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Internet-Telefonie in Europa auf dem Vormarsch – Telekom – derStandard.at (Austria – German language)

My comments

From this German-language article published in Austria, I had read that Internet-based telephony was gaining traction in Europe. The article was based on Bitkom’s information which they sourced from Eurostat which is the European Union’s statistics department.

IP telephony was found to be popular in the Baltic states like Lithuania but Germany was third behind the UK and France. Personally, I wouldn’t put it past France to take this technology up due to the VoIP services being part of their “n-box” triple-play Internet

Most setups were based around an existing handset that was connected to an analogue-telephony-adaptor or router with integrated IP telephony gateway. As well certain call classes such as international calls and calls to mobile phones do attract the VoIP users most likely due to cost savings.

But I notice a gap in the information about whether the customers use VoIP at home or at work. This includes whether multi-site workplaces implement VoIP for tie-lines and whether users are using VoIP without knowing it due to dial-plans that are set up for particular call classes.

It is also worth knowing whether most European users really make use of the PABX-style features like call transfer on their home VoIP setups. This is more so as manufacturers implement these features in ATAs, Internet telephones and similar devices.

This year, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has achieved a record of 3100 exhibitors and has made an opening for newer technology companies. This is through the establishment of the “Eureka Park TrendZone” which had space for 94 of these startups.

For Microsoft, this year was their last appearance as an exhibitor and Paul Allen had given the last keynote speech for that company at the CES. They will simply work alongside their hardware and other software partners at further events.

Trends

The major trends have been taking place with the portable and mobile computing aspect of our lives. This is mainly in the form of more powerful smartphones and tablets as well as an increased number of Ultrabooks – small slim ultraportable computers that snap at the heels of the MacBook Air.

Technologies

Energy-efficient powerful processors

This show is being used to premiere NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 ARM processor, which is an improved processor for mobile devices. This is intended to allow for increased power and longer runtime for these devices. This processor isn’t just intended for the tablets but also for use in the car dashboard as has been demonstrated with the latest Tesla electric supercar.

As well, Intel were premiering their Ivy Bridge “classic” processors which are optimised for improved graphics while being energy efficient. These processors are intended for the upcoming generation of laptops including the Ultrabooks.

New operating environments for the regular computer

Microsoft were also demonstrating the Kinect gesture-driven user interface on the PC and this wasn’t just for gaming like its initial XBox 360 application was. They used this show to promote Windows 8 as being the next computer operating system for tablets and regular computers.

Bluetooth Smart and Bluetooth Smart Ready

It was also the year that Bluetoot 4.0 a.k.a. Bluetooth Smart was being promoted. This was a very low-power Bluetooth specification which made the technology work properly with sensor applications due to allowing these devices to run on a pair of AA batteries or a watch battery for many months.

Bluetooth Smart Ready devices could work with these Bluetooth Smart devices and permit them to work in an energy-conserving way. This has legitimised the Bluetooth technology in personal health and wellbeing applications, with this application class being premiered at this show.

Mobile Computing

One technology that is affecting this class of devices is the launch of LTE-based 4G wireless broadband in to most of the USA by many of the US mobile carriers. This is expected to allow for higher data throughput and bandwidth for the data-based services.

Smartphones and Multifunction Internet Devices

One major brand change that occurred over this show was Sony’s handheld-communications identity. This was previously known as Sony Ericsson but is now known simply as Sony Mobile Communications.

Here, Sony had launched the Xperia S Android phone and their first LTE-enabled phone inthe form of the Xperia Ion. These are also to be “PlayStation capable” which allows them to run Sony’s PlayStation games in the manner they are meant to be played. They also released the Walkman Z series which is Sony’s answer to the Apple iPod Touch and the Samsung Galaxy Player multifunction Internet devices.

