Sony Bluetooth Wireless Transmitter for iPod (Black)
by Sony
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony Bluetooth Wireless Transmitter for iPod (Black)
Customer Review: Sony TMR-BT8IP Wireless Bluetooth Transmitter works with iPhone 3G
Summary: 5 Stars
I just received my iPhone 3G this week, and like many people, I was extremely unhappy that it did not come with Bluetooth support for my Motorola S9 stereo headset. For the life of me, I can't figure out why Apple chose not to support the Bluetooth A2DP standard. I expected more from a company on the leading edge of digital stereo and smart phone integration.
Fortunately, Sony came to the rescue with their TMR-BT8IP Bluetooth Transmitter. This small device plugs into the iPhone 30-pin connector and gets power from it, so there is no charging necessary (very nice). It comes in black or white, so it matches the current iPhone colors nicely. Sony Bluetooth Wireless Transmitter for iPod (White) Sony Bluetooth Wirleless Transmitter for iPod (Black)
I have been using the Motorola S9 with my Samsung Blackjack for about a year and half, and I love it. I have become hooked on listening to high quality stereo with no wires to get tangled. As an added bonus, you can pick up phone calls without missing a beat, and even redial without touching the phone. Motorola MOTOROKR S9 Bluetooth Version 2 Wireless Stereo Headset for Cell Phone
Getting everything to play well together was a pain, but now that it's working, I'm a very happy with Sony, and Motorola, but still annoyed with Apple! Apple fumbled the ball here, which added an unnecessary $60 expense to the iPhone along with hours of frustration...
Hopefully, the following instructions can help mitigate some frustration for other buyers of iPhone.
The trick to getting everything to play together is to recognize that the iPhone's built-in Bluetooth is used to control the phone features of the headset, and the Sony Bluetooth transmitter is used to control the stereo music features of the headset. You must pair the headset with the Sony transmitter first, and then pair the headset with the iPhone.
1. Turn off Motorola headset
2. Turn on bluetooth on iPhone
3. Plugin Sony to iPhone
4. Answer no to the iPhone Prompt "This accessory is not made to work with iPhone" - this comes up every time :(
5. Press and hold Sony button for 7 seconds until blue LED flashes quickly
6. Press and hold Motorola headset power button until blue LED goes solid
7. Sony and Motoorla will automatically pair
8. Stereo music should now be heard on headset
9. Press and hold Sony button for 3 seconds until it tops playing music
10. Unplug Sony transmitter from iPhone
11. Turn off Motorola headset
12. Use iPhone Bluetooth control to start scanning for devices
13. Press and hold Motorola headset power button until blue LED goes solid
14. Motorola headset should show up on iPhone as unpaired
15. Pair iPhone with Motorola headset
16. Headset can now answer incoming calls using left ear button or iPhone answer
17. Plugin Sony to iPhone
18. Press and hold Sony button for 2 seconds
19. Stereo music should now be heard on headset
Even I still have trouble getting this script to work consistently, but rest assured, if you're persistent, it can be made to work, and it works very well. It's just a shame it has to be this painful - Shame on you Apple...
Customer Review: You have to get this !
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a bit of an audiophile and am heavily into home theater. I do not have any music on my Ipod that is in MP3 or any other lossless format. So, my files are huge, the quality is CD and the GPS units out there cannot handle these kind of files. I have a Garmin Zumo 660 and Sena SMH10 BT headphones. The media player is ok on the Garmin, except it only plays MP3, and the Sena BT headset is probably the best quality headset option available.
I tried several different BT adapters, but all fell short on quality compared to using the direct 3.5mm input into the headset. This Sony unit, however, plays all my lossles audio files on my headset and I was amazed that it is the same quality as the direct connection.
Pairing could not be easier. Simply connect the adapter to your Ipod and hold the button down for about 5-6 seconds until it starts blinking. Then set the Sena unit in pairing mode and in less than a minute you are good to go.
The only problem I have come across is with the priority order of the BT headset. All are about the same. The Garmin pairs by default as an audio connection (even GPS), which is the lowest priority item, then follows 3.5mm, intercom and finally phone. But since the phone is paired with the Garmin, it is causes some problems. I can receive phone calls just fine, but cannot place phone calls. I could pair the phone directly to the Sena, but then you have to manually dial, unless voice activated, and you lose the address book in the Garmin. This is not necessarily bad as you really do not want to be scrolling down a phone list while riding. This is a major safety hazard! Answering is a different story, as you just have to say "hello" and you have a crystal clear connection.
None of this is due to the Sony unit, rather the Garmin software on this unit. To make a call all you have to do is pause the Ipod and them reboot the headset. It will not connect to the Ipod. Make your call, then press the Sony's BT button and you are back listening to the Ipod. This is a very minor issue in my opimion.
Given that the sound quality using the Sony is not degraded at all, even with the Ipod in my glovebox or saddlebag, I do not think there is a better and/or cheaper option available. KUDOS TO SONY from someone that is not typically a fan of Sony in general.
Buy it or suffer the consequences of poor sound.
