Blog it or Facebook it or Tweet it or … – Road trip tip

by Gadling Staff on

Let friends and family share in your road trip adventure by posting details along the way via your blog, Facebook, Twitter or other social media site. People at home are curious about your adventures, and seeing your update may trigger a memory or suggestion they have to improve your trip.

With a smartphone such as the Apple iPhone, Motorola Droid or Research in Motion’s BlackBerry, it’s a snap to post a status update of your trip or take and upload a photo or video of a roadside attraction. Smartphone Facebook apps and apps such as Bloglive make it easy to upload your content.

Of course, don’t do any of this while driving. Wait until you’re stopped, or have a passenger do the posting.

Gadling gear review – Motorola Endeavor HX1 Bluetooth headset

by Scott Carmichael on

Welcome to my review of the Motorola Endeavor HX1 Bluetooth headset. If headset reviews bore you, let me say right away that this review is going to introduce you to the best Bluetooth headset I have ever tested. Got your attention now?

The HX1 does not look particular special. The only noticeable feature is a longer than normal earpiece and a sleek chrome finish around the sides.

Buttons are on the side (power and volume) and on the front (call control and steath mode control). Operating the headset is a treat – all functions are assisted with friendly voice prompts telling you how to pair the phone and whether stealth mode is on or off.

The power button is worth some extra attention – it is a “real” power button. By this, I mean it is a sliding switch that will turn the headset on or off. No silly “hold down for 10 seconds” on the HX1.

The HX1 charges using MicroUSB, the same kind of cable used on many modern mobile phones. What this means to travelers is one less charger, and no investments in dedicated charging cords.

Technology inside the headset

The most interesting parts of the HX1 are hidden away inside the headset. Motorola advertises the HX1 as being equipped with true bone conduction technology.

The Motorola HX1 actually features two different noise isolation systems – its CrystalTalk circuit uses dual microphones and some nifty electronics to cancel out noise in most normal situations. This means it’ll work fine when you are walking down the street or riding a bus.

When things get a little more intense, you can activate the bone condition technology, referred to as “Stealth Mode”. Stealth Mode actually uses a tiny balloon on the earpiece, inserted in your ear to pick up your voice. No microphone, just bone conduction. This means very little of the outside noise gets picked up.

Sound quality

So, with all those nifty technologies, how well does the HX1 perform? As the opening sentence said – this is the best headset I have ever tested. For starters, it is extremely comfortable. The earpiece goes inside your ear a little more than I was used to. Because the earpiece forms a pretty decent seal, you’ll have a much easier time hearing the other side of your call, without having to turn the volume all the way up.

The basic noise cancellation is very impressive – when standing outside in a very windy station platform, the other side of my call could not hear the difference between me talking on the HX1, talking on a wired headset or talking directly on my phone. There was very little outside noise pickup and virtually no wind noise.

For my second test, I waited 25 minutes for a train to pass, and turned on the “stealth mode” feature. When turned on, the person on the other side of my call could still hear me, and did not know I could barely hear myself talking over the noise of a passing express train. Sadly, the stealth mode does make your voice sound muffled, but without it, there is no way you’d be able to have a conversation.

Performance, power and range

Battery life is listed as 7 hours talk time, and 10 days standby. I did not talk for 7 hours, but after 5 days and multiple calls, the headset still says its battery life is good. Since it uses the newest Bluetooth version, you’ll get a very decent range, without the old fashioned crackle and pop of first gen Bluetooth headsets.

The headset weighs just 0.4 ounces (about 11 grams). Attaching the headset is easy – you pop it in your ear, then you use the ear hook to keep it in place. No matter how hard you shake your head around, there is no way this thing will fall out. I kept the HX1 on for several hours, and eventually just forgot I was wearing it.