Samsung had released their Galaxy S Blaze 4G which is their LTE-enabled iteration of their Galaxy S Android phones. LG also released some more of the Spectrum Android smartphones to the US market. Lenovo had launched the first Intel-powered Android smartphone in the form of the K800.

But, for the Windows Phone platform, the big announcement was Nokia’s Lumina 900 which was a Windows Phone equipped with a 4.3” AMOLED touchscreen. Was this a way for Nokia to claw back in to the multifunction smartphone category again?

Tablets

Here, this device class has become more powerful and capable, especially with the spectre of Windows 8 coming around the corner and a strong effort by all to unseat the iPad from its dominant position.

Toshiba had shown a 13” and a 7.7” prototype tablet but were exhibiting their 10.1” Android tablet/ As well, Coby were launching 5 ranges of 7” and 10” Android Ice-Cream-Sandwich-powered tablets with the maximum having 1Gb RAM and 32Gb expandable flash memory.

Acer had launched the Iconia A700 series 10” tablets with Tegra quad-core horsepower, 5Mp rear camera and HD front camera, and driven by Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

Asus had launched the Transformer Prime Mini 7” Android 4.0 comverrtible Android tablet which coudl be similar to the EeePad Memo. This Android Wi-Fi tablet was a 7.1” 3D-screen-equipped unit with 5Mp rear camera / 1.2Mp front camera, stylus and 64Gb flash storage.

Samsung had used this show to premiere the Galaxy Note to the US market and premiere the Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE which was enabled for the 4G wireless broadband networks.

Sony had launched their S1 Android Homeycomb powered tablet. This one had a 9.4” screen and could work as an electronic picture frame or alarm clock; and was able to work with 4G LTE wireless broadband as well as Wi-Fi. Of course it would work with the DLNA Home Media Network and implemented an “off-centre-of-gravity” position for stability. They also showed the Tablet P clamshell tablet to the US market even though it was available in other markets. They weren’t sure if it would be launched in the carrier-controlled US market.

Regular computers

Ultrabooks and other “traveller” notebooks

This year had been a changing year for the lightweight “traveller” notebook computer. This class of computer had seen the tablet computer appear as a serious competitor and Intel had defined the “Ultrabook” as a new lightweight slimline class of portable hotspot-surfing computer.

ASUS and Lenovo had exhibited convertible Ultrabook computers which could become tablets, with Lenovo’s example known as the Ideapad Yoga which was powered with the Intel Ivy Bridge chipset.

Acer’s next Ultrabook is the Aspire S5. This was claimed to be the thinnest Ultrabook and had an 8 hour battery runtime. It also had a USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt peripheral connect for use with higher-capacity hard disks for example. LG also launched the XNote Z330 Ultrabook as did Toshiba with the Portege Z835 and HP with the 14” Envy Spectre Ultrabook.

Lenovo were exhibiting their IdeaPad U310 (13”) and U410 (14”) Ultrabooks with a choice of processors but with 4Gb RAM and a choice of 64Gb SSD or 500Gb regular hard disk. The 14” U410 variant was also available with 1Gb NVIDIA graphics.

Dell has jumped in to the Ultrabook bandwagon with the XPS 13. This had the standard spec set with an Intel Core i5 Sandy Bridge processor, 4G on the RAM and a choice of 128Gb or 256Gb solid-state storage. The display is typically the 1366×768 resolution with Gorilla Glass screen as well as Bluetooth 3.0. Like the HP Folio 13 Ultrabook, this could be available in a “big-business package” with the business-security and customisation needs or as a regular consumer/small-business package.

Samsung launched their redesigned Series 9 ultrabooks with 13” amd 14” models. These were powered by a Core i5 processor and were equipped with 4Gb RAM and 500Gb hard disk as standard. The 13” variant had a 128Gb SSD as an alternative option.

Of course, the Ultrabook and the tablet had placed doubt on the viability of the 10”-11” netbook. But Lenovo was one of the few who had pushed on with a netbook in the form of the S200 and S206 series. These 11.6” units are available with an AMD or an Intel Atom chipset and  have 2Gb RAM and a choice of 32Gb SSD or 500Gb hard-disk secondary storage.

