Nokia BH-905, BH-214 and MD-9 Review

During my recent #NokiaNav challenges, which featured a Maserati (in case I’d not mentioned that before!) I was able to try out some cool Nokia accessories. The main piece of kit was the CK-200 Car Kit, but I also had some other Nokia audio accessories to try out. This started off on the first day with the Nokia BH-214 Bluetooth headset, which I had to use to find the keys to the car! My second challenge involved driving to a mystery location, collect a key to unlock a black box in the boot of the car, where I found a pair of Nokia BH-905 Noise Cancelling Headphones. The last item was found in the hamper in the boot of the Maserati – a Nokia MD-9 Mini Speaker.

So I’ve had a good play with all 3 of the Nokia Accessories, and I have now compiled my thoughts on each of the devices below:

Nokia BH-905 Noise Cancelling Headphones

These are a serious pair of headphones. Weighty, yet light the Nokia BH-905 headphones come in a nice zip-ip case that contains the headphones, cable for charging, and cable and adapters should you like to be wired  to your audio system.

If you like your music, and you like to get fully immersed into your listening experience, then these are the headphones for you. The Nokia BH-905 headphones are wireless using Bluetooth. Not only do they deliver great sound quality, but they are also noise cancelling. What does this mean? Well, there are some small mics on the headphones that pick up any background noise around you, and then using clever technology will the cancel this noise out so as not to interfere with your listening experience.

On one of the headphones you will find some music controls that allow you to skip tracks, play/pause and adjust the volume. These work great with Nokia devices, but don’t function completely with other Bluetooth devices such as an iPhone (iOS 4.1 will fix this).  You can play/pause and adjust the volume, but not skip tracks.

I compared the sound quality of the headphones against some BOSE noise cancelling headphones, and while the BH-905 sound great, they obviously don’t match the quality. You certainly don’t get the depth of stereo, or bass that the BOSE noise-cancelling headphones deliver, but then the BH-905′s are somewhat cheaper.

The headphones themselves rest on your ears, whereas the BOSE are slightly larger and cup your ears totally enclosing them with the headphone. Because of this I didn’t think that Nokia’s were as comfortable or that the overall sound quality and noise-cancelling experience was quite as good.

Saying that – comparing them to some expensive BOSE headphones was probably a little unfair, as they would generally be out of most peoples price bracket – for what you get the Nokia BH-905 headphones deliver a great sound experience at a reasonable price.

Personally I’m not really a big fan of large headphones, I’d never wear them while out-and-about, and although I sometimes like to ‘zone-out’ at home with music via headphones, I’d opt for the smaller in-your-ear style.

The Nokia BH-905 Bluetooth Headphones retails for around £140.

Nokia MD-9 Mini Speaker

The Nokia MD-9 Mini Speaker was the biggest surprise for me out of all of the accessories. The small black square speaker with a simple red stripe around it doesn’t look much, it’s also very light and compact. Like most media speakers of this kind of size I wasn’t expecting much in the quality of the sound. On plugging it into the Nokia N97 Mini, I was surprised by how loud and bassy the sound that came out of it. Even in an outdoor environment, with background noises, the music was very clear with a nice rich sound to it. And all powered by 2 AAA batteries!

The wire to connect to your music device winds nicely around the base of the MD-9 with the jack snapping firmly into the bottom of the unit.

There isn’t much more to say about the Nokia MD-9‘s – you just plug it in and enjoy your music.

I can see myself using the Nokia MD-9 Portable Mini Speaker while on holiday, as it’s so light that it can easily be packed in a bag.

The Nokia MD-9 Mini Speaker retails for around £16.

Nokia BH-214 Bluetooth Headset

This little device was given to me at the start of the #NokiaNav experience when I had to go and locate the keys for the Maserati that had just been delivered (Did I mention that I had a Maserati for a week?).

Photo by BennyCrime

The device is easily clipped onto a shirt/jacket and the headphones pop into your ear canal. No more long wires to get tangled up with and the sound quality on these were great.

I found that these were great for use at the gym, and used them every day on my walk to and from work.

The BH-214 can be paired with most Bluetooth devices that support A2DP profile, which includes the iPhone. Unfortunately music navigation using the keys isn’t supported, although the volume can be adjusted.

