Kleer ‘Un-tethers’ Wireless Earphones

by John Laposky -- TWICE, 1/2/2007

Cupertino, Calif. — Kleer will bring to International CES a reference design for low-energy wireless earphones that eliminates the wire between the right and left earphone.

The “un-tethered” earphones feature a 2.4GHz RF link, which the company said uses one-tenth the power of comparable Bluetooth designs. The headphones provide at least 10 hours of lossless CD-quality playtime and will work with any Kleer-based audio source, including portable A/V players, home theater systems and automotive systems, according to the company.

The reference design includes an optional adapter for the latest-generation iPod.

“We’re hearing from consumer electronics manufacturers that wireless earphones are the most requested feature in the portable audio market today,” said Ron Glibbery, marketing VP, in a release. “Due to the high power consumption of existing wireless technologies such as Bluetooth, cumbersome over-the-ear style headphones are required to accommodate a large battery. Kleer’s wireless earphone design uses only one-tenth of the power of a comparable Bluetooth design, so our battery-size requirements are much smaller.”

The earphones also feature Kleer’s Listen In mode, which allows multiple users to simultaneously listen to one source unit.

Kleer’s design is based on the company’s KLR3012 RF audio module, the first product in the recently announced Kleer Audio LP line of RF wireless modules. Kleer will be exhibiting at the Sands Convention Center, booth IP209.