CES 2004
Several interesting new phone-specific accessories were on display for the first time at CES. Most of the really cool and innovative accessories involve Bluetooth in some way.
First off, GN Netcom, the company behind Jabra headsets, introduced a new Bluetooth headset designed to work with both mobile phones and desk phones. It works with digital office phone systems as well as traditional land line phones.
The desktop component doubles as both a charging stand and the Bluetooth adapter for the desk phone. The headset includes special software that allows it to remain paired to both a mobile phone and desk phone at the same time.
The headset itself - the GN 6110 - is small and light, with a classic design. The ear clip is comfortable and easy to use. Calls can be made and answered by simply flipping the microphone arm open.
In a similar vein, Logitech was showing their new Bluetooth products, which also integrate with the desk environment in unique ways. They showed their new diNovo Bluetooth desktop set, and their new Bluetooth headset.
The diNovo includes a Bluetooth hub, mouse, keyboard, and seperate number pad. But the most interesting part for cell phone users is the Logitech software. It uses the Bluetooth hub to communicate with Bluetooth phones in several ways, including very cool SMS integration. If you receive an SMS on your phone while at your desk, a window will pop up on your PC showing the SMS, and you can reply right there on your PC, without getting your phone out of your pocket. The obvious advantage is that you can use your PC keyboard instead of the phone keypad.
The headset is notable for two reasons. First, the long microphone boom puts the mic near you mouth for better outgoing sound, but also flips up for carrying. Second, it has a very unique "clip-on" design - it's the easiest Bluetooth headset to put on that I've tried, and it's comfortable to boot.
Continuing the Bluetooth theme, Motorola announced the HF800, a new Bluetooth speakerphone accessory. The device doubles as both a speakerphone and wireless headset jack. The HF800 gets three hours of talk time and up to 100 hours of standby time. It uses the same charger as most Motorola phones.
Speaking of Motorola, Cidco introduced a new adapter called Merge that interfaces between Motorola cell phones and your home phone line. Merge is designed to plug into a live land phone line, (although it's not required,) and allows all extensions in your home to receive both land and wireless calls, with distinctive rings for each type of call.
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