yet another new toy
I decided I no longer wanted to compromise when it comes to interacting with audio, I wanted a very easy way to switch seamlessly between the following activities:
- Record audio notes in OneNote
- Listen to music
- Take phone calls
- Listen to podcasts – mainly from IT Conversations
And I wanted to be able to do all of the above:
- From desk
- Walking
- Swimming – I already have a solution for this
- Chilling out at a Cafe or health club
- Shopping
- etc
I knew the solution needed to involve Bluetooth, and a headset that could switch from audio player to phone headset to microphone as required. I think I have found the solution – Sonorix Bluetooth Audio Player – its £50 off right now because it’s an old model. I friend of mine had one about a year ago and loved it. I have ordered one, should arrive in a couple of days.
Well it arrived next day, its a bit of a compromise, but here are the tradeoffs; the good:
Seems fairly well built and is certainly stylish
Has a spare battery and a seperate battery charger, needs it though
The USB dongle and drivers work with Windows 2003 Server!
The quality of the built in audio player is ok, certainly good enough for audio books, podcasts etc
The integration with the Treo 650 is good for incoming calls, both devices ring, and you can choose to answer via the Sonorix or the Treo. Any audio playing pauses, until the phone calls completes
All interaction with the headset is over bluetooth
The controls seem ok once you get familliar with them
The not so good:
Resets can only be achieved by removing the battery
Once the battery has been removed, the currently playing bookmark is lost
After I initially switch them on I can hear an initiated a phone call, this works a couple of times only. I have not identified what I am doing wrong if anything incoming calls seem fine
File transfer is very slow, but you can leave it running in the background