Be Smart

Next time you're faced with a rack of expensive Bluetooth headsets, just remember how cheap manufacturers can actually get the hardware: CSR have announced their BlueVox2 mono headset, measuring a tiny 4.5 x 5.5mm but still packing Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, simultaneous connection with multiple devices and the company's own AuriStream noise reduction that, they claim, gives voice quality on a par with a landline phone.



"BlueVox2 has by far the lowest power consumption in the market, is the first to use Bluetooth version 2.1, first to feature AuriStream, the lowest cost headset with so many features and, thanks to clever engineering, one of the most compact headsets in the world. The noise and echo reduction as well as the AuriStream CODEC ensures that voice quality on this device is better than any other on the market. CSR has crammed in a huge number of features for an eBOM of just $5. Most of these features would normally only be available in much more costly solutions"  Anthony Murray, Senior Vice President, CSR Wireless Audio Business Unit

Packed onto that one chip is not only the Bluetooth radio but codecs for the microphone and speakers, power management, a battery charger and a microprocessor to run virtual machine applications.  Samples of the BlueVox2 are with manufacturers now, and CSR expect retail headsets using the board to be available in Q3 2008.