Go Wireless On Your Cingular 2125

Many of you enjoy the freedom that a wireless Bluetooth headset provides.  With no cables to get tangled in, you're able to move around unfettered.  I enjoy not only a bluetooth headset, but I have a Parrot EasyDrive bluetooth car kit (http://www.driveblue.com/), which allows me to talk wirelessly in my car without even putting anything in my ear. 

From a safety perspective, either solution can't be beat.  You can't possibily be as safe a driver as you should be if you're holding a phone to your ear – its that simple.

All of this is great, but it doesn't let me enjoy the music and audio capabilities of my Smartphone to it fullest potential.  I want to be able to workout at the gym, putter around the yard, etc. without wires too!

So I went shopping and bought a Motorola HT820 wireless stereo headset (http://direct.motorola.com/ens/BTStereoHS_Web_ProductHome.asp?country=USA&language=ENS).  This neat device allows one with an A2DP compliant device to listen to their music, etc. in stereo wirelessly.  But they're not just headphones, but a headSET as well.  These headphones are really nice.  The speakers reproduce sound well, the microphone is very sensitive and even better, you can use these even with non-bluetooth devices, because they have a cable to connect the headphones to other devices.  Best of both worlds!  I like the fact that they use a mini-USB connector as the charger too, as I only have to carry one AC adapter to charge both my phone and the headphones.

If you use the factory-supplied headphones that come with the 2125, you know that you can be listening to your music, and when a call comes in, it will pause the music and allow you to take the call by pressing the button on the mic.  Now, image doing the same thing, but without the wires.  Better yet, while listening to music, you can pause & un-pause music, and change tracks in Windows Media Player, directly from the headphones!  Very slick.

But wait, I can't do any of that!  My phone doesn't support A2DP, which is the protocols necessary to make this all happen.  Cingular hasn't released the upgrade to the phone that support this.  Well folks, that's not necessarily true.

In order to enable your 2125 to work with the HT820 (and many other bluetooth stereo devices), you'll need to install some files on your phone.  You'll need to visit http://forum.xda-developers.com and REGISTER.  You NEED TO REGISTER, or you won't be able to download the files you need.  You'll need to be a little technical in order to make this happen, so be warned.  Do all of this at your own risk!  I'm just telling you what I did to make mine work.

Go to http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?p=275438#275438 and scroll down until you see where you can download the file called Tornado_A2DP.zip.  Then go to http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=48502 and scroll down until you can see where you can download a file called Tornado_A2DP.cab.  Notice that the two files are similar, but they aren't the same.

First, copy the cab file to your phone and execute it.  Reboot the phone.  Then unzip the zip file and copy the Tor_A2DP_cert.CAB to your phone and execute that file.  Reboot the phone again.  Now, if you have already paired your bluetooth headphones, the easiest thing to do is delete the pairing and re-pair.  Then, just follow the directions that came with your headphones on how to pair it to your phone.  Then you can see that you have two (2) options where you used to have just Hands Free, you also have Wireless Stereo. 

You might need to choose the headphones from the Device list and choose Set as Wireless Stereo as well.  But that's it.  You don't need to install any new ROM or anything to enable wireless stereo headphones on your 2125 Smartphone.

Enjoy.

 Thanks to the::unwired (http://www.theunwired.net/?itemid=3014) for starting me off in the right direction on this

Are You Addicted To Your Tech?

There is an article posted up at scotsman.com that is getting some international attention. http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=674072006

"Like substance abuse, excessive use of mobile phones can lead to personal problems. People who use their phone heavily may be addicted – it depends on the impact it has on their day-to-day life. Is their phone costing them more than money in terms of emotional, social and physical stress?"

It should be pointed out that Brits do have a deeper attachment to their mobile phones than we in the US do, at least for the most part.  Since they have a different payment plan (caller pays) and better coverage (less area overall to cover in the UK than the US) those over the pond rely on their mobile phones much more than we do in the US.  The article goes on to discuss the "dangers" of excessive texting, which is a major mode of communications outside of the US.  We tend to just pick up the phone and call.

But it leads me to wonder…Are you addicted to your tech?  While my wife would call out a resounding YES when ask whether I am, I think it calls for some thought.  I certainly don't think I'm addicted.  Do I go everywhere with my cell phone? Yes.  But part of that is a change in societal norms.  It used to be that it was no biggie to miss calls.  But now with cell phones, people expect you to always be available.  Now, is that a good thing?  Not necessarily.  But as a business owner, the rules are slightly different.  People will go to the next on their list if they don't get ahold of you.

Couple that with the fact that I don't bother to answer my landline phone in my house – its never for me.  Anyone who I know and care to hear from knows to call my mobile.  But for me, it goes deeper.  We're not just talking about my phone, but also my organizational tool and media player.  My calendar is in my phone.  So is my contact list, task list, music player, alarm clock and of course, my email client.

Between keeping up with my emails (which I find REDUCES stress, not increases it), having my podcasts and music with me, and my voice recorder (I don't have to worry about having something to write reminders down on), my smartphone is a much deeper appendage than just a mobie phone.

Can I go without my phone?  Sure.  I rarely pull it out of my pocket during the work day unless I'm making a call.  At night and on the weekends, I refer to it frequently, but I wouldn't go crazy if I was without it.  Ask me whether I'd be stressed it I LOST it, and that's another story, but I can go without my smartphone for a while.  How about you?

New Home for RichTech

Well, I've decided to take this blog more seriously and one of the things I want to do is include screen shots, etc. in my blogs.  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to figure out if/how you do that in MSN Spaces, so I've stepped up to a WordPress blog.  I've heard good things about WordPress, so with any luck, WordPress will be RichTech's home for quite some time.