The most recent articles from What PC?

Ericsson Bluetooth Headset HBH - 10

J Mark Lytle, for What PC? — 2001-10-11T16:29:21.000Z

J Mark Lytle, for What PC?, What PC?, Thursday 11 October 2001 at 16:29:21

Ericsson has finally come up with the Bluetooth goods, but the HBH-10 is overpriced and far from perfect.

Bluetooth - the technology, rather than the 1000-year-old Danish King - has always suffered from something of an identity crisis. In the public eye it has tended to hover somewhere between real and imaginary, as one project after another failed to deliver. So far, almost seven years after Ericsson first proposed the Bluetooth project, no products have reached the market.

The bottom line is that Bluetooth has been perceived as a letdown simply because it has taken time to reach this stage, which is rather unfair given that similar technologies, such as DECT, took much longer to reach maturity and had the benefit of not having to do so in such a blaze of publicity. Part of the problem has been unrealistic claims, from both developers and the press, while - strangely enough - many observers feel the catchy name has led many to expect too much too soon. After all, who would ever come over all excitable about the latest DECT phone?

Enough about what it isn't; the burning question remains: "What exactly is Bluetooth, anyway?" Put simply, Bluetooth is nothing more than a standard for wireless networks. It has been designed solely for short-range communication between devices no more than 10m apart. One of the hooks upon which plenty of hopes have been hung is the fact that - unlike infrared, for example - Bluetooth does not require line of sight between devices.

The much-bandied example of using your Bluetooth-capable mobile phone, which is in your briefcase, to get online via the laptop on your desk really will work. There's nothing particularly new in the principle - Apple's AirPort does a similar job for small computer networks; rather, it's the versatility of the technology and, ultimately, the potentially low cost of the hardware that makes it attractive to manufacturers and end-users alike.

Given that background, it was with more than a little curiosity that we eased the futuristic-looking Ericsson HBH-10 headset from its biscuit-tin case. The box is labelled 'Limited Edition Kit' and, at £200, we imagine it'll be a very limited edition. It would be unnecessarily harsh to criticise Ericsson over the price, as early adopters are legendary for their willingness to pay through the nose for exciting new technology. Realistically, the HBH-10 is aimed at that market, so we'll put monetary matters to one side for now.

First impressions are excellent, thanks mainly to the excellent build quality of the headset and the slick presentation of the whole package - there's even a selection of plug adaptors for all your power-charging needs across Europe. On the downside, you'll need to Bluetooth-enable your phone using the supplied DBA-10 adaptor, which is ugly indeed.

The headset design is - and we're sorry to be predictable here, but it's so fitting - very Star Trek. This is all very well as long as you enjoy your hands-free chatting in the comfort of your own home. Walk the streets of any British city with this clamped to your head, howeverer, and the pain of derision will surely be topped only by that of the inevitable mugging induced by the sight of such valuable hardware merely balancing (it's wireless, remember) atop your lug.

Such reservations aside, a major problem with the HBH-10 lies with call quality. Not once in dozens of attempts did we even approach the crystalline end of the clarity spectrum. Nevertheless, call quality is still generally acceptable.

The final verdict can't escape being influenced by the price - the HBH-10 is an innovative product and, although it's far from flawless, it does a reasonable job. At £50, it might be worth considering, but until then we'll just have to tolerate a wired world.

Ericsson has finally come up with the Bluetooth goods, but the HBH-10 is overpriced and far from perfect. Best for early adopters and those with money to burn.

Contact

Ericsson 0870 523 7237, www.ericsson.co.uk

Ericsson R380s

Julian Prokaza — 2000-11-29T24:00:00.000Z

Julian Prokaza, What PC?, Wednesday 29 November 2000 at 00:00:00

A combined mobile phone and personal digital assistant that uses the Epoc (Psion) operating system.

Combining a mobile phone with a personal digital assistant (PDA) isn't a new idea - Nokia had the Communicator and Sharp tried it with the MC-G1 - but the interesting thing about the Ericsson R380s is that it's the first device to come from a member of the Symbian partnership.