The device is quick to charge, which gives music playback of around 7 hours.

Overall the BH-214 Bluetooth Headphones are a fantastic addition for music on the move.  I loved them so much that I actually bought myself a pair – which are used daily. Wireless music is definitely the way to go – I dont think that I could go back to proper wired headphones again now.

Nokia BH-214 retail for around £39.99 – but I managed to pick up a pair from KingofGadgets.co.uk for £22.99 with free delivery.

Google Latitude is now available in the App Store for iPhone and iPad.

If you have been waiting patiently for Google to release a dedicated iPhone App for Google Latitude, then you are kinda in luck, as a Google Latitude iPhone App has finally hit the App Store. Latitudie is not an official app from Google themselves, but from the developer who brought us Buzzie, the Google Buzz client for the iPhone.

Latitudie works on both iPhone and iPad makes use of the multitasking in iOS4 so that you can run it in the background, but be warned that constant use of the GPS will drain your battery.

The app is a little sparse at the moment, and will only update your location to Latitude, there is currently no options to see your friends list, which is a shame. Hopefully it will be updated with new features with the same frequency that the developers have with their other app Buzzie.

The History function is neat, you can go back and look at where you have been with Google Latitude (using any previous Latitude App) and a pin will appear on the map. This data can of course be cleared.

Latitudie the Google Latitude App will work on both iPhone and iPad and costs £1.19

Hands on with the new Three MiFi (Huawei E585)

Today I got invited to London for an event by ThreeMobileBuzz to see the new generation Three MiFi unit and chat with the Three Product Manager as well as some other like-minded people.

The invite was very cryptic. I received a tweet from ThreeMobileBuzz to say that I needed to meet outside Liberty’s at 6.35pm with another blogger. What lay in-store for us was a rickshaw ride to the actual event, where we were asked about the MiFi unit we currently had, and what we’d like to see in version 2.

The Three MiFi Event

Matt from Three talked about some of the issues that had been raised with the first version of the Three MiFi and how they worked with Huawei to make this second generation unit better.

The first issue that has been addressed is that the device now only has one button activation instead of 3.

The confusing lights have gone, and has been replaced by an OLED display that gives the user better information, such as amount downloaded and duration of session.

The previous dashboard that was only accessible via a PC is now web browser based.

Battery management has been optimised for efficiency, although it’s the same battery inside.

Charging time has been improved. Initial charge has dropped from 12 to 8 hours and everyday charging time has also been improved.

You can now charge the device and use it when it is plugged in, this wasn’t previously possible.

The device will now auto-connect when the signal drops unlike the original.

Hands on with the new Three MiFi

The new Huawei E585 MiFi is exactly the same size as the original MiFi, this time it comes in black with a mirrored top-half for the OLED information display.

The first thing that you notice about the device is how easy it is to get up and running. The simple press of one button, and the display tells you what’s happening. No more having to press 3 buttons in the correct order, checking that all the correct lights are lit.

The display is neat, it tells you how much you have downloaded, how long you have been online, as well as signal strength and gives a better indication of battery status.

There is nothing to report in terms of changes to download speeds etc, as that all remains the same.

The new Three MiFi also allows you access to the web browser based config area, where you can change settings on the MiFi, send and receive text messages, plus also look at the files that you may have stored on a MicroSD card you can put in the unit.

Conclusion

The second generation Huawei E585 MiFi is certainly a more polished device than the original MiFi. The annoying 3 button activation has gone, Mac users are now supported, it has a more informative display, and charging while in use, mean that this has gone from a good device to a great device.

All of the features worked perfectly from my iPad, and if you are thinking of making your WiFi only iPad 3G, then this IS the device for you. I will certainly be getting one when it comes out.

Buying a (Huawei E585) Three MiFi

The new and improved Three MiFi will be available from 2nd July and will start to replace existing MiFi stock.

The pricing will be exactly the same as the original model, £49.99 on Pay As You Go.

If you are thinking of getting a MiFi, I’d personally wait until the second generation hits the shops in a few weeks time.

For more information about the Three MiFi, see the MiFi section on the Three website.

The iPhone is coming to Three (UK)

We had the first indication that the iPhone is coming to 3 back in February, now the news has finaly come true – the iPhone 4 will be coming to Three on June 24th.

