i’m migrating from AT&T to Cingular. got to get a new phone. going to make the jump to wireless for bike riding (something like a jabra freespeak in the ear, cell phone in the jersey pocket.
wondering if bluetooth is still the best standard? is there something else? best earpiece/microphone? best cell phone? (got to be cingular, that’s who gives us the best coverage here).
Bluetooth is still available for sure. It is much bigger in Europe than the US, but no idea if Cingular offers it with any of the phones in your area.
I once took a call from a work collegue as I was coming down Page Mill Road just outside Palo Alto, CA. Those of you who have ridden this descent know how bad an idea this is. Hands free would be much better :-). I managed to take the call, and the guy at the other end kept asking why it sounded like I was driving down the 101 in a convertible at 75 mph 
Bluetooth is it, there’s nothing else right now. Though I don’t use a BT earpiece or mic, I do use Bluetooth to sync up my SonyEricsson phone to my Powerbook in order to hop on to the 'net while on the road via GPRS (T-Mobile). My vote for a Bluetooth phone is anything SonyEricsson, they do it well. Good luck.
Bluetooth is the very best, Not only for the phone but also if you use a handheld PC. It will also fine it’s way into cars in the future, you will download music from your house to the car when you park at night.
I have the Moto Razr with the black bluetooth HS850 and I love the combo. I often forget the phone in my office and move to other areas and the headset still works great. The Razr will fit nearly anywhere as it is so thin as well as light. On rides it’s very simple to stick in your rear jersey pocket and use the headset to answer/talk.
http://direct.motorola.com/ENS/web_producthome.asp?Country=USA&language=ENS&productid=29302
I recently picked up the Nokia 6820 from Cingular and while it has Bluetooth, I have not used it. I have used darn near everything else on the phone and I’m very happy with the fold out keyboard and speakerphone. The camera is weak, but if I want a camera I’ll buy a camera. For $50 I couldn’t be happier.
“Moto Razr with the black bluetooth HS850”
okay, coupla things. do you have cingular as our carrier, or does anyone know whether the Moto Razr is available with cingular?
is the HS850 better/worse/the same as a Jabra Freespeak?
Yes I have Cingular service. From everyone I have quized it appears to be the best overall service in So-Cal. Though I have no idea about your specific area up in the foot hills. I’m not sure how the Jabra head-set compare. I decided to stick with the same company for phone/head-set combo. The Razr is a GSM phone as well, therefore you can use it just about anywhere in the world.
how did you buy the phone? in conjunction with new or upgraded service? how much did it cost you? which carrier did you buy it from?
also, i don’t see shit anymore. are the characters on the screen little tiny? or can you read the damn numbers? or can you program screen resolution so that old blind farts like me can read them?
Yes, power tap hub is coming out with bluetooth compatibility for downloading!
Don’t you find the 10 text limit irritating? Especially since outbox messages contribute to it. Drives me nuts. Good size and weight for riding with, I find it best to use a piece of micropore tape to prevent the headset dislodging during bumpy descents.
I bought the phone through a third party and then worked a deal with Cingular for upgrading service and therefore keeping the billing via Cingular (they like keeping that control/money). I also bought a Treo. That is another phone I could recomend as you can use the new Treo 650 model with bluetooth headset as well. The Treo is much larger as it’s everything in one phone; PDA, email, cell, etc. The charges for these services get’s very expensive though. This is available with Cingular as well. I would suggest going to a Cincular Company store not just an authorized dealer and checking out the phones and head-sets. You can also check out http://www.howardforums.com/ for all the latest geek talk on cell phones and service providers.
Yeah unless your ears are an absolutely perfect mold for the headset then the tape is a great idea, especially for really bumpy rides. BTW-For normal everyday activity (walking, driving, etc.) the headset doesn’t need anything additional for holding to your ear.
The text thing doesn’t bother me at all, but hey, that’s just me ;-).
I’ve been using the Jabra freespeak happily for about 2 years now. Sound quality (incoming and outgoing) is excellent – better than a wired set and maybe even better than the phone itself.
The Nokia 6820 DOES NOT work with my Palm T3 - though it is the sole reason I bought it. Make sure of real world compatibility.
I managed to take the call, and the guy at the other end kept asking why it sounded like I was driving down the 101 in a convertible at 75 mph
My experience with headsets has been that you will still sound like you are in a convertible if you are riding. However, the headset will prevent the behind-the-back fumbling to extract the cell phone out of the jersey pocket.
If you want a good headset to use on a ride look into the Logitech freedom BT headset. I have it and it has this very interesting hard material on the mic that is supposed to keep wind noise down… and from first hand experience, it works. I think it also has an electronic noise reducer. It has a very very long lasting battery as well. The ear fit is decent. not the best, but good enough. I got it at ecost.com item #2656603 for $47.57 incl. s/h and tax. It’s a great deal.
Dan
I have the RAZR with Cingular and absolutely love it. You can get it on www.letstalk.com for under $200 after all the rebates. The numbers are plenty big, and the keypad is backlit with a blue light, as well. I couldn’t be happier with the phone, and would recommend it to anyone that doesn’t need a fully-integrated organizer/handheld that syncs with Outlook. If that’s what you’re looking for, this phone won’t be for you.
The bluetooth earpiece I got is the Motorola HS810, and I’m equally happy with that purchase. To turn the earpiece on or off, you simply swing the boom open or closed. Other earpieces require you to hold a button for up to 5 seconds to turn on or off, and I found that I would often forget to turn the earpiece off after I finished using it.
Bluetooth is still it, but Bluetooth 2.0 should be coming out soon (it should be fairlly backwards compatible). I got the Freespeak headset for my wife; she likes it. We have a Motorola phone-- one annoying thing is that Motorola and Apple have not ironed out some issues regarding Bluetooth synching, so to synch up contacts, calendars and such you have to use a proprietary usb cable even if you have a bluetooth phone and computer. Rumors are circulating that Bluetooth will soon be used in car stereo electronics and in iPod headphones.