First generation iPhone users like myself are used to the idea of adapters for use with the iPhone. After all, Apple, in all of their infinite genius, decided to make the 3.5mm port for earphones too bloody small for a large number of earphones on the market. Their solution? Hey, use an adapter (or buy an iPhone 3G)!
Another thing Apple kinda skipped out on with the iPhone (3G version included) is Bluetooth a2dp, which allows for wireless stereo sound on your compatible stereo Bluetooth headphones. You can pair headsets with the iPhone natively, but only for the making of the phone callings. Forget music “ unless you count your ringtone.
But there ‘s got to be a way around, right? Like maybe Brando ‘s INFINXX Bluetooth Adapter that snaps onto the bottom of your iPhone? Something like that?
Before I get more into this review, let me just say how much I feel Bluetooth has betrayed me over the years. My first cell phone love, my Sony Ericsson K750, was chosen partly because of its Bluetooth support. I thought Bluetooth was awesome, but for the most part it ‘s been a massive letdown in ever way, shape, and form. It ‘s been erratic, a drain on the batt, and it just plain doesn ‘t work in a lot of situations.
I ‘ve been searching high and low for a reliable, wireless solution for a few years now, and I have to say that this adapter is the closest I ‘ve come to Bluetooth nirvana.
Let ‘s get started, shall we?
Design
One of the things that drew me to this adapter was its low-profile design. This thing is pretty small, and it ‘s got a very elegant, curved design that fits in well with the iPhone. Functional and aesthetically pleasing. I likey!
On the other hand, I was pretty concerned about how much this thing jutted out of the phone (see case picture above). I ‘ve had the adapter for over two weeks now and, while I ‘ve certainly gotten more used to the idea, I ‘m still a bit paranoid about the thing snapping clean off and breaking my dock connector. The INFINXX doesn ‘t really get in the way with the phone in your hand, although the blinking lights on it can certainly be distracting if you ‘re watching a video in a dark room (I just cover the light with my hand).
When you ‘re out and about this solution really works best if you ‘re going to keep your iPhone upside down in some sort of case, or if you know you ‘ll be careful with the thing while it ‘s in your pocket.
Setting it Up
Set up is as easy as easy as plugging the adapter in. It ‘s designed to be dummy (read: me) proof, and the connection feels as solid as a regular iPhone cable ‘s. Once it ‘s attached to your iPhone you ‘ll get this message (see pic):
Brando ‘s accessory certainly works with iPhones, but since it ‘s not official you ‘ll get this warning and you ‘ll miss out on some features (more on this in later sections). The adapter will start to blink after you plug it in. The first 20 or so seconds are spent trying to auto-pair with a previously paired Bluetooth accessory, but after that it will try to pair any discoverable device in range. I found pairing speed to be quite fast, and it usually saw my Sony Ericsson HBH-DS220 ‘s within 10 seconds of plugging the adapter into my iPhone. Unplugging the adapter is just like unplugging a pair of headphones, which results in your music pausing automatically.
The problem here is getting the adapter can be a bit forgetful “ you kinda have to guide it in the right direction. I was forced to re-establish a connection with my Logitech Pure-Fi Mobile speakers every time I wanted to use them, but my HBH-DS220 ‘s were alright as long as I turned the headset on before I plugged the adapter in. The problem likely lies on Logitech ‘s side in my speakers ‘ case, but the Sony headset auto-paired with my sister ‘s Nokia without any problems.
Long story short: turn on your headset before plugging the adapter in or the INFINXX will literally blink at you in expectation: ‘What, am I supposed to be doing something? ‘
Wireless Performance
Once connected, however, I think this is a very solid solution for music. I sometimes can ‘t believe it ‘s a wireless connection, because it really sounds like earphones are plugged in. I compared the streaming quality between this adapter and my sister ‘s Nokia 6301 (which streams BT natively) and the sound quality on my iPhone was leagues beyond what her phone could offer. The range was decent, allowing me about 7m from my iPhone, even passing through dry wall and a thick 4-inch wooden door. Music sounds incredible and even the play/pause function works on my headset, but there are still a few problems here (likely because it ‘s an ‘unofficial ‘ product) that keep this from being perfect.
