Southwing SC310 Bluetooth Car Kit

I typically use a Bluetooth earpiece while driving and the Southwing SC310 is the first Bluetooth car kit I have ever tried. I was surprised how well I could hear and be heard. I tried the SC310 in four different vehicles. And overall, was very pleased with the experience.

All that is included in the package is the SC310 and user manual.

Installation is a breeze, simply slide the plug into any vehicles cigarette lighter or power port. Then slide the locking sleeve over the plug securing the car kit into place. The plug powers the Bluetooth speaker head through an adjustable (yet rigid) 6" metal cable. I was worried the speaker head would not stay in place and sag due to its weight and vibration of the vehicle while moving. But the system really does a good job staying where you put it.

Once installed, pairing the SC310 with my Treo 680 and Blackberry 8800 was quick and easy.

The microphone is on the bottom front edge of the Bluetooth head.

The speaker is on the top. As I said earlier, it is easy to hear the person you're talking with and according those I talked with they heard me just fine as well.

The intuitive button layout is located on the front face of the Bluetooth head and is easy to use while driving. The 'answer' button is on the top left, the 'power' / 'hang up' button is on the upper right, the 'volume up' button is on the lower right, the 'volume down' button is on the lower left, and the center a toggle switch enables the 'Push4' (quick dial) / 'mute' functions when clicked upward, or 'voice dial' / 'transfer' to cellphone when clicked downward.

There are many ways to make a call:

dial a number through your mobile phone.

press the 'answer' button (top left), and the last number dialed will be redialed.
press the 'Push4' toggle button (up center), and your (preprogrammed) favorite number will be dialed.

press the 'VDIAL' toggle button to for voice dialing (if your cellphone has this capability).
According to the Southwing website, the SC310 has full duplex and DSP technology which reduces echoing and background noise. The SC310 has Bluetooth 2.0 technology and is compatible with all Bluetooth phones. The keys are backlit making them easy to see in any lighting conditions.

If Bluetooth earpieces are not your thing or you'd like a dedicated Bluetooth capability in your vehicle, you should consider the Southwing SC310. Like the SH505, the SC310 Bluetooth car kit has a very good feature set and call quality plus with this car kit no charging is needed; it is a good alternative to an earpiece.

SC310 Review Summary:

Product Requirements:

Bluetooth enabled cellphone

Manufacturer: Southwing

Price:

$49.95 (currently on sale through wirelessground.com; normally $99.95)

Pros:

- Good materials and construction

- Great sound quality

- Highly adjustable

- Push4

programmable quick dial

- Backlit keypad

- Full duplex and DSP

- Bluetooth 2.0

Cons:

- None

Southwing SH505 Bluetooth Headset

As of July 1st, Washington State is mandating the use of hands-free devices while driving. This law makes it illegal to have a cellphone up to your ear while driving a vehicle. So Bluetooth cellphone accessories are becoming more and more the rage (when little old ladies are wearing them at the shopping mall, you know a technology has left geekdom and hit the mainstream). Southwing has created several in-the-ear and hands-free speakerphone car kit options enabling you to focus on driving while talking on your cellphone. In this article I will be reviewing one of each type by Southwing, the SH505 Bluetooth headset and the SC310 Bluetooth car kit.

Southwing SH505 Bluetooth Headset

The Southwing SH505 Bluetooth headset easily paired with my Treo 680 and Blackberry 8800. The SH505 is about average in size compared to other Bluetooth earpieces, black and sliver, and made of a hard plastic. It definitely has unique styling. The package included the earpiece, ear hook, headset cord, wall charger, USB data/charging cable and user guide.

The sound quality of this device is good. Its in-the-ear design does a great job of blocking out ambient noise, making the calls easy to hear. The device passed my worse-case test of walking through downtown Seattle at 4:30pm with flying colors.

The SH505 is engineered be used with or without the provided ear hook. I would have preferred to use the earpiece without the earhook but was never able to get it to sit properly in my ear. But the ear hook enabled the SH505 to sit securely and comfortably on my ear.

The headset has four function buttons that control all the typical functions that we have become use to in a advance earpiece (pairing, connect/disconnect of phone calls, volume, quick dial, and on/off of the headset itself). The on/off button is on the bottom of the earpiece and is also the button for pairing the Bluetooth device to your cellphone. The small round button on the side of the earpiece (with the Southwing symbol) allows you to connect/disconnect calls and quick dial (Push4). The Push4 feature enables you to program a single quick dial number. To activate the Push4 quick dial, you push the round button for a second and it will have your phone dial whatever number you have programmed. The volume controls are touch sensitive; so to increase the volume, touch the upper black portion on the side of the earpiece and to lower the volume, touch the lower portion (where 'SOUTHWING' is stamped on the side).

