Ssh - can you hear the stereo Bluetooth phones?

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	Home / Cell phones

	Ssh - can you hear the stereo Bluetooth phones?	By Jørgen Sundgot, 2 May 2006

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At long last, phones which pipe stereo audio over Bluetooth are starting to trickle out; some have made it to shelves, but the most promising specimens are due out in coming months.

Stereo Bluetooth phones out now

Nokia 8800

Score: 60% When: July 2005 Worth: €850

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Read the full article » Yet another fashion entry from Nokia, the Nokia 8800 offers a luxurious alternative to ye olde chatterbox. Its stainless steel cover and sliding mechanism ooze of quality and style, with a high-resolution screen topping off an excellent first impression. Its 0.5 Megapixel camera and digital music player are both letdowns, but the inclusion of Bluetooth and EDGE should place the 8800 firmly in the sights of those who fancy exclusivity mixed with good connectivity - and don’t mind the so-so battery life. Read the full article »

LG U890

Score: 85% When: June 2006 (Three) Worth: €1

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Read the full article » The U890's appeal lies in its achievement of getting the basics right - with the exception of its poorly designed numerical keypad, which presents something of a bump in the road. Nevertheless, this clamshell packs a good amount of features into a slim form factor with 3G capabilities including snappy transfer speeds and video calls among the main selling points along with a nice display. Compared to higher-end models, the handset's browser, integrated music player and camera are of the mediocre sort - but as matched with its closest competitors, the U890 does quite well for itself. Read the full article »

Stereo Bluetooth phones coming soon

Motorola ROKR E2

When: August 2006

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Read the full article » The ROKR E2 makes for a relatively nondescript candy-bar phone -- indeed, when we first laid eyes on it, we mistook it for one of Moto's new MOTOFONE handsets. But the ROKR E2 boasts some serious music abilities under its modest hood. Apple iTunes support is gone; instead, you get a snazzy MP3/WMA music player, plus Bluetooth with stereo headset support and a standard stereo jack for high-end earbuds. You also get streaming iRadio stations, USB 2.0 for bone-rattling data transfer speeds, SD memory expansion (up to 2GB), and a 1.3 megapixel camera. Unfortunately, still no word on when -- or if -- the ROKR E2 will ever arrive stateside. Read the full article »

Sony Ericsson W950i

When: September 2006

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Read the full article » Retaining the first-class audio quality of previous Walkman phones, the W950i slaps an improved music interface with visual album cover navigation atop a hardware design nearly identical to the M600i, save for its use of a keypad as opposed to a thumbboard - thus negating use as a business phone. Although bested by the 8 GB Samsung SGH-i310, its 4 GB of flash memory should allow for considerably longer battery life - and despite its spacious storage and superb screen, the handset remains ultra-slim at 15 mm thick. Read the full article »

Samsung SGH-i300x

When: May 2006 Worth: €650

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Read the full article » With 4 GB of storage, high-quality audio, Pocket Windows Media Player 10 and stereo Bluetooth audio, the Samsung SGH-i300x is one of the most capable music phones in existence. Read the full article »