Information is sparse at the moment, but you can register your interest on the site now. You will then be able to pre-order your iPhone 4 on Three from Tuesday 15th June.

This is great news for Three, who I believe have a great network, but rubbish handsets to actually make use of it.  This is the phone that will put Three back in the race and lure people back to the network!

I can’t wait..

MiFi from 3 Review

I have recently been trialling Three’s MiFi device as a way to get my Apple iPad online when I’m not near a WiFi Hotspot. Is is any good? Read on to find out…

What’s a MiFi?

You should be familiar with the term WiFi, which allows you to surf the Internet without any wires from the device of your choice (PC, Mac, Games Console, Mobile Phone etc) to a WiFi Hotspot, which is in turn, connected to a telephone line to an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

You might also have heard of a Mobile Broadband Dongle. This is a USB device that plugs into your computer and allows you to connect that computer to the Internet using a Mobile Network (Orange, Vodafone, Three etc).

A MiFi is basically a combination of the two. You can connect any device to it using WiFi, and then the device connects to the Internet using a Mobile Network, rather than a fixed line (from BT).

Why use a MiFi?

The beauty of using a MiFi is that you don’t need to have a traditional telephone line connection to the Internet, you can connect your device to the Internet wherever you happen to be (provided that you have mobile signal!).

Also, unlike a USB Broadband Dongle, which allows one device to connect to the Internet at a time, a MiFi allows up to five devices to use the same Internet connection.

The MiFi is compact and light, and will easily slip into a pocket or bag so that you can hop onto the Internet wherever you choose to take it!

Using the Three MiFi

Getting the unit up and running is a breeze, although you do actually need a PC for the first part.

There are a selection of lights on the unit that give statuses to different parts of the MiFi service, Clockwise from top-left are:

• Network coverage - This will go green when it detects a mobile signal
• Battery Status – This will change from green, yellow and red, as your battery is used
• M (Mobile Broadband) – This informs you that you have a Internet connection (dark blue/light blue for super fast connection)
• W (WiFi) is enabled – This allows your devices to connect to the MiFi
• R - is only seen when you are roaming (using the MiFi abroad)

There are 3 buttons down the side of the unit, a power on/off plus a button to turn on/off WiFi and Mobile Broadband independently.

Getting the unit up and running requires pressing (and holding for 2 seconds) these buttons in a certain order – Power, WiFi then Mobile Broadband, with each related light flashing, and then turning solid to indicate its active.

Once the lights are static you are good to go.  All you then need to do is enter the provided WiFi Key on your WiFi device and you should be surfing the net in no time.

Results

The speeds of the MiFi have been pretty great. I have been getting between 1.5Mb and 3Mb.

I have streamed video to my iPad and iPhone from TVCatchup simultaneously using the same MiFi connection, and got fault-less picture quality.

I downloaded a 450MB App from the iTunes Store in under 40 minutes.

After the initial 12 hour battery charge, it then takes 3 hours for a full charge (from mains).

With a standard 3G connection to the Internet, the Apple App Store would detect that you are not using WiFi and prevent any downloads over 20MB. Not so with the MiFi, as your immediate connection is WiFi, there are no restrictions. This is great, but be aware that you will gobble up your mobile broadband data allowance quickly with large downloads.

Conclusion

The Three MiFi is an awesome gadget! Why pay for Mobile Broadband restricted to one device when you can get one of these and connect whatever devices you like to it.

For iPad owners it will cost you an extra £100 to upgrade from the 16GB WiFi model to the 16GB WiFi+3G unit. A Pay-As-You-Go MiFi is half that price (£49.99) and allows you to connect ANY device to the mobile Internet.  I think it’s a bit of a no-brainer!

The unit is solid, and light, and while connecting is easy, I think that it really needs to be simplified to a one button activation.

It’s also a shame that you are unable to charge the device via USB when plugged into a USB port on a computer.

The PC MiFi Manager Software is a bind and would be a problem for Mac users (like me), so for people who are using an iPad then it would be nice to access the control panel via a web browser.

Faults aside – it’s a very usable device – and I would highly recommend this to anybody!

