Tag: Headset

Are Bluetooth headsets relevant anymore? Just a few years ago, early adopters were sporting them much the same way they’re now chasing Google Glass and Coin unified credit cards. At $99, Jawbone is trying to distance itself from the stigma it has acquired of clunky earpieces. To do it, it’s integrating two-way communication between the device and the phone in ways it hasn’t in the past: proper voice control allows users to talk to the device from the headset – and be spoken to by Google Now and Siri – for everything the smartphone is capable of including directions, appointments, text messages, etc. The idea is to keep the phone in the users’ pockets, and to control the device with already-accepted voice commands; in other words, to turn the headset into a piece of efficient, wearable tech. And, at the size of a piece of gum, it’s not going to be as jarring to wear as, say, a pair of glasses that force you to look up and to the right. It’s also noise-cancelling, ensuring that if you want to listen to music, you can. As the public becomes increasingly comfortable with voice control as a mechanism for interfacing with technology, the ultra-simplistic, minimal interface of the Jawbone might just resurface.