Nokia intros the BH-101 Bluetooth earpiece

Nokia -- always known to break a phone-lover off some snazzy new junk -- currently wants to get up in your headspace with its new Bluetooth earpiece, the BH-101. What can the BH-101 do for you, you ask? Well for starters, it'll deliver eight hours of talktime, 180 hours of sweet, silent standby, Bluetooth 2.0 (with EDR, Handsfree v.1.5, and Headset v.1.1), plus it will go easy on the wallet with a €30 / $40 price tag. Ready to give the appearance that you're talking to yourself? Do it this "Christmas season" with Nokia's help.

[booticon @ Oct 31st 2007 12:14PM]

Man, that $40 price tag is attractive.

I'll definitely wait for reviews, however. I once purchased a Motorola headset for $25 thinking it was a steal, and it turns out that the volume was absolutely horrible. If this one turns out to be all it's cracked up to be, I might have to buy it for my next cellphone (read: reverse-accessorizing).

[Anthony @ Oct 31st 2007 12:20PM]

I think that's the biggest bluetooth headset photo I've ever seen. It's like a skyscraper on the page.

[DP @ Oct 31st 2007 4:52PM]

Exactly what I was thinking.

[Jesse S @ Oct 31st 2007 12:21PM]

Does it have DSP? New York City can be a noisy place.

[Bennett @ Oct 31st 2007 12:25PM]

Bluetooth earpieces aren't for gadget enthusiasts.

[Phillip Donley @ Oct 31st 2007 12:29PM]

They aren't? I would say bluetooth headsets contribute to the addiction more than any other gadget these days. FINDING THE PERFECT HEADSET!

[Bennett @ Oct 31st 2007 12:32PM]

Nah, people wear them as status symbols, like shiny hi-tech earrings.

But what really annoys me is the people who think that they're reducing the chance of brain tumours by using a bluetooth headset. IT'S GOT A RADIO IN IT.

[L @ Oct 31st 2007 12:53PM]

Yeah, but Bluetooth Power Class 3, which is used by headsets, has a MAX transmission power of 1 Milliwatt. While most modern handsets have SAR anywhere between 0.50 Watt and 1.80 Watt - so that's between 500 and 1800 times as much radiation energy sent into your brain.

So, I think it is perfectly save to say that using a Bluetooth headset lowers the (totally unproven, but that's beside the point) chance for a brain tumor by a HUGE factor compared to using the handset directly.

So, at least *try* to look up your facts before you go into red-alert mode...

[Bennett @ Oct 31st 2007 12:58PM]

@L,

Ok, fair point. Of course, it's all moot since it's non-ionizing radiation no matter whether it's the phone or the bluetooth module.

[Scott Ganz @ Oct 31st 2007 3:40PM]

It's not what we buy that defines us as geeks/gadget enthusiasts, but HOW we buy it. Gadget enthusiasts buy toasters, they just select them after extensive forum-searching for units with the best heat output and the proper *ding* noise.

A status knucklehead buys the BT earpiece with the brightest little blue LED, so people can see it from space. Gadget people overspend on the Jawbone, because it's the best.

[Reid Conti @ Oct 31st 2007 2:01PM]

Wrong.

Nobody wears a bluetooth headset as a status symbol.

They're freaking cheap.

This is like the idiots who claim people go to Starbucks so they can carry around the cup as a status symbol.

What fantasy world do you live in where a cup of coffee or a headset you could buy with money you lose in your couch cushions is a status symbol?

Why is it that every idiot who has an irrational hatred for some product has to call everyone who uses it shallow? Seems it's the other way 'round.

A Bentley is a status symbol. A big house is a status symbol. A Bluetooth headset is a communication device.

[Jason @ Oct 31st 2007 12:49PM]

so do "gadget enthusiasts" just not use handsfree headsets then?

I've got a Moto HS850 (with the flip-out mic piece) but I only wear it when I'm using it, which isn't that often.

I do agree though that many people do wear then as status symbols.

[daaper @ Oct 31st 2007 1:22PM]

which really makes no sense. Maybe it did 5 years ago, but today it's not really any indication of status.

"Look at me, I'm wealthy and important. I'm using a $40 headset on my phone that came free with my calling plan."

wow, big spender...

[Al @ Oct 31st 2007 2:03PM]

Gadget enthusiasts are using stereo bluetooth headsets now.

Mono headset wearers are posers.

[Anthony @ Oct 31st 2007 4:09PM]

A2DP rocks! Well, not really but it does allow stereo. Still hardly a "gadget enthusiast" buy. Chumby. Now that's for the true gadget enthusiast. I still can't figure out why I'd want one.

Personally I've gone through about 10 headsets & just don't use them (even Jawbone). Speakerphone while driving is good enough for me (though my K850 is much quieter than the N95).

[DP @ Oct 31st 2007 4:53PM]

Screw status! Forty bones for a solid bluetooth headset? I'm sold.

[Muad Dib @ Nov 15th 2007 8:59AM]

Ugly!