Bluetooth Headsets, Speakerphone Announced

By Lisa Johnston -- TWICE, 9/16/2008

New York — Several Bluetooth headsets and a speakerphone were recently announced, with two of the companies, Sennheiser and Sony Ericsson, launching their products today.

The BT-200 from Andrea Electronics will retail for $89.95.

The VMX Office from Sennheiser Communications is designed for the “mobile worker.” It connects via a base station to landline phones, computers and Bluetooth cellphones, said the company, so it can theoretically be the only headset a user needs. Talktime is listed as five hours, and it features Bluetooth 2.0 compatibility, and can switch via a single button between phone and mobile devices.

Other features include ActiveGard technology, which is designed to automatically reduce surges in volume at a speed the human ear won’t detect. The technology also dampens intrusive background noise and enhances the human voice, said Sennheiser.

It’s scheduled to be available this month for $279.95.

Also announced today was the Bluetooth speakerphone from Sony Ericsson. The HCB-108 is engineered to attach wirelessly to a car visor, enabling users to easily switch the device from car to car. It has a talktime listed at 25 hours, with up to 700 hours of standby time, and is said to come with echo reduction, noise cancellation and Digital Signal Processing.

Two colors are offered, black and silver, each for an $89.95 suggested retail. The company said it would be available in the early fourth quarter.

Finally, the BT-200 from Andrea Electronics is scheduled to be available this month. The Bluetooth headset features the company’s PureAudio technology that uses “high-quality digital circuitry [with] state-of-the-art noise-reduction acoustic technology,” said the company.

Additional features include multi-device Bluetooth pairing, noise-canceling microphone sound and an included USB receiver for wireless PC connection. Suggested retail is $89.95.