BlueTake Bluetooth Audio Station Review

By Ian Bell Updated January 1, 2005

Quote from the review at The Tech Lounge:

“Wireless. This word is usually followed by numbers such as 802.11 b, 802.11g, etc. But did you know there is another form of wireless called Bluetooth? Bluetooth has been with us since 1998, but now we are seeing more and more products with the technology built in. Many of today’s PDAs support the Bluetooth standard as do many cell phones. But what is Bluetooth and why should you care?

Unlike its 802.11 brethren, Bluetooth technology is a shorter range wireless technology that allows different devices to talk to one another. For example, a wireless mouse or keyboard can use Bluetooth to send data to your computer. A PDA can hotsync with a computer through Bluetooth. As I mentioned previously, many modern cell phones support Bluetooth â€“ which makes it possible to use wireless headsets. Bluetooth can also be used to transmit audio for cordless headphones and other media accessories. So basically Bluetooth is an all-encompassing wireless standard that allows differing pieces of equipment to interoperate seamlessly. It operates in the 2.4 GHz band which is also the same band as cordless phones, 802.11 products and many others. To avoid the obvious interference issues, Bluetooth modulates the signal in such a way as to avoid other devices. Also, unlike 802.11, Bluetooth “pairs” devices such that they only talk with each other. Of course this is all in theory, testing will be the true test.

For our first delve into the wireless technology of Bluetooth, we have several products from Bluetake. They have sent me the BT007X Bluetooth USB adapter, the BT420 EX i-phono Bluetooth Hi-Fi Sports Headphone Kit, and finally the BT460 EX Hi-Phono Bluetooth Hi-Fi Audio Station Kit. Each of these products stands on its own, but what I really intend to find out is how well these products work with each other. That will be the true test.”

Read the full review

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