Techmamas

Radio Shack Top Bluetooth/BlackBerry Hack: TURN Off Echo Control!!!

To prepare for my Bluetooth Mother's Day gift guide I thought it was only fair that I actually started to use a Bluetooth headset for my BlackBerry Curve. I have had a few, but could not seem to keep it charged or in the right place at the right time. This week, I have not gone anywhere without a BlueTooth headset. One of my Mother's Day gifts to myself was to purchase the Motorola H12  headset with dual microphones to cancel background noise (which I have lots of - the pleasant kind of course...).

I purchased this headset while at Radio Shack getting supplies for my son's science project. Little did I know I would meet lots of geeky salespeople that left me spending much more time at the store then originally intended. I was so proud to start using my headset, until I started getting the same complaints: "you sound echo-ey".

As if echo-ey is even a word...

At first I was offended by their responses, how could there be anything wrong with an earset that has bleeding edge technology? So I marched back to Radio Shack to talk to one of the geeky salespeople. We tested the sound performance, and they all agreed there was an echo. After some thought, the Radio Shack salesperson came up with the most amazing Bluetooth BlackBerry hack:

TURN OFF THE DEFAULT ECHO CONTROL on the BlackBerry!

I guess if I would have visited Crackberry.com I would have realized that questions was already out there... And the answer is OFF when using Bluetooth. Thanks Radio Shack!

For those using Bluetooth headsets with their BlackBerrys who want to make that configuration change, here is the path from the BlackBerry main menu:

Settings>Options>Echo Control (set to) OFF.

 

TechMama's MomDay 2008: Charging On The Go With iGo

If mom has many gadgets but can't keep track of adapters, the iGo system is great for reducing the amount of chargers needed. Each adapter can be used for multiple devices. I just recently bought this car charger and plugins so that I could use the same car adapter to charge my Bluetooth headset, speakerphone and BlackBerry. Radio Shack has a display up with a wide selection of iGo parts.

TechMama's MomDay 2008: Stylish Recharging Stations

Moms who like gadgets also need a place to put and recharge the gadgets. I saw these Pottery Barn recharging stations and thought they were a stylish and functional solution to the recharging dilemma. On the left is the Daily System and on the right is the Bedford Smart Recharging Station.

TechMama's MomDay 2008: Sony Camcorder & DVDirect Recorder Instant Rebate

I am thrilled to be receiving numerous emails announcing technical gadget deals for Mother's Day... Yes - companies are finally reaching out to the mom audience when talking tech! I guess they realize that moms are power users of technology (except for remote controls..).

Sony sent me information about a bundling discount starting May 4th. I know many moms that have hours of video's stored on their video cameras but don't have an easy way to get them out. One option is to load them on the computer. Another option is to make DVD's of the videos to give out or watch on TV. A a special instant rebate promotion is available for purchases a Sony Handycam® camcorder model DCR-SR45 and a DVDirect® VRD-MC5 recorder together ($180 dollar discount). For more details, I loaded the official press release below...

TechMama's MomDay Guide 2008: The Summary

The 2007 Mother's Day gadget guide (and links) took so much time to put together, I decided to release individual posts this year and update this post as a summary for Mother's Day gadgets. I will be adding posts right until Mother's Day!

Post 1: Sony Camcorder and DVD Recorder Instant Rebate

Post 2: Stylish Recharging Stations

Post 3: Charging on the Go with iGo

My Personal Technology Review Team & Holiday Guides

Here is a summary of the TechMama Holiday Gift Guides - and most important a link to my personal technology review team. Take a look...

2008

Mom Day 2008 Holiday Gadget Guide

2007

 My Personal Technology Review Team

TechMama's Holiday And Overall Cool Technology Gift Guide For Families

Give Dad the Gift of Links Linklove

Mom in a Minivan shops for Kids PC's and Cellphones

Mother's Day Gift Guide LInklove

TechMama's Mothers Day Guide for Tech Savvy Moms