Parrot Bluetooth

Not to be confused with the talking bird of the same name, Parrot Bluetooth products allow you to have cell phone conversations without having to hold your mobile phone up to your ear. Unlike manufacturers such as Nokia and Motorola, Parrot focuses exclusively on cell phone accessories rather than on the mobile handsets themselves.

When most people think of Bluetooth products, they usually think of Bluetooth headsets. What they may not realize is that Bluetooth technology can be used for all sorts of different devices.

Interestingly, there do not appear to be any Parrot Bluetooth headsets being offered at the time this article was written. Instead, Parrot focuses its attention on other types of cell phone hands-free devices.

There are many dangers associated with using a cell phone while driving and that's partly where there is a family of Parrot Bluetooth hands-free car kits. These car kits are meant to be professionally installed in your car, typically offering a dash-mounted display and a microphone installed near the visor.

These kinds of car kits, including one with dual microphones and an integrated MP3 player, are meant to provide a truly seamless installation. The professional installation may add significantly to cost of using these types of kits.

By far a simpler solution is a "plug and play" style hands-free car kit or speakerphone. This Parrot Bluetooth product does not require any professional installation of any kind. Instead, these are standalone speakerphones that can be clipped to a car visor. This also means that these speakerphones can be easily transplanted from vehicle to another.

Bluetooth can be used for more than just voice conversations. With the rising popularity of music phones, more and more people are starting to abandon their standalone MP3 players, such as the iPod.

Parrot has Bluetooth car stereos that take advantage of this phenomenon, wirelessly connecting to the Bluetooth-equipped music phones. In this way, songs being played on the phones can be heard over the car stereo system. In order for this to work, the music phone will need the Bluetooth A2DP profile activated. Not all Bluetooth phones have this capability, so you will want to check with the user manual or the manufacturer to verify that your phone has this feature.

When the user receives an incoming call, the song is temporarily paused so the call can be taken. A microphone can be found built into the car stereo's head unit itself and the incoming call can be heard over the car's speakers.

Taking care of drivers on two wheels as well as four wheels, Parrot also has a Bluetooth kit designed specifically for use with motorcycles and other similar modes of transportation. Given the configuration of a motorcycle, it would not at all be useful to have a speaker mounted on the handlebars.

Instead, the Parrot Bluetooth kit for motorcycles places the speaker inside the motorcycle helmet and the microphone is placed much closer to the rider's mouth, not unlike a telemarketer's headset.

Much like car stereos, this helmet-based system will also allow for wireless streaming of music from properly equipped MP3-playing mobile phones. Full controls are mounted on the handlebars, so the rider can accept and reject calls, as well as control the music playback, without too much distraction from the road.

The Parrot Conference is designed for use in board meetings and other applications where multiple parties may be involved. Unlike most conventional speakerphones, the Conference desktop device has multiple microphones to best "hear" the voices of everyone in the room.

This is a wireless teleconferencing system that will connect to any properly equipped Bluetooth mobile phone. Other features include built-in rechargeable batteries, a high-resolution color screen, and an integrated Skype interface.

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