Symbian is a joint venture between Psion, Motorola, Nokia, Panasonic and Ericsson, and its goal is to get the Epoc handheld operating system on to as many wireless devices as possible. While all these companies are working on so-called 'smartphones', Ericsson is the first past the post with the R380s.

The R380s is a bit of a monster. Anyone familiar with the Ericsson R320 Wap handset will spot some obvious similarities, but the R380s is almost twice as thick and altogether beefier. It has the same flat back too, but the effect is rather spoiled by the protruding battery.

At 170g, the R380s is also on the heavy side, and as a mere GSM mobile it won't impress anyone on the train. The R380s, however, isn't a mere GSM mobile ...

The keypad on the R380s is hinged along its bottom edge and with a fingernail under one of the lips beneath the 'Yes' and 'No' keys, it can be lifted to reveal an LCD running the length of the unit.

With the keypad closed, the screen works like that of a normal mobile; with it lifted, the display rotates clockwise or anti-clockwise through 90 degrees and fills the whole screen. This is where the 'smartphone' part comes into play.

Easy-to-use interface

The R380s uses the same Epoc operating system as Psion's handheld computers and while the interface is somewhat different, it's just as easy to use. The screen has six icons across the top and tapping each one (there's a stylus in a slot on the battery, but ours kept falling out) brings up yet more.

The usual array of phone functions are available here, including the ability to make a call by tapping out a number on the screen. There's also a world clock, a calculator, Othello game and a notepad that works with an on-screen Qwerty keyboard or Graffiti-like handwriting recognition.

The Calendar isn't as comprehensive as the Agenda application found on Psion's handhelds and the Day view is the only one to show appointment details. It's adequate for reminding you of the odd event but for full-blown time management, you're better off with a dedicated PDA.

The Contacts application is better and entries can be browsed alphabetically by first name or company. Tapping an entry's telephone number dials it, tapping an email address switches to the email client. This supports any number of service providers and POP3 email accounts, and can also handle vCard (an electronic business card) and text attachments.

The client is also used for SMS text messages but these can't be composed with the keypad in the closed position, which makes sending a text message a two-handed affair.

The biggest benefactor of the larger screen is the Wap browser. Wap sites are designed for the narrow screens of most phones but most transfer well to the 360x120 display of the R380s and are easier to navigate with the touch-sensitive screen.

Contact Ericsson 01483 303 666

Motorola L7089 Timeport

Julian Prokaza — 1999-12-01T24:00:00.000Z

Julian Prokaza, What PC?, Wednesday 1 December 1999 at 00:00:00

If you travel for business, you'll need a mobile phone that works on more than one continent. The Motorola L7089 Timeport will work in an amazing 165 countries on three different kinds of GSM network, and it has plenty of other nifty features for those who just want to stay at home.

Users of the Orange network have had quite a wait for a handset with a built-in modem and infra-red, but if it's any consolation, it's been worth it. Although other networks should have it by now, Orange was the first to offer the shiny new Motorola L7089 Timeport and it has more than matched expectations.

To begin with, the Timeport is the first UK handset to be tri-band. This is irrelevant for use in the UK, but step into Europe and you'll be able to log on to the much more widespread GSM 900 networks (Orange uses the GSM 1800 network). Better still, head for the US and you can use the phone on the GSM 1900 network.

The handset itself is small without being fiddly and is incredibly light, particularly so considering the number of features it crams in. These include voice dialling, a voice memo recorder, shortcut keys that can be assigned to often-used functions, and a vibrating alert. There are only 11 ring tones but all are tastefully done, although the SMS alert lacks a discrete single 'beep' option.

Of course the Timeport's size, weight and worldwide versatility makes it perfect for mobile computer use, and that's where the built-in modem comes into play. With a Windows device (either notebook PC or handheld CE device) the handset just needs to have its infra-red port pointed at the computer's and you can get online at 9.6Kbit/sec.

Psion Series 5 and Revo owners can do the same, but at the time of writing the Series 5mx wouldn't recognise the Timeport at all. A patch is on the way from Psion that will rectify this, however.

Contact Orange 0500 802080