Customisable Bluetooth Headsets Launched

Bluetooth headset maker Aliph announced the launch of its Jawbone series, consisting of six headsets all including MyTalk, which the company is billing as an industry-first platform for Bluetooth headsets. The technology allows users to customise the headset through Audio and Dial applications.

When paired with an Apple iPhone, the headset’s battery meter appears alongside the phone’s to help users know the device’s battery strength. Aliph is offering the Jawbone Icon headset in the US for $99.99 (£61).

Icon also boasts lethal NoiseAssassin 2.5 with wind reduction, a proprietary technology that eliminates background noise from mobile phone conversations.

Aliph claims the Jawbone Icon is the only Bluetooth headset with a Voice Activity Sensor (VAS) that actually feels a user’s speech, which helps it distinguish a voice from background noise. The company developed a Digital Sensor Signal Fusion system to reduce wind noise, and the Icon uses an algorithm that digitally fuses together audio from its two electret microphones and Voice Activity Sensor to create a single, natural-sounding speech signal.

Aliph said the Icon provides up to 4.5 hours talk time and 10 days standby time, with a range of up to 33 feet.

Aliph has also improved speaker design and signal processing for enhanced inbound sound quality, as well as added features like the ability to set the volume on one call and have the device remember the volume level until the user decides to change it again. Icon uses standard microUSB charging technology and boasts a user-friendly, On/Off slide switch and one button, as well as Simultaneous Multipoint, which allows users to manage two calls from two different phones at the same time.

Custom Icon audio tones whisper information like remaining battery life and caller ID into the user’s ear.

With AudioApps from MyTalk, users can change the voice that conveys the aforementioned information, and each of the six Jawbone Icons has a unique voice and personality. Consumers can choose from the Hero, the Bombshell, the Catch, the Rogue (who sounds an awful lot like Antonio Banderas), the Thinker and the Ace.

MyTalk also offers three localised versions, in Spanish, French and German. DialApps let users customise an access button that links the Icon directly to 411, voice-to-SMS and voice dial services.

Some apps even let users employ voice to listen and post to social networking sites Facebook and Twitter.

The $100 price point also includes one microUSB cable, one A/C wall adapter, three fit earbuds, four round earbuds, one optional binaural earloop, one quick start guide and one wallet sized “cheat sheet.”