Driver who crashed while using hands-free mobile cleared of killing
February 20, 2009 by Tom · Leave a Comment
Miss Howden, 43, was at the end of long calls to her boyfriend and a work colleague when she lost control of her Mercedes CLK 220, swerved across the road and crashed.
The driver, radiographer Patricia Frostick, 55, was cut from her vehicle by firemen and put on board an air ambulance but she died from a heart attack before the helicopter could take off.
Howden, a director and head of sales at a business consultancy company, Insights, which has a turnover of £20 million, was accused of causing death by dangerous driving, which carries a possible prison sentence.
However a jury at Warwick Crown Court found her not guilty of that charge, and she was convicted instead of careless driving.
Judge Richard Griffiths-Jones banned her from driving for 12 months and fined her £2,000.
He told Howden: "I am very conscious that the sentence is going to appear out-of-kilter with the enormity of the consequences. I am not going to lecture about the consequences, which will be perfectly obvious to you and will stay with you for the rest of your life.
"What happened to you in this case is a lesson to us all about the dangers of talking on the phone while we drive."
Talking after the case, Mrs Frostick's husband Ian said he did not feel that he had been given an answer as to why the crash happened.
He said: "I am disappointed at the outcome of this case. All I wanted from this case was... an explanation for my wife's death. The defendant did not set out to kill my wife, but this is what her actions did."
Driving while using a hand-held mobile phone was banned in Britain in 2003, but bluetooth technology and devices with headphones and speakers are still allowed.
However, according to the Department for Transport, hands-free phones are still considered a distraction and drivers risk legal action if they drive erratically while using one.
In a police statement, Howden had said: "I was talking to my colleague about an email I had sent her the day before. I was just winding the conversation up and said something like, 'I'd better get off the phone so I can focus on my journey'. Before I could end the call I suddenly lost control. It was as if the steering wheel slipped through my hands and I hit the car on the other side of the road."
But the court heard that Miss Howden, from Long Buckby, Northants, was seen swerving across the road moments before the crash.
Miss Howden said: "I am a responsible, cautious driver. It is entirely legal to use a mobile phone with a hands-free kit. I regularly make and receive calls while driving. My car is effectively my office.''
Wish I Sprang for the Hands Free Model
BlueAnt Z9i Bluetooth Headset
August 18, 2008 by Tom · Leave a Comment
At-a-glance overview:
The Good- Can be paired with 5 devices |
The Bad- Uncomfortable fit |
Full Review
Would love to say thanks to Christina from BlueAnt for sending me the Z9i to review.
The BlueAnt Z9i is said to be one of the best hands-free devices out today - my thoughts? Correct, one of the best ones out there. It may even replace my current favorite - the Jawbone 2, but I'll leave that fight to another post.
The BlueAnt Z9i reminded me of the Jawbone 2 in many aspects: the size and feel are almost identical, and both models have great noise cancelling qualities, which successfully filter out background noise such as wind, running water, car radio - basically any background white noise.
As other BlueAnt devices, I love the amount of love the company puts into the package. I truely feel like a young boy on Christmas morning greedily opening up his gift.
How does this go?
Everything up to here was perfect, the charging was fast, the connection was painless, but wearing the hands-free earpiece was hard. I wasn't sure how exactly it's supposed to be worn, and took me a good few minutes to get it "on". It still feels a bit loose, but attached nonetheless.
Sound Quality
I was happily surprised with the sound quality on the BlueAnt Z9i. The incoming voice was loud and clear, as if someone was whispering into my ear - perfecto. Outgoing quality was great as well.
Noise Cancellation
The noise cancelling features here were not as I'm used to. The "cancelling" mode must be turned on when speaking in high-noise areas, and later turned off when back in quite areas. I don't understand why it can't always have the cancellation turned on.
Pairing Up
This model is famous for it's ability to connect with five [yes, 5!] devices simultaneously. Meaning you could connect to your cellphone & laptop, talking on Skype online, and when a call comes in, the Z9i would automaticlly switch to the cellphone, something like that. I'm a basic Bluetooth user and have no need for this, but always good to have anyways.
Accessories
The extra accessories that arrive with the Z9i are suffecient, but not perfect. It comes with an A/C adapter, USB cable, but no car charger. I've noticed that no hands-free devices comes with all three chargers [A/C, USB & Car], sighs. But unlike most devices, the BlueAnt Z9i comes with different ear-hooks and ear-buds for a perfect fit. Yay!
Conclusion:
Great sound quality, takes a while to get a comfortable fit, but it has different ear-pieces that I didn't try. Very small & light, average battery life. Almost as good as the mighty Jawbone, at half the cost.
I'm convinced, where can I buy?
I'm glad you asked. You can get the BlueAnt Z9i at Amazon and JR.com at around $65-$70, very affordable price indeed.
There you have it, the BlueAnt Z9i
Rating (out of 10)
Battery LifeUp to 5.5 hrs talk time or 200 hrs standby |
7 |
PriceCan be found at $70 |
9 |
Fit & DesignDidn't fit too well. |
6 |
Sound QualityAwesome! |
10 |
FeaturesNoise cancelling feature not too good. |
7 |
Total |
7.8 |
BlueAnt Supertooth 3 Bluetooth Speakerphone
August 13, 2008 by Tom · Leave a Comment
At-a-glance overview:
The Good- Talks to you |
The Bad- Text-to-Speech doesn't work on most phones |
Full Review
Would love to say thanks to Christina from BlueAnt for sending me the Supertooth 3 to review. Here is the official product description:
The BlueAnt Supertooth 3 handsfree speakerphone provides a safer, legal alternative to talking on your cell phone while you drive. Voice prompts provide assistance to help you connect the device with your phone and upload your address book. The Supertooth 3 announces the name or ID of the caller when the phone rings - just say 'OK' to accept the call. Install the Supertooth 3 in seconds for a totally handsfree experience.
Design: The first thing that comes to mind - wow it's large! Compared to other hands-free units, this one is your big size. Reminds me of this garage-remote-control I had over 10 years ago. The Supertooth 3, a bit smaller than a chocolate bar, feels sturdry and strong, so we'll give it that. Nothing that special about the design.
Talking: The Supertooth 3 is the first bluetooth device I know that actually talks to you. When first turning on, it asks you to select a speaking language [UK English, US English, French, Italian, Spanish and German] and from then on, it says everything outloud. Kinda nice, but the voice they choose is horrible, the US English voice is hard to understand and is very disturbingingly computerized.
Connection: I turned the Supertooth on, it started blinking and told me outloud "Please connect via your cellphone" so I found the device on my LG Viewty and connected, the Supertooth lets you know with "Bluetooth Connected" which is kinda nice.
It then tried to connect to my phones contact book, to download the names of the contacts, part of it's text-to-speech feature. After a few minutes of "Please wait", it finally said "Connection Failed, Phone doesn't support Contact Downloading", which was highly disapointing as I have one of the top cellphones on the market now [LG "Viewty" KU990]. Seems the feature only works with the iPhone and Treo, not good.
Call Quality: Volume can get very high, if desired, which is good. Sound quality sounded great, when talking about speakerphones, which are always "iffy".
Battery Life: Standard for speakerphones, at 15 hours talk time (with 800 hours of standby).
Accessories: I loved all the extra accessories with the BlueAny Supertooth: It comes with a A/C charger, plus a car charger, with not many hands-free devices giving both these. The phone also uses a mini-usb charger, which can be found easily [*Motorola*]. It also comes with 2 metal magentic clips which holds the Supertooth to the car visor. Cool!
Price: Started off at around $130, currently at around $90, I've included a link below for the Amazon listing.
Conclusion: Didn't have any chance to try the text-to-speech feature, as my "old" phone doesn't support their specific requirements. Without that feature, nothing special.
Where to buy:
Rating (out of 10)
Battery Life15 hour talk time, 33 days standby |
8 |
PriceCan be found at $90. |
6 |
DesignNothing special, kinda big. |
6 |
Sound QualityAverage for speakerphones |
7 |
ConnectionThe "main" feature didn't work with my phone. |
4 |
Total |
6.2 |
My View: Here’s an earful about the new cell phone law
August 6, 2008 by Tom · Leave a Comment
Article taken from Sacbee.com
My friend called me the first day we became "hands free."
"I avost cost n agsidend!" he said.
"What?" I replied.
I heard him speaking again from underwater, "N agsidend! I ast cost un cuzuv m bootoov!"
As I hung up, tore my "hands free" device from my ear and threw it at the dashboard, I almost caused an accident. I pulled over to call him back. He explained that he had called to tell me that he almost caused an accident because of his "hands free" device.
Because of my anger at having to merge back into freeway traffic after stopping to hear my friend, I almost caused an "agsidend."
I saw in my mind the state Legislature and the governator proudly slapping each other on the back after signing the legislation that would save so many lives. (Do we have a budget yet?)
Don't they remember the excellent driver's training courses we took as teenagers, where we learned to drive a stick shift while holding a Big Gulp (no cup holders back then), changing our cassettes and watching for cops? No "hands free" devices back then, if I recall correctly.
Let me tally the ways my driving has improved by trying to keep the "hands free" device from falling out of my ear, or from reaching to grab it off the passenger's-side floorboard after an unsuccessful attempt at catching it.
I wonder if our lawmakers considered that holding the phone to your ear while driving is the easy part. Last I saw, my "hands free" device did not make the call for me. It also does not tell me who is calling, so I still have to pick up my phone to look at the incoming number.
Maybe the great state of California should tell me the foods that are safe to eat while driving or tell me I should not reach down to change my radio station.
Last I checked, my "hands free" device did none of this for me.
Since July 1, with my "hands free" device in my ear, I have almost caused accidents while staring in disbelief at the drivers next to me who were applying makeup, shaving and even reading a newspaper (probably this one) while driving.
Why did my "hands free" device not warn me about rubbernecking at someone changing a tire at the side of the road while traffic in front of me came to a stop to do the same thing? Maybe the "hands free" devices should be equipped with a brake-light warning device so we can avoid these very types of accidents.
The other day, I had to turn down the volume of that sexy British voice on my GPS system so that I could make out what my client was trying to tell me through my "hands free" device. After the phone call I realized that my GPS had tried several times to recalculate where I was, and I decided to punch in the new coordinates of my next stop and come back later to the place I passed up several miles back.
While performing this task on Interstate 5, my "hands free" device fell from my ear and this time landed under the gas pedal. Having to take my foot off the gas to reach underneath, my foot accidentally rested on the brake pedal, slowing me down exponentially and causing me to bump my ear (the same ear that holds my "hands free" device) on the steering wheel.
I sat back up and found my left ear was too swollen for the "hands free" device. As I was twisting the earpiece to now fit into my right ear and reaching into my lunch bag for the ice pack, I saw that many empathetic drivers (having obviously encountered similar situations) were now staring at me instead of the road and extending to me the finger of understanding. Evidently, their "hands free" device does not do this for them.
This all just happened a few minutes ago, and since I already had my laptop out on the passenger seat and my wireless card plugged in, I decided to log on to Sacbee.com to write this letter to share my story. It looks like traffic may be slowing ahead, so I had better keep one eye on the road and get back to RSVPing to my 20-year reunion with my other – yet another thing my "hands free" device does not do for me.
Article taken from Sacbee.com
Motorola T305 Bluetooth Speakerphone Review
August 4, 2008 by Tom · Leave a Comment
At-a-glance overview:
The Good- Long lasting battery |
The Bad- Outgoing call quality far from perfect |
Full Review
Motorola was kind enough to send me a review unit of the Motorola T305. The T305 is a bluetooth speakerphone device, created for use in the car. The Motorola T305 unit clips on to your can sun visor, which keeps the microphone close to your mouth when driving.
SUMMARY OF FEATURES
• Bluetooth wireless technology hands-free system is quick and easy to set up with EasyPair™
• Clear sound with latest echo and noise cancellation technology
• Loud sound optimized for the vehicle, with high speaker output
• Portable, just clip and you are ready to go. Visor clip and vehicle power adaptor included in the box
• Use phone’s voice dial capabilities to easily place calls
• Mini-USB connector for easy charging
• Up to 14 hours talk time; 14 days standby time
Design: Feels very sturdy, much smaller than it appears in the pictures. Feels like it can uphold some abuse. The T305 is small, much smaller than your cellphone. Design is very nice & simple.
Charging: The first thing I noticed is that I only had a car-charger, ouch! I wanted to charge and test it out a bit out of the car [in my office] initially. Maybe it was only because I got a review-unit, which may have different accessories than the retail version. Luckily for me, I had a Motorola A/C charger from my Motorola S9's that worked. The guide said it takes 2 hours, took around 1 hour until I got the blue light.
Connection: Very simple, held the power button for 3 seconds, purple light turned on with a cool beep. Searched for new devices on my cellphone, found the Motorola T305, entered password "0000" and connected with a series of flashes and beeps.
For some reason, the Motorola T305 wants us to know that the unit is connected by Bluetooth, so it has a very annoying flashing blue light every 3 seconds while in standby mode. This gets very distracting at night, but not noticable at all during the day.
Buttons: Something I realized very fast, was that the Motorola T305 has too many buttons! After using the new Jawbone, which has only 2 buttons, I was overwhelmed. The small device is fully equped with 4 buttons: on/off button, call button, volume up and volume down. The volume buttons aren't next to each other, which is weird. I would also think that the on/off button would double as the call button. Changing the volume has a few second delay from the time you press the button, to the time it actually does it.
Call Quality (incoming): Seemed good, maximum volume is VERY loud [indoors], which would make it "reasonable" while driving. Sound quality, as usual, deteriorates while using higher volume levels, so try to avoid using the highest.
Call Quality (outgoing): Not good at all, people had trouble hearing me while talking in the car. Only when speaking directly into the unit [1-2 inches], was the quality good.
Battery Life: Advertised value is Up to 14 hours talk time; 14 days standby time. I'm going to take their word for it and not start a 14 hour conversation to check if it's actually true, sorry guys. 14 hours is great, most smaller headsets only have a couple hours [4-8] so this one definitely takes it home.
Price: The Motorola T305 can be found online for around $65, give or take.
Conclusion: A good speakerphone generally, with a few bad tweaks. Flashing blue light is annoying, outgoing sound quality could be better, and the buttons could be simplified. But it has great battery power, attractive price and easy-to-use design.
Rating (out of 10)
Battery Life16 hour talk time, 16 days standby |
9 |
PriceCan be found at $65. |
9 |
DesignSmall and sturdy |
8 |
Sound QualityOutgoing quality far from perfect |
5 |
Total |
7.75 |
Everythings Cordless These Days
August 1, 2008 by Tom · Leave a Comment
Grace Period Over for California’s hands-free law
July 31, 2008 by Tom · Leave a Comment
As we all know, the state of California went into a hands-free cellphone ban on July 1st. All drivers must use hands-free devices while driving or face the hefty fines.
A few selected cities, mostly San Diego and National City were kind enough to gave drivers a 30 day grace period. In that motorists would only receive warnings for talking on their cell. Today, July 31st, 2008, that changes. The grace period is over and the full ban is in affect.
Since July 1, the California Highway Patrol has issued 277 citations in San Diego County and 6,278 statewide, many more have not yet to be recorded.
Oceanside police also announced a 30-day grace period, but gave officers the discretion to write a ticket. About a dozen citations were issued, Oceanside police Sgt. Kelan Poorman said.
First-time offenders are fined at least $97. Subsequent violations cost at least $211.
Drivers are getting the message, said Officer Brad Baehr, a spokesman for the CHP's San Diego office. “I see a ton of headsets,” he said. “I think people are taking it to heart.”
New Jawbone 2 Review
July 28, 2008 by Tom · 2 Comments
At-a-glance overview:
The Good- Noise-cancelling feature works great |
The Bad- Battery life on the low side [4-5 hours] |
Full Review
Some Jawbone History: Around two years ago, Aliph released the original Jawbone, a bulky device that supported "Noise Shield", a high-tech noise cancelling feature. Personally I haven't used the old one, but heard it was great, except for it's large size.
In 2007, the headset was awarded an International CES Innovations Design and Engineering Award, was named “Wearable Gadget of the Year” by Engadget and received CNET’s highest-ever rating for a Bluetooth headset.
New Jawbone:
May 2008 - "Aliph, the established market leader in noise eliminating Bluetooth headsets, introduced the new Jawbone® Bluetooth headset. The new Jawbone design is 50% smaller than the original award-winning Jawbone, and features breakthrough noise elimination technology to provide even better voice quality than the original in a smaller and more ergonomic package."
Features: The Jawbone has a incredible feature, called NoiseAssasin. This military-grade patent filters out background noise from your conversation while amplifying your voice, through jaw vibrations. So what does that mean for us? No more "I can't hear you! Turn the radio down!" - the other side of our conversation will hear us crystal-clear, as if indoors. See the Jawbone in action within our Jawbone preview post.
Packaging: The headset comes in a beautiful package design. Behind a clear-plastic case, the incredible Jawbone floats in the middle, as if knowing it's that good - I would be lying if I said I wasn't impressed.
For me, the packaging shows how high the company places their products. Like Apple, Aliph has dedicated a lot to the packaging and design of the Jawbone, which says a lot. If they put all this thought into the package, I wonder how much was put into their actual product? So far, looks great for a hoping-to-be great product.
Slowly opening the package, careful not to tear anything, the accessories of the Jawbone are revealed: First box, a very cool charger that doubles as a USB / AC charger, which is very smartly designed. In the smaller box, many sets of earbuds / earloops for customizing your Jawbone for your face.
My Jawbone came with a pamphlet strongly advising to make sure the Jawbone fits your face perfectly, the headline: "If it doesn't fit, it doesn't eliminate" which says the Voice Activity Sensor of the Jawbone must touch your face to ensure superior performance. So make sure you try all the different fits [earbuds/earloops] for the perfect setup.
You can continue reading this review by clicking the "Next" link below. I've also included a few unboxing pictures for you guys to envy over:
New Jawbone Preview
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - May 15, 2008 - Aliph, the established market leader in noise eliminating Bluetooth® headsets, today introduced the new Jawbone® Bluetooth headset. In the tradition of bringing together science and beauty, the new Jawbone design is 50% smaller than the original award-winning Jawbone, and features breakthrough noise elimination technology to provide even better voice quality than the original in a smaller and more ergonomic package. It is available today exclusively at AT&T retail stores and at www.jawbone.com or www.wireless.att.com.
Aliph was kind enough to send me a unit for review, which I got a few days ago. I'll be posting a full review of this device this week. But so far, it's great. So fun to use, I get excited when I hear the phone ringing when connected to the Jawbone.
I found a nice comparison of the newer model vs his older-and-larger counterpart. I'm working on the review now, but for now, check out nice Jawbone 2 review on Paulstamatiou.com
I'm linking a video showing the filtering capablities of the Jawbone, enjoy!