Final thoughts

As I said earlier – this is currently the best headset I have ever tested. Every aspect of the Motorola Endeavor HX1 impressed me, from the design, to minor details like the physical power switch. I love that it charges over MicroUSB, and I’m pleased that it really does deliver the sound quality it promises.

Personally, I would have loved to see the headset come with a carrying case, especially since it retails for a pretty steep $129.99. At the moment, Sprint is selling the Motorola Endeavor HX1 for $110.49. Sprint is also the only place where you’ll be able to order an HX1, through their web site and in their own retail stores.

My final conclusion is simple – this is the headset you need if you demand the ability to use it anywhere, without sacrificing sound quality on either side of your call.

Gadling’s guide to GPS and location based services

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Traveling for me evokes memories of ancient explorers, navigating across vast oceans with only a sextant and the light of the stars and moon. Or the arduous journey of Lewis and Clark as they mapped a slow path across the great wilderness of the Louisiana Purchase. We’ve certainly come a long way since then in terms of navigation – in fact the now-ubiquitous availability of handheld GPS units and Google Maps has made finding your way around in unknown places a cinch.

But in fact, GPS and Google Maps is only the beginning. As we saw with yesterday’s new 3G iPhone with built-in GPS, we’re in the midst of a new era of “location aware devices.” This includes everything from from cameras with geotagging to “location-aware” mobile phones which promise to revolutionize the way we travel and gather information for our trips. Follow along and we’ll take you through Gadling’s guide to GPS and location based services.

Mobile Phones and Location Based Services
A whole range of mobile devices are now on the market that can pinpoint your exact location. Companies like Blackberry, Nokia, Motorola and Apple all make devices which can access this information over the network. This has enabled a huge range of new ways to use your phone, from getting turn-by-turn driving directions to more advanced applications that combine the power of social networks with your location. Services like Where and Socialight not only know where you are, they also let you access location-specific “tags” left by other users in popular locations. Want to know the best place to grab a drink when most bars close at 11pm in London? Find the closest late-night pub by subscribing to Socialight’s “Late London” channel. Looking for a place to cool off this summer in the Northeast United States? Check out the “Swimming holes” group. Drank too much coffee this morning? Better get MizPee. The best part of all this is that the recommendations are based on your location, so you can find the most interesting/useful spots closest to you relatively quickly – no guidebook required.


Geotagging and Photography
Not only does your mobile phone know where you are, your camera is also getting in on the act too. Tools like this Sony GPS unit let you add location data to your snapshots, providing a whole new dimension to your digital scrapbook. Perhaps you’re trying to track down that street in Austin where you took a photo of the great Mexican restaurant? Not a problem, just check out the location data embedded in your image and the next time you’re there, you can swing by for a few tacos. Even popular photo-sharing site Flickr has gotten in on the trend, allowing you to view maps of destinations with popular photos pinpointed to where they were taken. Interestingly enough, there are now even cameras on the market that have built-in GPS capabiltiies.

GPS Just for Fun
In addition to GPS-equipped phones and cameras, there are also plenty of other ways you can use GPS devices just for goofing around. Sony’s popular PlayStation Portable offers a GPS add-on, allowing you to access location data for some of your favorite games like Metal Gear Solid to unlock special bonus characters. And you’ve probably heard by now about the artwork people have been creating using GPS software. Even though the recent DHL piece proved to be a hoax, other copycats have already followed suit. Of course, no article about GPS would be complete without a mention of everyone’s favorite GPS activity, geocaching. If you want to take it step further, you might even use GPS to create a life-size game of Pac-Man for yourself. The possibilities are pretty endless.

Not only do these new location-aware devices services provide us with useful information, they promise to change the way we travel. We are no longer tied to the recommendations of guidebooks. We can call upon user-created information about places to make informed decisions about what to see and where to go. We can take a look at a tiny street in a far-away land, without ever having to step foot there. Or we can use these new services for just plain fun. As location-based devices and services become cheaper and more widespread, they can only serve to help us make more informed travel decisions in the future.