Bluetooth Bonanza

Nokia's BH-804 is also the smalles headset at an inch and a half in size.

Text and photos by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Nokia Canada recently unveiled its latest line of wireless Bluetooth accessories in time for the Christmas shopping season. On display were a range of mono in-ear headsets, a full line of wireless stereo Bluetooth headphones and speakers plus a timely array of in-car hands free kits designed to appeal to a variety of users.

Bluetooth wireless technology has been around since 2002 and has since been widely adopted despite some niggling problems with battery life and quirky connectivity protocols as well as the perception of high cost. Nokia, a founding company in the Bluetooth initiative, has also become the leading manufacturer of Bluetooth devices in 2009.

Nokia’s new devices sport the latest technologies with DSP (Digital Signal Processing) noise cancelling capabilities and enhanced battery life and faster, clearer connections to a wide variety of devices including Nokia’s own range of cellular phones.

In-car Bluetoot solutions are timely now that many Canadian cties have stringent distracted driving laws.

Nokia’s most popular Bluetooth accessories are their mono Bluetooth wireless headsets and this year they have everything from playful but functional entry-level models to tiny but full-featured devices. Bluetooth headsets range from C$29.95 for the no frills BH-105 model to C$129.95 for the advanced models like the BH-804.

These in-ear headphones boast quick charging technology (1 to 2 hours maximum time to full charge), up to 8 hours operating time) and standby times of up to 8 days between charges. Nokia has also managed wind noise reduction feature across the line. Their highest end mono model, the BH-804, is also the smallest at an inch and a half in size.

One big surprise at the launch event was seeing and testing Nokia’s line of stereo Bluetooth wireless headphones designed specifically for audiophiles. Stereo Bluetooth has long been a holy grail of sorts for both music player makers and headphone manufacturers, looks like we have some compelling options today. The BH-905 Stereo Bluetooth headphones come with 10 speakers, 8 noise-cancelling headphones and two microphones and are good to play music for 25 hours on a single charge.

 Hi-fidelity the wireless way with Nokia's $349.95 BH-905

Selling for C$349.95, the BH-905 is certainly a luxury item for a very specific type of user but manages to bring the high-end features of similarly priced wired models to the wireless users.