Laptops

Of course, the regular 15”-17” laptop has not been forgotten about with the calibre of these computers approaching “multimedia” specifications. Most of the 17” units had 1080p resolution and were equipped with Blu-Ray as a standard or option for their optical disks. The hard disks came in the order of 1Tb or, in some cases, 2Tb and system RAM was in the order of 8Gb.

For graphics, most of the laptops on the show floor had NVIDIA graphics chipsets with display memory of 1Gb to 2Gb and able to operate in dual-chipset “overdrive” mode. Samsung even exhibited the Series 7 “Gamer” which was pitched as a thoroughbred clamshell gaming rig.

In-car technology

This year was a chance for new upstarts to integrate the car with the Internet. MOG and Aha by HARMAN have increased their “Web-to-radio” footprint by integrating CBS Radio into their Web content aggregation lineup and partnering with Honda, Subaru, JVC and Kenwood to increase their equipment availability. This is in addition to improving the Aha iOS app and porting this same app to the Android platform this year.

Similarly, Parrot have extended their “Asteroid” Android-driven in-vehicle infotainment platform to three different devices – the Asteroid CK which yields telephony and audio content;, the Asteroid NAV which also provides GPS navigation and Internet access via Wi-Fi; and the Asteroid 2DIN whcih is effectively a car-radio replacement by having integrated AM/FM/RDS tuners.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the next instalment of the Consumer Electronics Show 2012 series which will cover the networked lifestyle at home.

Introduction

Western Digital WDTV Live network media adaptor

There was a trickle of component network media adaptors which provide media playback from the Internet or home network to an existing audio-video system but this trickle has now become a flood over the past few years with equipment being offered at varying functionality and cost points.

For video content, most of these devices including some of the current-model Blu-Ray players may offer “over-the-top” TV services to existing TV equipment and this may avoid the need to buy a “smart TV” for this kind of content. This would appeal to those of us who would rather spend money on equipping our home theatres with a video projector or top-notch high-performing LCD TV rather than buying a “smart TV” to keep up with the Joneses. Similarly, these devices can expose a secondary TV like the one located in the secondary lounge area or master bedroom to the plethora of online content.

Similarly, you may want to invest in an audio-based network media player so you can enjoy Internet radio or music held on the network-attached storage through the hi-fi system. This is becoming more so as high-grade audio files of classic and contemporary albums are being made available for sale and file-based audio content has now achieved hi-fi credentials.

What are these devices

A component network media adaptor like the Western Digital WDTV Live is designed to connect to existing audio and video equipment and show network-derived content on such equipment. Of course, they will work as a gateway to some Internet-hosted media services like IPTV / video-on-demand or Internet-radio services; and a few may work as a terminal for popular interactive Internet services like the Social Web.

If the manufacturer keeps investing in the device’s platform, there may be the ability for newer content services to be added to an existing device. This typically is being achieved through a continual firmware update or an app store that works in a similar vein to a mobile platform’s app store.

Sony BDP-S380 Network-enabled Blu-Ray player

Some of these adaptor devices also have functionality for access to legacy media like a radio or TV broadcast tuner and/or an optical disk player. An example of this is the Sony BDP-S380 Blu-Ray player which I had reviewed. But these devices also have a USB port, iPod dock and / or memory card slot so that content held on any of these locations can be played through the device. Similarly, the Microsoft XBox 360 and the Sony PS3 games consoles are able to serve as component network media adaptors as well as satisfying marathon TV games sessions.

A selection of these devices have an integrated hard disk and are able to work also as a media server. Some of them may allow you to add the media files by “ripping” from supported optical discs or recording broadcast material from an integrated tuner as well as accepting the content from the network or USB memory keys in a similar vein to the typical network-attached storage device.