There is a little bit of a lag when I pause music, and the screen turns on every time I do so. This isn ‘t a deal-breaker, but this next problem might be for some people: I never got the INFINXX to transmit my calls via Bluetooth. I don ‘t believe the problem lies with my SE HBH-DS220 or Logitech Pure-Fi Mobile, since I have used both for calls on Nokia and Blackberry devices. I e-mailed Brando and they gave me these instructions to get the adapter to allow you to answer calls and listen to music through a headset:
- Pair the INFINXX with your BT headset (make sure it plays music), then remove it. Do not un-pair.
- Pair BT headset with iPhone Bluetooth
- Turn off iPhone Bluetooth without un-pairing headset
- Plug in INFINXX adapter and wait for it to pair with BT headset.
- Turn iPhone Bluetooth back on and try answering or making a call via headset.
- Sub-sequent connections should be easier “ just turn on your BT headset.
Unfortunately my Sony headset doesn ‘t allow for multiple pairings, and my Logitech speakers never saw my iPhone. This could work for other headsets and speakers though.
When my phone rings I hear the ring on my headset, but I always have to answer and take the call on the iPhone itself. On two occasions the music actually resumed during a call, which was quite a surprise. Those calls were pretty long ones (over 10 minutes), but I ‘m pretty sure that ‘s not supposed to happen. Another problem (albeit equally rare) is the sudden loss of a connection between adapter and headset. Sometimes during extended play (30+ minutes of music) the BT connection can be severed, regardless of the distance between adapter and headset. When this happened, I ‘d just plug the adapter in again and resumed my dancing.
The last issue that the INFINXX doesn ‘t seem to recognize my iPhone ‘s volume level, which really is a bummer. If you ‘re not fortunate to have independent volume controls on your headset or wireless speakers, you ‘ll just have to accept whatever volume you get when using the INFINXX. I tried all sorts of things with my iPhone on 2.0.1 to change the volume, including enforcing a volume limit in the iPod settings, but to no avail.
Effect on iPhone performance?
I ‘ve used the INFINXX quite extensively over the last two weeks and I ‘m glad to report that there hasn ‘t been any major effects on the iPhone ‘s performance while this is plugged in. By comparison, Bluetooth streaming on Windows Mobile takes a big toll on the speed and battery life of the device, but that doesn ‘t seem to be the case with the INFINXX and the iPhone. I ‘m sure this thing sucks a bit more power out of your device, but I really didn ‘t notice a game-changing batt drain as I used the device (typically 2 hours of music per day). You ‘re still paying a price for wireless music here, but I think it ‘s definitely worth it.
Compatibility
Brando ‘s a2dp solution works well for the iPhone, but how about other Apple players? I tested out my dad ‘s ancient (hey, look how thick the thing is!) 30GB iPod Photo, and the INFINXX was quick to pick it up and stream music like normal. It also worked with my mother ‘s 2nd gen Nano. Brando says this adapter supports most everything back to even the iPod Mini. Do you remember hat thing? It ‘s ancient! It doesn ‘t even have a colour screen!
Conclusion
I realize that I was being quite nit-picky in some of the above paragraphs, but it ‘s really because this adapter changes the way you use your iPhone, and I wanted to capture as many aspects as I could concerning daily usage. Although I wish it were officially supported (which would hopefully fix some of the inconsistencies with headset calling, etc.), I ‘m still a big fan of Brando ‘s INFINXX. You do have to make some trade-offs when you plug this device in, but the reward of great wireless music on a basically Bluetooth-less iPhone is well worth it. I can only hope that we ‘ll see more great Bluetooth solutions like this for Apple ‘s iPhone, and it ‘d be great if they could get some official support!
Product Info
Price: $62
Availability: Brando
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