There are many things I remember from my childhood, and when it comes to technology, there was a hulking Sanyo Betamax VCR. The first VCR to grace the top of our Sanyo Colour TV (22 inch tube, resplendent with wooden case, and (gasp!) touch sensitive channel controls). A distinctive feature of this VCR was a (gasp! again) remote control. However infrared devices were yet to become the norm - this thing was WIRED.
So - when I recently upgraded my pedestrian mobile phone to an all singing, all dancing iMate JasJam, inserting a 2Gb micro SD card for good measure, I thought this was IT.
What more could I want for?
Then I plugged in the headset.
It got caught in my jacket, got caught in my umbrella, got caught in my prox card holder, and generally let the side down. Yes, this reminds me of that remote on the Betamax VCR I thought. Convienent yes, but also annoying.
Having tried a bluetooth earpiece some time ago and been thoroughly disappointed with its lack of battery life, and limited functionality, off in search of cordless nirvana I went.
This search resulted in a purchase of the Blueant X5 headset. This thing promised everything, and has delivered on most of it so far. With technology convergence and all, the last thing I wanted was a single function device again. The X5 had the potential to be used in several ways: a cordless headset for phone calls via the Jasjam, listening to music on the Jasjam, and VOIP/Skype/etc and general audio on my Bluetooth enabled laptops (Toshiba Tecra A6 and IBM Thinkpad Z61p).
So far the Jasjam experience has been flawless - listening to MP3s and as a phone headset it's great. Surprisingly good bass response, and as it isn't an in-ear device like the wired equivalent it's replacing, and I find I can use it for extended periods without discomfort.
The laptops have been another story. The Toshiba initially would pair, but refused to connect due to copyright protection technology (SCMS-T). A work around was found (also here), but it still won't utilise the microphone. The Thinkpad is even worse - it pairs, but the X5 doesn't even appear as an audio output device. The search for a fix goes on. It really shouldn't be this hard methinks...
Am I happy with the purchase? Yes. Could I be happier? Yes. The need was for a cordless audio and phone headset for my Jasjam, and it works a treat in that capacity. I have a Logitech USB headset (purchased off the returns shelf at Officeworks for half price - one of my best purchases!) which the PCs are happy with, so it's not the end of the earth that they don't play well with it (yet). The X5 includes a wired adapter to mate it to the output of your sound card which bypasses the issues, but isn't ideal of course.
So - caveat emptor and all that. Simplicity through complexity. Great when it all works!
