There was a story on CNET News about layoffs at Bluetooth headset maker Aliph today that caught my attention.

GSPlayer is a well-known, excellent, free (!!!!), constantly updated audio player application I’ve very frequently elaborated on (search my blog for my related articles).

The devices we choose to use in our everyday mobile life are generally pretty cool and for the most part satisfy our needs but it is the “peripheral” devices that enhance the enjoyment of the device.

Anyone having been into the audiophile / Hi-Fi business knows loudspeakers and headphones should never be tested alone, without comparing their audio quality (and other parameters) to other, comparable headphones (speakers etc.). This is why strictly comparative tests are needed to fairly compare the sound quality of each set to one another. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the A2DP stereo Bluetooth headphones reviews doesn’t belong to this category and, therefore, shouldn’t really be taken seriously.

There is a NEW Jawbone that has been released by Aliph and Steve "fyiguy" Hughes has had the chance to test it out and write a nice review that is worth reading. 

I’ve, among other things, been working on an A2DP headphones roundup. While it’ll take at least 4-5 days to publish it (I’m still running some battery life tests), I already publish a chart of five (!) A2DP headphones so that you can avoid going for a pair of headphones that is completely incompatible with your handset / PDA and/or is plain sub-par.

Recently I did a review on a Bluetooth hands free solution that was in my estimation one of the best solutions I have ever used. In a nut shell it had a great quality case, excellent sound reproduction and the FM transmission was absolutely terrific. Shortly after that review I was contacted by a representative of the makers of the Venturi Mini and they asked if I would like to look at their device and if I liked it, would I review it.

As promised in my previous article, I’ve taken a deep look at the latest Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrades for the Dell Axim x51v, HP iPAQ hx4700, HTC Universal and HTC Wizard. All the reviewed ROM versions are based on Windows Mobile 5.2.19209 (Build 19209.1.0.2). I run some VERY thorough SDHC conformance tests because, unfortunately, most (as far as the reviewed models are concerned, all – note that, in this regard, I haven’t tested the Universal) plain WM5 / WM6 devices can NOT be easily made SDHC-compliant. This means you MUST upgrade these devices to some of the newer ROMs (including the ones I’ve reviewed) in order to gain SDHC support. Note that I’ve devoted a separate section (at the end) to my test results showing the results of my trying to “hack” the non-WM6.1 ROM-based devices to accept SDHC cards with the latest hacks available.