Two main classes

NAD c446 Network Media Tuner

There are two main classes of these component devices and the class they fall in to is based on the content they are designed to reproduce.

Video-optimised

A video-optimised network media adaptor is designed primarily to reproduce video or still-image content on an attached TV or projector.

Key identifiers for this class of device include the presence of video connectors for a display device. These are typically HDMI, component or composite sockets alongside the audio sockets.

Another identifier is that there is a very small display on the unit itself which only shows content running time, or no display at all. The user is expected to operate the device using the remote control and looking at the attached video display device for visual feedback. This is common with very-low-end DVD players that don’t have a track/time display and I once saw one of these players in operation at a party and the hosts had the TV on so they know which tracks to play on a CD.

Of course, if they have a legacy media source, it will typically be something like a DVD/ Blu-Ray player or a digital-TV tuner. The online services available to this device would typically be the IPTV / video-on-demand / advanced-TV services and it may also work as a terminal for video-conferencing (with an add-on camera), interactive TV or the Social Web.

Audio-optimised

Linn Majik DS network preamplifier

An audio-optimised network media device is designed primarily to reproduce audio content, especially music.

These devices have no video connections at all or they may use any such connections for a secondary purpose. It is augmented by the device having a display and controls on its front panel for selecting and playing content or a remote control with an LCD or OLED screen as its primary control surface. This means that the device won’t be dependent on the use of an external video display for its operation.

If the device supports legacy content, the will use either a radio broadcast tuner and / or a CD / SACD player. They will also have access to audio-based Internet content sources like one of the Internet-radio directories like vTuner, Pandora or Last.FM.

What to look for

Ethernet connectivity

A component network media adaptor should have an Ethernet connection in order to provide for reliable playback of high-quality network and online content via Ethernet or HomePlug AV. You may get away with Wi-Fi wireless for Internet radio, CD-quality audio content, still images or standard-definition video content.

UPnP AV / DLNA

As well, the device should support UPnP AV / DLNA functionality. The basic level of support for this functionality is to find and play media held on DLNA media servers using the device’s control surface. On the other hand, a better-equipped device is able to play content that you push to it from another UPnP AV / DLNA control point like a lot of smartphone media-control software such as TwonkyMobile.

It also allows your device to be future-proof and is of importance whenever you look towards running specialist media-server equipment such as network PVRs on your home network.

Internet-media services

Most low-end video-optimised equipment will support fewer Internet-video services but the mainstream-priced equipment from the big brands will offer access to the popular TV services in your territory like the catch-up-TV services and the big-time video-on-demand services like Netflix.

If a device has access to online interactive services like Facebook or Picasa, only one person will be able to operate their online service on the device at a time. This functionality may just be useful for showing pictures held on the user’s online-service account but activities like updating the status comment on the service or simply logging in may be very difficult. This is due to the limited user interface that these devices offer as I have previously talked about.

Devices complementing each other

Some of these network-media adaptor devices can complement each other. For example, you may use a newer adaptor that provides access to newer content services while you have an older adaptor that the manufacturers have given up on still able to provide some of the online and network-sourced media that you are after.

Similarly, you could use an audio-optimised network media adaptor for playing radio and music sources while you have an Internet-enabled TV or video-optimised network media player coming in handy for image and video content.

Conclusion

The component network-media adaptor, whether in the form of a Blu-Ray player, set-top box or network-enabled tuner, can expose existing audio-video equipment to the world of online or network-hosted entertainment content.

Getting Congress to agree on anything is a challenge. When it comes to spectrum bills there is disagreement on both sides with how the situation should be handled. In some instances it seems that the tech community would benefit from freeing up spectrum for the wireless industry. Yet with some of the limitations proposed, it could all end up in utter disaster.

The spectrum bills are trying to define who will have access to wireless broadband. In essence television broadcasters are being asked to give up at least part of their spectrum for mobile broadband. It seems like most favor this idea, but as is usually the case, the devil is in the details.