According to Southwing, the headset's built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery lasts up to 10 hours of talk time and 300 hours of standby time.

A unique feature of this earpiece is that you can manage upgrades and some of its features with a program called 'Wingman', a PC application available on the Southwing website. The program allows you to upgrade the SH505's firmware and manage the headset´s main settings and high-end capabilities such as the favorite number button, volume, ring tones and automatic call pick-up. With the Wingman software, I was easily able to upgrade the firmware, enter my Push4 number, and change my ringtone.

Sadly, the SH505 broke after just 7 days of moderate use (no drops or excessive stress). I have attempted to contact Southwing through email and web interface on their site. I have yet to receive a response. Southwing devices come with a two year warranty and this failure should be covered. I will update this review if/when Southwing gets back to me about my warranty inquiry.

Overall, I like the fit, function, and call clarity of the SH505. Although, even before it self-destructed, I had decided that after I was done testing I was going back to the iPhone Bluetooth headset I have been using for awhile now. Primarily due to the fact I still love the simplicity, look, and fit of the Apple earpiece. The bottom line is the Southwing SH505 does work well and has a very good feature set for the cost (especially considering its current sale price), making it a very great bang for the buck..... But obviously, since the device failed almost immediately and I have not received a response or replacement earpiece, at this time I cannot recommend this product. *see note from Julie at end of review*

SH505 Review Summary:

Product Requirements: Bluetooth enabled cellphone
Manufacturer: Southwing
Price: $29.95 (currently on sale at wirelessground.com, normally $89.95)

Pros:

- Great sound quality

- Unique design

- Touch sensitive controls

- Push4 quick dial

- Program and upgrade through downloadable PC application

Cons:

- Broke in the first week and Southwing has not responded to my emails regarding a warranty replacement

Delphi NAV200 GPS

The NAV200 Portable GPS Navigation from Delphi is a GPS device that will not only help you arrive at your desired destination, but it will also provide some extra features when you aren't using it to guide your travels.

Hardware Specifications
Processor: Samsung 2440 400 Mhz
Operating System: Win CE.
net Core V 4.2
GPS Antenna: SiRF III
Memory: 32MB Flash/64MB RAM
External Memory: Supports up to 2GB SD card
Display: 3.5" 320x240 pixel Touch Screen
Speaker: 8 ohm, 1x2 Watt (stereo)
Audio Out Jack: Ear jack 3.5mm (stereo)
Stylus Pen: Yes
Battery: Rechargeable Lithium-Ion / 730m
ADC Power: 5V
Dimensions: 5.3" x 3.2" x 1"Weight: 6.7 oz.

Package Contents:-
NAV200 GPS Unit
SD Map card
Windshield and dash mount
Car charging cable
CD with manual
Quick start guide


The NAV200 is made of Silver plastic and has a nice heft to it when you hold it in your hand. The design is simple and non-cluttered. The 3.5 inch non-glare color touch screen takes up most of the face of the device, but flanking each side is a set of two buttons. On the Left side there is a Main Menu button and below it a Screen Saver button. On the opposite side there are two zoom buttons to zoom the map in and out.

If you turn the unit over, you'll see the built in speakers and the folded down GPS antenna.

You flip the antenna up when you're using the device. You might also notice the small gold connector on the edge of the antenna. You can use this to attach an external antenna, which can be purchased separately.

An SD slot is built into the front edge of the NAV200. This is where you insert the included map SD card or SD card with music and videos.

On the left side there is an earphone connector and a small power switch.

You will find the power jack, optional TMC-RDS real-time traffic kit jack and the volume control dial.

An adjustable goose neck suction cup windshield mount is included, which easily snaps into and out of the back of the GPS when the antenna is flipped up. If you don't want stick the mount to your windshield, you can stick it to your dash using the included adhesive mount plate. Setting up the NAV200 in your car is easy and shouldn't take you more than a minute or two.
I knew just how I was going to test the NAV200, when I was asked if I would be interested in reviewing it. I packed the windshield mount, car charger cable and GPS unit with me in my gear bag when I traveled to Sedona, Arizona earlier this summer. I really don't enjoy reading paper maps and I thought it would be a great way to put this GPS through its paces. It's one thing to test a GPS in an environment where you are already used to traveling. It's another to trust it in a location that you're not familiar with at all.
As soon as we got our rental car at the Phoenix airport, I connected the mount to the windshield, plugged the 5V power adapter into the car's cigarette lighter and waited a few seconds for the GPS to boot up. If you leave the GPS plugged into the power port, it will automatically power down when you turn off your engine and will power back up went you start it again.