Tom (a little crazy but I love my music)
P.S. In all BT headsets, make sure your ears are flush with the speaker or the sound (bass, treble, etc.) will be poor. I bought the AGC I33 open face helmet which comes with speaker placements in the helmet. I had to put a couple of pieces of hard foam behind the fabric to bring out the sound. The helmet is a new model and is very quiet. It is also a great buy at around $145. The whole installation took about 20-30 minutes, including all of the pairing. The Sony adapter is a very major, if not the most important part, of my enjoyment of the system !
Customer Review: Great product for an unforortunate iPhone shortcoming
Summary: 5 Stars
A year ago I picked up a Jabra BT8010 headset. This is your basic bluetooth headset, except you have the option of plugging in a second speaker for stereo music use. I used it with a Windows Mobile phone and loved the headset, but hated the phone.
My new iPhones lack of bluetooth stereo headphone support really ticked me off. It's dumb, the phone already has a bluetooth radio, I wasn't excited about spending money on adding a dongle to my phone. If I had to, I wanted the best and this Sony unit appeared to be it.
And... it works exactly as advertised! Mostly. Sound quality is perfect, pairing is fast and easy, it appears to have very little impact on battery life, and playback starts very quickly (virtually no buffering).
I expected certain hickups with the iPhone though (this adapter was really intended only for ipods). So what are those kickups? When first plugging in this adaptor you get a warning about it not being designed for iPhone use. It suggests putting your iPhone into flight mode... just click no to this dialog box. Using this adapter while also using WiFi is a no-go. Wifi signal drops to almost nothing the moment the music starts streaming (however this doesn't happen with the Edge data network). My headset allows pairing with two devices, which is good since the iPhone and Adaptor will take up both slots. It switches rather smoothly from music to a call and back. However I've found if I want to use the bluetooth adaptor with any other software (pandora, last.fm, tuner, etc) that I have to start and stop the native iPod app first.
This adaptor is fricken TINY. That's a good thing when using it, but I'm not looking forward to the first time I misplace it.
I sure as heck wish I could charge the phone at the same time I'm using the adapter.
Overall, this Sony adapter does exactly what it was designed to do, and darn near perfectly. But it sure would be nice if Apple would get with the program and add the one feature to their phone that nearly every smart phone offers as a standard.
Customer Review: More then I expected!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I didn't have high expectations for this product, but after using it at the gym, bike riding, and at work, I love it. It is paired with the MotoroRokr S306 on a IPOD Gen 5.
I don't know if I have a great combination or what, but I have had great results either indoors or outdoors.
INDOORS: If I carry the unit with me, (which I always do) I have no problems. It doesn't matter what pocket or location on my body, I always get reception. At about that 100 foot mark, depending on objects in the room, I sometimes loose reception. I have even gone a good 200 feet away and received good reception. (Of course depending on the environment.)
OUTDOORS: I have read a few negative stories about being outdoors with blue tooth, but so far I have been VERY impressed. If I carry the unit with me, (which I always do) I have no problems. It doesn't matter what pocket or location on my body, I always get reception. Now obviously there are less objects for blue tooth signals to bounce off from outdoors, but even at a good 100 feet I get receptions with little drops.
I wanted to test the reception outdoors with a changing environment....... SOOOoooo.....I plugged in a cordED headset along with my Sony transmitter...... I then got out my bikes AND ole lady.... (ya ole lady.... lol)..... I give her the cordLESS headset and put the cordED headset on my own head and my IPOD and SONY in my pocket and off we went. She must have been a good 1/3 block away before she started to get scattered drops of music........ WOW........ I was expecting 30ft or so..... We were both very impressed.
We now bike this way all the time. Kinda cool to be listening to the same music. The cordlESS headset she wears actually lets her turn up her OWN volume while I get to turn up my own volume on my cordED headset. Very cool.
Couldn't be simpler to use...... Just push the darn button and your off and going...... WHOOHOO!!!
Customer Review: An essential add-on for stereo bluetooth
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a wonderful little addition for your iPod, iPod touch or iPhone. It will enable you to use stereo Bluetooth headsets, which are an extremely convenient way to listen to your potable music collection. You will not have to worry about either the cables getting tangled up, or getting in the way of whatever you are doing. The transmitter has a range of about 10ft, or even farther if there is an unobstructed line of sight with your device. This means that you don't have to have your iPod somewhere on your person in order to be able to use it. You can put it on a shelf, a stand or other horizontal surface, thus further increasing your overall mobility.
The "pairing" - the process by which you connect your iPod to the stereo Bluetooth headset - went by relatively smoothly. All one needed to do was attach the transmitter to the iPod, press the Bluetooth button on it, and then press down and hold the Bluetooth detection button on your headset. Once the pairing has been accomplished, the device would connect automatically to your headset on all subsequent occasions. I say generally, because oftentimes the transmission would be choppy and would take a restart or two of the headset before the sound comes out uninterrupted. But once the system is functioning properly, the stereo sound is perfect and only limited by the quality of your headset.
I have tested this device with the first generation iPod touch and with iPhone 3G, with Motorola S9 headset. It worked well with all of those devices.
The price of the transmitter is a bit high, and I would call that its only downside. It also looks a bit out of place when it is protruding from a side of your iPod, but it's still very compact compared to everything else that is out there. It is unfortunate that Apple still does not support stereo Bluetooth, but until it starts supporting it this is probably the best substitute that money can buy.