Agreement

One thing everyone seems to agree on is providing both the spectrum and the funding for public safety entities. This national broadband network would make it possible for people to handle an emergency. In the case of 9-11 the network already set in place failed. There were issues with communication that ended up delaying some of the much needed help. With a national network, information would flow smoothly and at a much faster pace if a disaster did take place. Who wouldn’t feel a sense of safety knowing that the people that take care of major issues and crisis have an open source of communication ensuring that they are more efficient in their duties?

Disagreement

The spectrum bills asks television broadcasters to give up some of their spectrum. As an incentive, they would receive a portion of the auction price for that specific spectrum. Here’s where things get tricky. In some instances, Congress is attempting to take more control of unlicensed wireless. While Wi-Fi and Bluetooth operate in this portion of unlicensed spectrum there is a threat to other potential opportunities for advancement. Ever heard of the Super Wi-Fi (also called White Spaces broadband)? There is no guarantee that these plans or ideas would be allowed to proceed under certain spectrum bills. This may close the door to future Wi-Fi developments.

Licensed bidders like several of the big internet service providers have the ability to bid on this open spectrum. While this does generate funds and gives these companies a larger range of access, it is the everyday person looking to take advantage of the wireless system that could lose out. He or she would have to gather together a large number of individuals and attempt to make a single bid as a collective group. Even with the latest technology, the chances of outbidding larger corporations seem slim.

The final oddity in some of Congress’ spectrum bills is the geographic location issue. It is being suggested that people should bid on available spectrum in certain locations. A company may have access in one state and no access in another. It prevents a national system for everyone to take advantage of. Instead there would be a set of disconnected lines that can only be accessed from one specific location.

Progress seems to walk a fine line. On the one hand everyone wants to see improvement. The problem is that everyone wants that improvement to look different. Some internet service providers may want to make a bid for the spectrum, giving them unlimited access. Individual users have concerns that their own Wi-Fi will be hindered as there are regulations and rules for different entities in different parts of the country.

The tech industry needs an environment that is open to new discoveries. It is here that new technology is developed and offered up as progress and improvement to everyone. At this point there is no one spectrum bill that truly benefits the tech community as a whole.

Author Bio : Sam Kirby is a freelance content writer who develops articles on various topics. Sam’s main interest lies however in developing articles realted to Internet services and internet service providers.

Article

Wayne Swan to hit switch on NBN regional link | The Australian

My Comments

Previously I mentioned a fibre link which would enable Darwin and Alice Springs to benefit from real competitive broadband service like the rest of Australia. But there is another link which would serve Darwin that the Acting Prime Minister, Wayne Swan is about to switch on at the time of publication.

But this one would provide a link between Darwin and Toowoomba in Queensland; and would be part of the National Broadband Network. It would pass Mount Isa, Tennant Creek, Emerald and Longreach, thus “lighting up” these towns for real broadband.

One of the main reasons in enabling Darwin with these fibre-optic broadband backhaul links is to exploit Darwin’s proximity to Asia. This means that Australia-Asia Internet links can be set up between these territories, allowing Australia to benefit from Asia being the newer business hub.

As these backhauls are laid down, it would be a chance to allow smaller communities to benefit from real Internet service. This is more so if there is encouragement for branch links to be extended out to the other communities that the trunks pass.

Article

BBC News – Health care by TV and remote control

My Comments

The home network and the Internet is now becoming an essential part of personal health care in may ways thanks to a variety of technologies.

Facilitation technologies

Level playing field for health-care sensor devices

Certain technologies are making this feasible through the use of device classes for health-specific devices such as blood-pressure / pulse cuffs, blood sugar monitors and heart-rate monitors. They are also being enabled with low-voltage wireless technologies like Bluetooth Smart and up-and-coming low-voltage Wi-Fi designs.