You can pick a MiFi up from Three for as little as £49.99 on Pay As You Go.

]]> http://mypocketos.com/2010/06/07/mifi-from-three-review/feed/ 0 http://mypocketos.com/2010/06/05/switcheasy-vulcan-case-for-iphone-3gs/ http://mypocketos.com/2010/06/05/switcheasy-vulcan-case-for-iphone-3gs/#comments Sat, 05 Jun 2010 16:46:39 +0000 Neil Bird http://mypocketos.com/?p=1549

SwitchEasy Vulcan Case for iPhone 3GS Review

The Apple iPhone is a great looking mobile and although I love to keep my gadgets like new, free from bumps and scratches, I don’t won’t to wrap the phone in a lead box to keep it safe. Why have a cool mobile and hide it behind tons of plastic?

I have recently been testing a new case for my iPhone 3GS – the SwitchEasy Vulcan which gives your phone lots of protection, but without much additional bulk.

Contents

Inside the packaging you will find the following items:

• Shock Proof Semi-Soft Case
• 2 Anti-Static Screen Protectors (1 spare)
• 2  Connector Port Protectors (for the headphone jack and dock connector port)
• 1 Micro-fibre Wipe
• 1 set of Instructions

Fitting

Adding the SwitchEasy Vulcan to your iPhone was a breeze, after a quick polish of the handset to remove any dust from the device, peel off the protective film from the sticky side of the screen guard and apply it to the front of the iPhone pushing out any air bubbles from the screen.

Next it’s just a matter of attaching the back cover to the iPhone.  Now the cover is very snug, and you will have to slip one end of the iPhone into the cover and forcefully pull the other end over the phone.  It’s reassuring to know that its so snug that you know that your phone isnt going to come out of it anytime soon.

First Impressions

On first glance it looks like a solid black plastic enclosure, but on closer inspection you notice that the plastic is actually see-through, allowing the Apple logo and iPhone model details to be seen through the back. There are also some subtle curved lines that run up through the back of the case that you notice as its catches the light.

The phone feels good in your hand, and the screen doesn’t impair usage of the touchscreen interface in any way.

What is does and doesn’t protect

The protective case sits snugly across the back of the iPhone which also covers the Power button and Volume up/down buttons, but leaves the switch to silent button and headphone jack exposed, as well as the mic/speaker and dock ports at the bottom of the handset.  The kit does come with covers for the headphone jack and connector port, but these are so small that they will easily be lost.

The screen protector covers the entire face of the iPhone, with a hole for the Home button, which doesn’t get covered.

Conclusion

I have used some other similar and more expensive covers on my iPhone, which have been a little more rubbery. After time the corners of it weaken and have started to pop-back exposing my iPhone on a few occasions while taking it out of my pocket.

The SwitchEasy Vulcan is a very solid case, and as it was snug in fitting, you know that it’s not going to come off very easily. It also doesn’t feel like it adds any extra bulk to the handset.

The case has a bit of a non-slip feel to it, maybe not as much as some other cases, but is adequate enough to stop it easily sliding out of your hand.

I have been very please with the SwitchEasy Vulcan iPhone case and would highly recommend it to anybody looking to get a sleek protective case for their iPhone.

You can get the SwitchEasy iPhone Case from mobilefun.co.uk for £19.95.  They also have a huge selection of other iPhone covers.

The #NokiaNav video

Below is the official video of the #NokiaNav event that took place last month.  See the cars being prepped, then delivered to the bloggers (myself included), see the challenges, and ending with the final meet in London with some more participants and the people behind the tech.  Awesome stuff.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgxVsxbhYhs

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank the awesome guys at WOMWorld/Nokia again for the amazing experience.

Grab 5 free Nokia Music Tracks with Immobilise

Immobilise is the UK’s National Property Register, a free UK online tool that allows you to keep a portfolio of all your personal property. Should your precious item(s) get lost or stolen, you can then use Immobilise to help recover your property and get it back to it’s rightful owner – you.

To encourage more people to sign up to use Immobilise, they are offering you 5 free Nokia Music tracks and a chance to be entered into a competition to win a holiday.

As most of you who visit this site will have some form of expensive mobile phone, then it would make sense to draw your attention to this great service. No doubt you will also have other valuable items, so should the unfortunate happen, it could just help you in getting your possession back. It’s free after all, and so are the music tracks.

