Gear4 BluEye Bluetooth iPod accessory review

Full Review

The iPhone is here. Well sort of. In fact you might now not need to get excited about the possible launch of a mobile phone from Apple from now on. Why? Because Gear4 thinks it has the answer.

The BluEye is a simply device that connects to the iPod or iPod nano via the docking socket at the bottom of the player and turns your iPod into a phone.

Acting as a wired remote control you then plug in your headphones into the device in the regular way.

The difference is that the small remote dongle has Bluetooth connectivity, remote controls and a radio built-in.

Pair it with your phone - which takes seconds, and every time you take a call the music automatically stops, in-coming number appears on your iPod’s screen and you can accept or reject the call using the BluEye’s buttons which also double up as a remote.

Voice is handled via the unit's inbuilt microphone and you hear the caller’s voice through your headphones. Once you're finished the music kicks back in, although not where you left off.

Missed calls are tracked and you can even access the last nine numbers on the iPod if you've missed or rejected them on your phone.

In our tests, speaker quality is excellent with you being able to hear everything clearly, while those we phoned using the device only complained about how loud and clear we were - the way we solved this was either getting them to turn their phone down or wearing the remote - which has a clip on the reverse on our trouser pocket.

Get past the phone features and Gear4 has managed to cram in a simple but very good FM radio into the mix as well and you can scroll through, but not preset radio stations. As with most mobile phones the headphones act as a aerial, however we had no problems (bar the London Underground) getting a signal in our tests.

Verdict

The BluEye offers users the chance to use their iPod and their phone at the same time without worrying about missing a call. The addition of the remote control and FM radio is a welcomed bonus.

The only thing we've got to grumble about is the wires, but then iPod users will be used to those wires with the headphones anyway so that's just us being picky.

If you can't wait for the iPhone and you're not using the MP3 player on your phone already, this is one accessory worth getting.

Top Marks.

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