These devices are being made able to work from two AA batteries or a 3V watch battery for a long time, yet use an industry-common data link and device class. The actual benefit from these design factors is the ability to supply health-care sensor devices that are cost-effective to buy and maintain; yet are able to integrate with common computing devices.

Ubiquity of open computing platforms for this application

It is being extended with the availability of regular, mobile and TV-based computing platforms like Windows, MacOS X, iOS and Android as foundations for software that records and / or reports medical-status information.

The software can be designed to keep a local or cloud-based record and signal to health-carers and/or close relatives and friends if there are abnormal events. In some cases, details can be passed through immediately to the health-care professional who is supervising the patient.

Where do I see this being applicable

I see this technology being applicable for the management of chronic illnesses where the patient can manage the illness themselves with little outside intervention. This may extend to the care of pregnant women who have a low risk of birth complications. Even when the patient must travel to the health-care professional for an appointment, both the professional and the patient are in a better position to know “what’s going on” through the treatment process.

It also adds a sense of dignity to the care and treatment process by allowing one to integrate the management procedures in to their lifestyle without feeling awkward about it. This would benefit younger and middle aged people more so especially when they are encumbered with these illnesses like diabetes.

I see it also benefiting people living in rural areas in many ways. The telehealth technology can allow a specialist based at a small or larger town to manage multiple patients and only have to travel out to attend those at risk. As well, the patient wouldn’t need to travel out to the doctor unless necessary.

It can also assist with the ageing process for seniors who want to live in their own home, live in an “own space” near their relatives such as a granny flat or live in low-needs supported retirement accommodation. Here, the technology can help with supervising medical and other therapies or simply make sure they are OK without intruding on their lifestyle and dignity. In this case, it could augment other technology projects that are in progress or being completed that assist older people with their daily lives.

Similarly, the technology would help with sports medicine in allowing athletes and fitness enthusiasts, along with their trainers, know their limits and how they are performing through their workouts so they can exercise in an optimum way.

Conclusion

I would still like to see the telehealth technologies work as a complement to the personal touch in personal health care rather than distance the patient from the professional. The technologies can be seen as a tool for helping us stay well and independent; as well as conquer distance.

Introduction

You have a pair of good-sounding B&O, Bose or Sennheiser headphones but want to use them as a full-blown headset with your smartphone. You may also want to try them with your laptop or desktop computer when you are playing a game or using a softphone app like Skype.

The only solution would be to buy a wired or Bluetooth headset that connects to the computer or phone. But these would make your good headphones redundant. Therefore you would need to look for an audio adaptor with an integrated microphone so you benefit from full handsfree communication.

The only problem with a lot of the wired audio adaptors supplied by the phone manufacturers and third-party accessories suppliers is that you may not be sure that they will work properly with your phone. This is more so if you jump mobile platform every time the contract expires. Similarly, wired audio adaptors can be hard to find because the only device to be seen using with your mobile phone is a Bluetooth headset.

There is also a greater risk of failure with wired audio adaptors as they are used in that the wiring at the device plug can be easily damaged through regular use and storage, thus impairing the quality of phone calls with these devices as I have experienced.

The Nokia BH-111 Bluetooth Audio Adaptor itself

Nokia BH-111 Bluetooth headset adaptor fob - same size as SD card

But wait, I have come across the Nokia BH-111 Bluetooth Audio Adaptor which connects to a set of regular headphones, comverting them in to a Bluetooth stereo headset. It comes with a set of in-ear earphones but these may come in handy as “emergency spares” or for compact-use requirements. It is available in three different colours – black, white and a “hot-pink” colour and retails for AUD$50, making it fit within gift-pricing range.

This kit is centred around a small fob that houses a microphone, control buttons, rechargeable battery and Bluetooth transceiver. You can connect the supplied earphones or a pair of headphones to a 3.5mm stereo jack on the end of the fob’s “hinge pin” and this fob can clip on one’s shirt or tie like a lapel microphone.