Hands on with the Nokia CK-200 Car Kit

You will probably by now have read about my recent experiences with a Maserati that was kindly dropped off to me as part of the #NokiaNav Challenges. If you havent take a look at the Delivery Day and Challenge 2 posts.

The main reason that myself and 4 other bloggers received a sports car each for the week, was to try out a Nokia Car Kit called the Nokia CK-200. This kit was fitted to each of the cars, and was the basis for the #NokiaNav Challenges that took place.

The Nokia CK-200 Kit

The Nokia CK-200 is a small car kit that intergrates with your existing car stereo. The unit allows you to wirelessly connect you Nokia mobile phone to your cars audio system via Bluetooth.

The CK-200 unit itself has 2 components, the first is a small LED display that can attach to your dash:

The other part is a remote control dial for controlling the kit which can be attached anywhere in your car using the velcro pad.

Setting-up the CK-200

The device itself is easy to set-up, just pair your Nokia mobile to it as you would any Bluetooth device.

You will then be prompted on your phone to connect to the device:

Once connected you also have the option to download your phones contact list to the CK-200 unit.

The CK-200 in use

The Nokia CK-200 gives you freedom to use certain features of your mobile while you are diving. My main experience was to use the connected Nokia N97 Mini with OVI Maps to navigate to the specified locations during the #NokiaNav Challenges.

With the contacts list downloaded to the CK-200 it also gives you quick access to your phonebook for calling friends and family, with a quick scroll to your desired contact and pressing the dial & hangup buttons respectively.

Using voice commands on your Nokia handset (dependant on model), with one touch operation from the CK-200 you are able to tell your phone a command (that it recognises) and it will perform an action, such as read new Text Messages/Email or even play music from your mobile, which of course can then be streamed via Bluetooth to your car stereo.

Unfortunately I was unable to use the cars own built-in entertainment system, due to a lock-code issue, which meant that I was unable to see how the CK-200 handled overriding the cars radio/CD for audio alerts and calls to and from the mobile.

Other Features

The display colour of the CK-200 can be changed to suit your personal choice, from white, blue, orange and green.

The CK-200 is also easily removable from it’s mount and small enough to fit into a pocket or your glovebox as not to attract the attention of unwanted eyes when your car is parked.

The same is said for the CK-200 control unit, which can be removed fom it’s Velcro mount and hidden from view.

Conclusion

The CK-200 performed as expected working with the Nokia N97 Mini, I did try pairing with my iPhone but sadly nothing happened.

The unit is very sleek looking, and doesn’t look at-all out of place sat on your dash. The display is crisp and bright, especially during night time driving, I did however struggle to see the display when wearing sunglasses in bright sunshine though.

The unit is very simple to use, and once you figure out what all the buttons do, it’s fairly easy to navigate your way around the system, without having to take your eye of the road.

If you are looking for an easy way to connect your Nokia handset to your car stereo then this could be the solution for you. That being said the ‘CK-200 to phone connection’ is the easy part – the wiring of the CK-200 to the back of your stereo may require some more expert help.

I have mixed feelings about the CK-200, while my overall experience of the unit was good, I just cant help wonder why you wouldn’t just buy a car stereo system that is already Bluetooth-enabled?

The Nokia Car Kit CK-200 will be available in the summer and is expected to retail for approximately €140.

More images of the CK-200

At the end of #NokiaNav Challenge 2, I was able to unlock the mystery black box in the boot of the Maserati.  Inside was a pair of Nokia BH-905 Bluetooth noise cancelling headphones with the below card:

Since then I have been trying hard to think of noisy locations where I could test the headphones.  Unfortunately in rural Somerset it’s pretty quiet. So with the instructions ‘creativity is the key’ I took a different slant and went down the line of; because the headphones are great at blocking-out the outside world around you, you can then get more immersed in the sound experience you are listening to and can virtually get transported to all sorts of places:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL1Mp6rlnoQ

I’ll have a proper review of the BH-905 coming soon!

Keep your eyes fixed on mypocketOS.com or follow me (@nechbi) on Twitter to find out more about my final #NokiaNav Challenge.