Most Car Kits available today in the market are restricted due to one factor: limited battery life. However NoiseHush’s N650 is one that virtually gives unlimited talk time, thanks to its built-in solar charging capabilities. We took the hands-free kit for test drive and this is what we found.

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Read the rest of NoiseHush N650 Bluetooth Car Kit Review (406 words)

Bluetooth 3.0′s adoption may not be as much as Bluetooth SIG have expected to be but that is not letting them to advance to the next version. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group has announced the formal adoption of core specs of Bluetooth 4.0.

Bluetooth 4.0 features include low power consumption during peak, average or idle mode, enhanced range and low cost.

Bluetooth SIG have opened up the qualification program, which means companies can now submit their products with Bluetooth 4.0 for certification.

Press Release

HTC has released a Bluetooth security hotfix that enhances the security mechanism of the Bluetooth service. Though HTC does not specifically mention what the hotfix patches, it is safe to believe it has got to do something with the vulnerability reported yesterday.

We got to say HTC was quick to address the issue but only after the information went public. The security researcher who found the exploit claimed that despite his repeated attempts to contact HTC Europe for about six months, they failed to release a patch to fix this issue.

The patch works with Touch Diamond/Touch Pro/Touch HD. More instructions on how to install the patch can be found over here.

[Via WMpoweruser]

HTC smartphones running on WinMo 6 or 6.1 are hackable via a Bluetooth attack, claims a new report by security researcher, Alberto Moreno Tablado.

He claims the vulnerability is found only in HTC phones because of its driver that is prone to a directory traversal hack in the Bluetooth OBEX FTP service. The hack, if successful could allow hackers to navigate through the hijacked phone’s shared browser and then into other folders, enabling them to retrieve the phone’s contacts, e-mails and other multimedia content.

The driver, obexfile.dll is the file that allows to do the damage and is found in most of the HTC phones available in the market running WinMo 6 or 6.1.

The only workaround until HTC fixes the exploit remains in the hands of the consumers. Users should not accept any untrusted Bluetooth connection or shouldn’t pair with the phones or devices that are not known to them.

More details over here.

[Via Yahoo]

Bluetooth SIG has formally adopted the new Bluetooth 3.0. The latest iteration called as Bluetooth 3.0 + HS (stands for High Speed) uses the same 802.11 Wi-Fi protocol which enables it to give a throughput data transfer rate of up to 24Mbps. Bluetooth 3.0, basically creates an ad hoc Wi-Fi connection between devices that feature both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios, thus making quick transfers and considerably faster than Bluetooth 2.0.

Apart from speed, Bluetooth 3.0 is backward compatible and offers Enhanced Power control for more stable connections and Unicast Connectionless Data for faster transfers at low power.

Bluetooth 3.0 equipped devices will be out in the market by Q4 of this year.

Press Release

[Via Mike's Blog]

The Bluetooth SIG group is all set to make the ubiquitous short range communication faster, at par with Wi-Fi speeds. The official and full details will be out within two weeks from now but few things that makes Bluetooth 3.0 special are:

- Increased bandwidth to allow users to transfer content within seconds
- Enhanced Power Control to prevent dropping of connection when the device is put in a bag or pocket
- Unique hand-off mode that will create a one-to-one Wi-Fi connection and switch to it if Bluetooth auto discovers the Wi-Fi radio present in both the devices.

[Via Electronista|Image]

Nokia introduced their smallest Bluetooth headset ever – BH-804. It is a basic headset which comes in aluminum case and boasts digital signal processing (DSP) for background noise cancellation and crisp voice quality.

The headset integrates a couple of buttons too for easy call management and comes with a desktop charger and a neck strap. Nokia hasn’t revealed the price but expects to ship in select markets by year end.

Product Page

Sony Ericsson in alliance with watchmaker Fossil have come up with a new range of Bluetooth watches to please the ladies. To suit different styles and occasions, MBW-200 watches have been segregated into three designs – Sparkling Allure, Contemporary Elegance and Evening Classic. Going into technicalities, the glass of the watch is a scratch resistant mineral crystal glass with an anti-glare coating for optimum readability and glow. There is a monochrome OLED screen which is used to display phone numbers and hides stealthily when not in use. On the functionality front, the watch starts vibrating on receiving a call or a SMS which can be rejected or muted with the button or can be used to control the mobile phone’s music player. It will start retailing from this quarter.

Press Release