Bluetooth headphone adapotr fob with headphone jack facing you

The operation buttons are each edge of the face of the fob, with one “multifunction” button that is used primarily to make or take calls, a previous-track button, a next-track button and a play-pause button that can mute the microphone during calls as well as start and stop the music. The hinge pin on this fob has a knob for adjusting the sound volume opposite to where the headphones are plugged in to.

When you charge this Bluetooth audio adaptor, you plug the supplied battery charger or a USB-2.5mm DC cord in to the side of the “hinge pin”; and it doesn’t take long to charge this adaptor.

The Nokia BH-111 complies to the following Bluetooth device classes: Hands-Free Profile, Headset Profile, A2DP audio playback profile and AVRCP audio controller profile. It can store pairings for up to five physical devices at a time and can only connect to one Hands-free or Headset Profile device and one A2DP / AVRCP audio-player device at a time. This could allow you to work it with a Bluetooth smartphone and a separate Bluetooth-capable MP3 player at the same time.

Now these good headphones work as a stereo Bluetooth headset for your smartphone

The clip can be very stiff and hard to attach to a thick tie or suit coat but can work with most shirts. But it doesn’t look like something that could break easily after regular usage.

Setup and Usage

You have to use the “multifunction” button to turn the unit on and off as well as make it open for pairing. Here, you have to turn the audio adaptor off, then hold the multifunction button down until you hear a five-beep sequence, followed by a silence then a distinct beep. Then you start your device in “Bluetooth-device-scan” mode and it will show up as “Nokia BH-111” on the device’s user interface.

On the other hand, you hold the multifunction button down until you hear the five-beep sequence complete, then release this button in order to turn the audio adaptor on.

The Nokia BH-111 can act in a very confused manner if two or more devices that are paired with it are in the vicinity. This can happen more so if it is still connected to a mobile phone while a computer associated with it is nearby.

When the phone rings, you hear the Nokia ringtone rather than your handset’s ringtone, which can be confusing when you take a call through the audio adaptor for the first time and your phone plays its own ringtone through its speaker. I would rather that the phone’s ringtone plays through the headphones when a call comes in.

Battery Runtime and Sound Quality

For battery life, the Nokia BH-111 audio adaptor can complete a day of music-playback use with a Bluetooth mobile phone and longer in a quiescent state. It works properly and clearly when making and taking calls – the caller can hear and understand my voice properly and I can hear their properly as if I was using the phone handheld. I noticed this more with quieter environments but the intelligibility for the sound degrades if I was in a noisier environment.

The audio quality for music playback doesn’t change from what is offered by a wired connection to the phone, although there may be jitter occurring if the phone is “overloaded” with other tasks.

Limitations and Points Of Improvement

The clip could be improved on with a lever-type action similar to a clothes peg so it can easily clip to thicker material such as winter clothing or formal wear. The functions could also be marked in a colour inverse to the finish so it is easier to discover them.

It could be beneficial for a device like the Nokia BH-111 to have a 3.5mm input jack so you can connect other personal-audio devices to this adaptor, with the call audio from the Bluetooth phone cutting over sound from the connected personal-audio device. This could benefit people who use a high-capacity iPod Classic or similar device as their music library, listen to broadcast content from a personal radio or play content on legacy formats like cassettes or CDs using a device like a Walkman or Discman.

Similarly I would like to see a function that allows the audio adaptor to work as a speakerphone when connected to other audio equipment that uses speakers rather than a set of headphones. This may appeal to those of us who want to connect it to a car sound system via the AUX-IN jack or cassette adaptor for cassette-based equipment and use Blu-Tack to secure the fob to the dashboard for a high-quality reliable Bluetooth handsfree / music-player setup in a borrowed or hired vehicle.

An improved unit could implement a microphone array as a way of focusing the sound on the user’s voice in a phone conversation, and could place this leagues ahead of the typical Bluetooth headset.