The first screen you're greeted with is the main menu, which has finger friendly sized buttons for the main features of the device. The features include Navigation, Music Player, Movie Player, Picture Viewer, Game, Calculator and World Clock.

The music player is very basic and can play MP3 and WAV files. The music will play through the built in speakers, or thru earphones (not included).

There's also a Movie Player application. The only file format that it supports though is AVI.

The Picture Viewer app supports GIF, JPG and PNG. Like the music and movie players, this viewer is really basic. I guess it is useful if your digital camera uses SD cards and you want to view the pictures on something larger than its viewfinder.

You even get a calculator.

And the classic strategy game Othello (also known as Go and Reversi).

The settings dialog allows you to calibrate the touch screen, adjust the brightness, change the language and pick sounds for various events.
Let's check out the main use for the NAV200... GPS navigation. All of the map data is contained on the included 1.5 GB SD card. It is preloaded with NAVTEQ maps of the U.S. and Canada.

Pressing the Navi button will launch into the navigation application. This takes about 10-12 seconds every time you launch from the main menu. Each time you launch, you have to also tap an I Accept button on a warning screen that makes you promise you won't cause any accidents by using this device. This is very annoying to have to do every time you launch. I wish this could be bypassed.
Once the application is up, it looks like the image above. As you can see, you can press a large Navigation button, Go Home button, Recent destinations button, Map, Settings and Quit buttons.

When you press the Navigation button, you can search on a specific address or point of interest. The software contains 1.6 Million points of interest that you can search on. Things like ATMs, gas stations, stores, restaurants, etc. This type of search makes it easy to find places located nearest your location. Very handy when you're in a strange town and need to find an ATM quick!

Addresses are entered by selecting the city, zip and then street address. You enter the name of the street first and then the number. For example, if you wanted to travel to 123 Main Street, you would enter the word Main and then would enter the numbers 123 in the No. field. As you type, a list of matching street names will appear that you can select to make entering the name quicker.

A popup keyboard makes it easy to enter city and street names quickly by tapping letters with your finger tip. While it is easy to enter information this way, I'm waiting for the GPS device that can take my voice commands and translate them into actions.

Once you enter a valid address and press the navigate button, the display will change into the map view. In this view, you see a real-time view your vehicle (the Green arrow) moving down the road (Orange line). Below the map is the name of the current street that you are driving on and below it is the next street that you're supposed to turn on. To the Left of the street names is double box. The box on top shows an arrow designating the direction of your next turn. The box below that shows the distance to that next turn. That box showing the distance till the next turn will also start filling up with Red lines when the turn gets closer. When you're almost at the point of the turn, the box will be completely filled Red. This is a nice visual indicator. Of course the GPS also has audible indicators. A female voice announces turns such as "Turn Left in 600 feet". The NAV200 does NOT say the street names though. It will sometimes say highway names like "Turn Right on Highway 46", but would not say things like "Turn Right on McKinley Avenue".

There is more information on the map screen that isn't shown in the image above (because I had to 'borrow' that screen shot from Delphi's site). I was unable to get a picture of the GPS in action because I was ... um... driving! Other info includes info like the estimated time to destination, remaining distance in miles left to destination and directional heading.

This GPS also has the ability to save favorite destinations and do route planning with stopovers.

During my testing in Phoenix, Arizona, the NAV200 was a real handy tool to have along with us in the car. We didn't have to depend on reading a paper map. It's funny because I actually printed directions for some of our excursions from MapQuest, but I followed the sometimes different directions that the NAV200 offered. We never got lost. Not once :o)

The Delphi NAV200 is a nice basic GPS device that is priced relative to its feature set. The last GPS that I reviewed was the FineDigital FineDrive M300, which I actually like just a little bit better because it can charge via USB. I wish the NAV200 had this ability as it would be more convenient when you take the unit out of the car to use as a media player. But other than that small feature, the NAV200 is superior in that it supports the optional real-time traffic kit which can be a real time saver if you travel in busy areas. Delphi isn't a brand name most people would typically think of when considering the purchase of a GPS device, but I can say that it is one that I can recommend.

