluetooth headsets like Altec Lansing's sporty BackBeat 903. But Apple, uncharacteristically, didn't get it exactly right. The iPhone/Touch streams stereo music wirelessly, but the 3.0 update is not fully compatible with remote control functions in Bluetooth headsets like the BackBeat 903. Though it plays and pauses tracks and adjusts volume, it cannot skip tracks. Expect another firmware update, the coming-soon 3.1, to change that. On the Touch, the omission is more glaring: It will not recognize the microphone function in Bluetooth headsets. That, perhaps, would have been too inviting. Imagine making phone calls, either free or pennies per call with services like Skype, using a Touch and a wireless Internet connection. That sounds too much like an iPhone without a $40-a-month service contract. With abundant Wi-Fi access on college campuses and city centers, it's a risk Apple might not take. So a BackBeat 903 or other stereo Bluetooth headset now handles music, not phone conversations, from a Touch. Don't start a countdown to OS 3.1, anticipating Apple will somehow alter its microphone-recognition policy, either. Like any multipurpose device, whether a TV/DVD player or toaster oven, a stereo Bluetooth headset makes some sacrifices. The $100 BackBeat 903 doesn't sound as good as a pair of $100 music-only wired earphones or a $100 phone-only headset. So, maestro, would you carry around one set of earphones for music and another for phone calls. Of course not! Altec Lansing, better than most, is ready for the marriage of music and phone calls: An audio company founded in 1936, it was acquired in 2005 by Plantronics, a headset manufacturer. It didn't forget owners of non-Bluetooth iPod models, either: The BackBeat 903's sister model, the 906 ($130), includes a Bluetooth 2.0 transmitter that adds wireless compatibility to any audio device. The BackBeat's two earpieces are joined by an 8-inch cable that wraps behind the user's neck. Each earpiece wraps around the ear -- I never mastered the wrapping using only one hand -- and the odd-shaped silicone earbud aligns in such a way to allow external sound. That's the BackBeat's sportiness: The earpieces fit snugly enough to withstand your most vigorous exercise, while allowing enough ambient noise that you'll hear a car approaching from behind during a morning jog. The left earpiece houses the phone controls, the right earpiece the music and volume controls. And a single charge lasts up to seven hours. Lacking a snug, in-ear seal, however, detracts from its performance as music earphones, notably in diminished bass. As a call-music package, though, the 903 is formidable. What if you won't relent to peer pressure, or convenience, and can live with a wired headset? At the very least, you could get improved sound and more consistent phone-call clarity at a lower price. A pair of Zagg's Z.buds (zagg.com), $80 with an in-line microphone and volume control, allow the sealed fit and bass performance the BackBeat can't duplicate. It also has none of the security, charging or call-quality issues of Bluetooth headsets. The only thing is ... the wiring. But second-generation Touch owners get a considerable bonus: Their devices support wired microphones. Yes, that'll turn a Touch into a phone. To see more of The Hartford Courant, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.courant.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, The Hartford Courant, Conn. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |