Book Reviews and Money Saving Tips

Cell phones are a wonderful piece of technology and I would hate to do without mine. Calls in the car are a pain though. My wife’s car came with Bluetooth which makes life much less complex. Once the phone was synched it worked like a charm. My car, being pre-Bluetooth, doesn’t have that advantage therefore I want an easy to use Bluetooth speaker phone. Thanks to the Amazon Vine program I now have an easy to use Bluetooth speaker phone. Right out of the box it synched with no problems. The first time pairing was done through voice prompts from the unit itself. The sound is very clear and I’m told I don’t sound like I am in a large can when I speak to people using it. The buttons work well and work when you push them. That seems like it should be a no brainer but my current unit needs much prodding to get it to want to respond to voice commands. I particularly like the car charger as it uses a standard male micro USB connector to a male USB co...

This is an adequate product. I purchased it specifically to be able to use the car speakers to enhance audibility of calls. That aspect works intermittently. It allows you to play the music from your phone through your car stereo system. That works well. Too bad that is a feature I could care less about. The speaker in the unit is fairly good so it does work. It just doesn't work for the reason I purchased it. Since the company has a "all sales are final" policy I decided it would be too much trouble to return it. It is not Amazon direct but a 3rd party vendor. Due to the "all sales are final" policy and the inability of the unit to consistently use the car speakers for phone calls, I do NOT recommend the product or the vendor. BTW it is most definitely my fault for not checking the return policy before I purchased the unit. The vendor clearly stated their policy. I screwed up. I would advise checking return policies prior to making any Amazon p...

I haven’t used this but it looks pretty sweet. I’ve got a buddy who has two computers but no network. He wants to share his printer wirelessly. His new printer had Bluetooth but neither his desktop or laptop has Bluetooth. For a whopping $12.99/computer at Amazon he can add Bluetooth capability. From Belkin’s site: This small adapter simply plugs into one of your computer's USB ports, and with just a press of a button, quickly connects you to the latest Bluetooth wireless technology. The Mini Bluetooth Adapter easily pairs your mouse and keyboard to your computer, and also communicates with headsets, printers, phones, and other devices enabled with Bluetooth technology. For PC Users:Windows® 98, 2000, Me, XP, or Vista® For Mac® Users: Mac OS® X v10.2 or higher Note, Windows 7 is not supported. (but then what is?) As usual this is not a paid blog but if you click on the Amazon link, I will get a commission. If several hundred of you click on it, my commission will ...

Bluetooth is being called out by Wi-Fi direct. This is a new specification that announced by the Wi-FiAlliance (the industry group that promotes Wi-Fi) that will allow wireless devices to connect to each other without needing a router. They claim it will work out to about 300 feet and have data rates compatible with current Wi-Fi technology. This could put a serious hurt to Bluetooth if widely adopted. The new peer-to-peer spec is expected to be published soon and the industry group plans on certifying devices in the coming year. It should be an interesting face off. If you want more detailed information, the article I read was on Cnet.

Ok, Free is always suspicious. I have a bluetooth headset so I don't need one. I got this from Buy.com and I have had good experiences there. Check it out, I am not recommending it, I am not getting paid to mention it, I just thought it might be of interest to someone who needs/wants a bluetooth headset. Here is the Link.

I know enough already on printers. I guess I get interested in something and can’t let go. I mentioned in a past blog that one way to get rid of printer cables is to get a Bluetooth printer. That is easy to say and easy to find but most of us don’t have Bluetooth in our computers unless maybe we have a fairly new laptop. Well don’t despair, there is a solution. The USB Bluetooth adapter is alive and available from TrendNet. Now you can buy any Bluetooth enabled printer and stick it anywhere you want within 30 feet of your computer. No more cable clutter, no more noise beside your desk just a foot loose and fancy free printer across the room for only $24.58 at Amazon, plus free shipping if you can find something else to get over $25.00. This isn’t a paid blog but if you buy one from Amazon, I will get a commission, not enough to buy this myself unless way bunches of you buy one. TRENDnet's TBW-102UB Bluetooth USB Adapter allows you to make short-range wireless connect...

Bluetooth Headset Deal You can get a fairly well reviewed Bluetooth headset for $10.99 which is miles below the $69.00 and up average prices for these puppies. If you are in the market for the least expensive Bluetooth headset that I could find it would be the $10.99 PHILIPS VOX130 Mono Bluetooth Lapel Style Earbud Headse t at Buy.com. Free shipping means no surprises like you often get from the grotesque shipping charges some of the net vendors dump on you. The down side or up depending on point of view is the Phillips is an earbud to a wire to a clip on for your garment. Upside is that only a very light earbud is in the ear. Downside is if you don’t want to clip something on your clothes. I have had positive experiences with buy.com. Depending on state laws where you live, you may need one of these sooner than you think.