Conclusion

The Nokia BH-111 headphone adaptor is infact the first product of its kind on the market that permits one to use their favourite headphones as a reliable calls-and-music Bluetooth headset for their smartphone especially if they use it for more than just phone calls.

Articles

Asustek to showcase swivel-screen notebook at 2012 Computex | DigiTimes

Un ultrabook convertible chez Asus ? | Le Journal Du Geek (France – French language)

My Comments

A question that many people will be pondering nowadays when they consider a secondary computing device is whether to get a small laptop computer like a netbook or Ultrabook or a tablet computer like the iPad along with an accessory keyboard. There will be the tradeoffs of each platform such as software availability and user-interface requirements.

This will become more so when Windows 8 with its Metro touch user interface being part of the operating system and becoming another full-bore competition to the Apple iOS platform.

But ASUS have answered with an Ultrabook that can bridge between the notebook / laptop and tablet form factors in the cost-effective and power-efficient way that has been required of the Ultrabook. This machine will be the first “convertible” Ultrabook that has the “swivel-head” screen design like what I have experienced with the Fujitsu TH550M convertible notebook.

This will work tightly with the integrated touchscreen interface that Windows 8 provides rather than the previous practice where the manufacturers fabricated their own touch-optimised shell for these computers.

The ASUS convertible Ultrabook could offer a tablet-style user interface for casual computing needs yet have the full proper keyboard that would appeal to us when working on emails or documents; yet it will have the benefits that tablets like the iPad offer like quick start-up and long battery runtimes.

The main question is that whether other manufacturers would make the convertible Ultrabook form factor and make these computers cost-effective and widely available or will they be taken in by just supplying tablets as a distinct touchscreen product class?

Article

Renault debuts R-Link, an in-dash Android system with app market — Engadget

My Comments

The Android operating system isn’t just in your hands anymore with a tablet or smartphone. Renault has made sure it will be in the dashboard of the car, together with an app store to back the concept.

There is a main questions that I have about the concept at the moment. One is whether the system will use an updatable wireless-broadband link or a Wi-Fi network or both for data transfer to and from the network?

But what I see of the idea is the main use of the apps for driver and passenger entertainment, in the form of DLNA-based synchronisation of media with the home network, Internet radio (vTuner and similar Internet-radio directories, Last.FM, Pandora, etc) and similar applications. But there are other app ideas like advanced navigation including “book-ahead” functionality and roadside-telematics integration, and car statistics monitoring.

There could even be the ideas of using this Android platform to integrate the vehicle with home automation. The most obvious scenario that would come to mind would be looking at the dashboard to know whether the garage door that should be closed is infact closed and then touch a button to close it. This could avoid the need to look at the rear-view mirror as you drive out to check on the garage.

At least this effort by Renault with the Android platform could become a platform for developing in-vehicle infotainment and telematics systems and applications.

Article

BT fibre rollout reaches Scotland, Wales • The Register

My Comments

British Telecom are now touching Scotland and Wales with their fibre-based next-generation-broadband services.

These will use a combination of fibre-to-the-cabinet and fibre-to-the-home deployment setups depending on the location. They wanted to have 34 exchanges in Scotland and 16 exchanges in Wales fibre-ready by 2012 with two thirds of UK premises passed by their fibre-optic network by 2014. This is part of their bid for the latest round of Broadband Delivery UK funding.

How I see it is that the upgrades are happening in the face of various local-focused rural-broadband-enrichment activity that is taking place through various parts of rural UK. In some cases, it could lead to the creation of competitive next-generation broadband like what is occurring in France where providers can compete on an infrastructure level.  It may then put BT “on notice” about the pricing and quality of their service as far as consumers and retail Internet providers are concerned due to the availability of this competing Internet infrastructure.

At least these kind of rollouts could then allow for vibrant competition in Internet service delivery in the UK.