Bograma
Mobile gadgets running Blackberry & Android OS'
Plantronics Discovery 975 – a Bluetooth headset
0132 days
I’ve been using BT headsets for more than 7 years now. I find them more convenient than the wired ones, although it’s true, it’s a hassle sometimes: keep it safe, keep it close, charge it, try to use it when you make and receive a call – oops - disconnected/out of battery/out of reach, the usual stuff. But all in all, a truly handy tool for long talks at the office or when driving or doing anything else and your hands occupied.
Over the years Sony-Ericsson BT headsets were trustworthy partners. In fact, these HBH series have to be the most reliable they ever launched; they’re still in production after so many years. Great price, battery life, great connectivity, great comfort. And a little bulky – there’s no perfect solution in life!
But after 3 or 4 of these in as many years I decided I need to move on: something without an over-the-ear-hook! And something less bulky! And I chose the Plantronics Discovery 975.
Here’s why:
Hardware:
- Build quality is very good, sturdy, nice aesthetics and ergonomics. Hairpin shaped, this headset has a thin, short arm with nice, glossy, finish - yes, parts of it came off after 9 months of usage, but this is a working tool… So much for Premium quality though. While worn and stuck into the ear, the multi-function button works just fine; I need to press it a little harder in order to operate and I have to grab the unit with another two fingers, otherwise the ear would hurt. I try to interfere as little as possible with the headset while I’m wearing it. There’s also a volume button with 3 stages – they are notably different in volume, which is quite high for a BT headset.
- Charging/protection case: the headset comes with a charging case (with a battery inside) wrapped in Faux leather, which sports a led illuminated mini-display showing you connection status, charge level of both the headset (if inside) and case. The headset itself is a little lacking on stand-by and talk time (more about that later!), so they threw-in the charging case. This one will keep your headset full at all times. Both devices have the Universal Micro-U.S.B connectors, so I am able to use the same chargers for the phone, headset and charging case.
- 3 kinds of different spare small ear-tips for different ear sizes and shapes. I use the medium one, so the headset will fit perfectly in the ear. There is also a lanyard for the case.
Performance:
- With Dual-Mic Audio IQ2 noise-cancelling technology and WindSmart wind noise protection this is the best BlueTooth headset I have ever used in operation terms. Yes, others might be lasting longer for example, but your voice will come-out of this one crystal-clear, even in the harshest of environments. Of course, there is the halo effect you find in every BT headset as noticed by my callers, but that’s reduced a lot thanks to the software improvements above.
- Voice alerts for low battery, as well as led status (red for empty battery, pulsing white light for receiving a call, as well as slow pulsing white light for missed calls – for example, it flashes slowly 3 times for 3 missed calls!) are provided. There is also voice control which I never use because I don’t need it.
- A double press on the operations button will redial the last number used (sent and received).
- Talk time is estimated at 6 hours from the 85 mAh battery inside. I was able to use it for hours at a time but never for 6 hours. I usually find the headset empty after just 2-3 days of being constantly on, used and connected to the phone most of the times.
- Connection is almost flawless. I’ve been able to move around in the house while talking on the headset, even from one room to another (no brick walls, indeed!). Working distance is ~ 10 meters.
All in all, a great headset! Very expensive when launched in the Autumn of 2009 priced at around 125$, now it can be found on Amazon at around 60$. Not in Romania though: still 125 Euros. But hey, all good things come at a price! And sometimes is just justified.
New Live wallpaper for any Android phone
0133 days
Just a quick update on a great Live wallpaper I stumbled across Friday.
It’s called Verizon Wave Live Wallpaper and it was taken from a file – dump of the leaked upcoming HTC Vigor Android smartphone on Verizon U.S.A. Among other files like regular wallpapers and ringtones was this file. The only thing I wanna write about is that it doesn’t consume more energy than a regular wallpaper. It does not appear in the battery consumption log which means it takes less than 1% of the weak 1230 mAh equipping my Desire HD.
Oh, yes, some of the users report it causes motion sickness, so be aware!:)
A demo here from bmmahfood user on YouTube.
You can get it here.
Google Plus for Android updated to 1.06!
0162 days
Finally! I hope they’ve ironed out some of the bugs while introducing new features like re-sharing!
Because some countries can’t get it, I post a download link here.
Enjoy!
Google Reader updated
0172 days
Yet another update for Google Reader! A very useful tool for reading and sharing everything we read over the Internet.
This time around they introduced a new U.I and optimized it for tablets. I like the flowing transitions, it’s definitely a big improvement over the dull and static interface we’ve employed for almost a year now. The team also altered a very important function; the “Mark All Read” is now contextual, which means I need to press long on an item in order to mark all previous as read. It’s a bit annoying but I guess it’s the same thing as hitting “menu” and “mark previous as read” – there were two clicks before as now there’s only one…oh, well.
Other than that, I can remark the adding of “share” and “star it” on the top right thus enabling the reader to quickly share with others or mark it in order to read it later.
A good improvement all in all! Keep ‘em comin’!
Pictures courtesy of Google.
YouTube app is updated today!
0181 days
Update: A new version was pushed today; it seems some of the devices required bug fixes. My Desire HD has/had no issue.
YouTube comes baked into each Android phone. It offers OOTB functionality, nice U.I, lots of options including uploading from the phone.
I’ve used it for a long time “as is” – I’m not an avid consumer of video clips, but this app always served me as expected: full screen, HD available, not too much buffering required, no hassle.
And today it has been updated! Things you can expect:
- Edit the title, description and privacy of your uploaded videos
- New uploading UI integrated into the app
- Create/Edit/Delete playlists on the go
- Bug fixes and performance improvements
After fiddling a little bit with it I can safely say that the Google team responsible of this area did a great job! As always!
Hit the Market to download it!
Wi-Fi updated on my HTC Desire HD!
0208 days
HTC surprises me every day: I just received an update for the Wi-Fi function. I had some issues with mine, too, when the phone was not able to hold a Wi-Fi signal, while all the other phones seemed fine.
Again, looks like HTC is really listening to its customer base. That’s what Social Media is all about!