G4 Slim Mouse

Mice come in all shapes and sizes these days. They are available in corded and non-corded varieties, using Bluetooth and other wireless protocols. Some run on batteries, some don't. But all mice share a couple of important features... They have Left and Right buttons (ok, some Mac mice have just 1...), and they move the cursor around on your display. Today I'm going to tell you about the Slim Mouse. This mouse has those important features mentioned above, all bundled into an extremely thin package. Power Positioning (2P) actually claims that this mouse is the world's thinnest. Is that a good thing? Let's find out.

The Slim Mouse comes packaged in a slim box. Who knew?

The mouse is housed in a pleather case and comes packaged with a thin mouse pad and owner's guide.

Upon taking the Slim Mouse out of the case, you are immediately struck by the fact that it looks like a PC Card. It's made of metal and plastic, with a footprint of 94mm x 53mm x 5mm. I was sent the Cherry version, but it's also available in Blue, Ivory and Silver. You notice the outline of the Left and Right mouse buttons and then a flat surface between them. This is the scroll 'wheel'. Not a wheel though, it's a touch sensitive pad. It's just like a touch pad on your laptop. The Left and Right buttons are actually buttons though. They click when you press them.

The Slim Mouse is not wireless. So in order to connect it to your PC or Mac, you have to unwind the USB cable that is housed inside the mouse. To do this, you first pull the section with the Left / Right buttons and scroll pad out an inch or so.

Then you pull the thin cable so that it unwinds from the spool inside the mouse.

Even though the cable is short (26 inches), it's a slow process of unwinding the cable. This is because if you go too fast, the cable will jump out of groove and get wedged under the top of the spool.

Once the cable is loose, you still need to convert the flat mouse into a useable mouse by twisting the two halves.

Oooh, transformers!

A little slight of hand magic and voila, we have a mouse.

Now, you can plug the end into a free USB connector on your PC / Mac. Even though this cable looks strange, it's really a USB cable, so don't be afraid ;o) Once it is plugged in, you're ready to go. No drivers are necessary as the Slim Mouse works just like every other plug & play mouse you've used before.

Flip it over and you'll see the optical eye. The Slim Mouse is an 800 dpi mouse that should work on all surfaces except for glass. The folks at Power Positioning (2P) might want to add wood grained desks to the list of surfaces that the Slim Mouse doesn't like. At least it wouldn't work for me at my day job. I had to employ the included mouse pad or a sheet of paper in order for it to work. The desk was not overly shiny... I have been able to successfully use the Slim Mouse on other surfaces like counter tops, etc, with no issues.
Using the Slim Mouse does feel a bit awkward initially. At least it did for me. There just isn't enough solid mass to it, to make it feel really comfortable in my hand. Although the buttons, scrolling etc, work like every other mouse I've used in my life, it just feels a bit foreign in my hand when I try to use it.

Here's a size comparison between the Slim Mouse and a regular old 2 button Logitech scroll mouse.

A couple different places on the Slim Mouse website states that you can store the Slim Mouse in a PC Card slot when your not using it, or for travel. Well, as you can see from the image above, it doesn't quite fit completely into the slot. It's probably a better plan to just put it in the carrying case and throw it in your gear bag.
The Slim Mouse has an interesting design, but for me, it just seemed to be too much of a hassle to use it. It also feels a bit fragile since the cord is quite thin. For me, I'll just stick with a small travel wireless mouse such as the Kensington Ci75m Wireless Notebook Mouse. It's less expensive and easier to use.

Slim G4 world’s thinnest optical Mouse

This sweet little mouse is really a very useful stuff for laptops users who hating using their hand tiring inbuilt mouse or no need of carrying an extra gram spare mouse everywhere when you take your laptop.

Usually 70% of the lappy users carry an external mouse with their laptop bags out of which they feel sick of connecting the mouse again and removing it when not in use or while carrying. But this SLIM G4 mouse is a magical gift for seekers.

G4 which is of 5mm thickness can be fixed as a card into PCMCIA slot of your laptop when not in use.Wait we are not just talking about its compactness when not in use but the usability which is most important of all.

So do you think this mouse could compensate the pleasure and comfort given by the usual mouse? Absolutely yes, when you eject the mouse out of the PCMCIA slot for using, it automatically unfolds to perfect position such that it gives support to your palm while using the mouse.