When my Motorola H850 bluetooth headset died I was beside myself with agony for a proper replacement. I had grown quite fond of the boom to turn on/off the device and answer calls; it was a real battery saver. My only complaint with the H850 is volume - it was never loud enough.

Side note: most (if not all) Bluetooth headset reviews fail to mention how loud the earpiece gets. I suppose an actual measure of decibels would be nice, but a statement such as “I could hear very well with my car window down” works for me. Even better, “the earpiece is so loud I can’t keep it at the loudest setting, even in my car driving at highway speeds.”

A trip to Fry’s unearthed the Jabra BT5010. What caught my eye: the familiar boom. Most of the BT5010 reviews were positive so I went with it and thus far, satisfied. To top-line it for you:

• Louder than my H850; I have to lower the volume for most calls but driving in the car requires it to be louder
• Easy to use on/off/pairing button instead of a single function answer/power button
• Sliding boom: easily answer/end calls but this does not control power
• Appearance: while the black body might stand out attached to your ear, it’s not chromed out with giant blinking lights
• Attachment: Jabra uses a twisting ear hook which accommodates use on the left or right ear; the hook keeps the BT5010 secure against your face. You can jog with this thing without fear of it falling off. For maximum comfort you might need to adjust the ear hook but I don’t keep anything attached to my ear for an entire day
• Ear piece: Jabra doesn’t use their popular gels with this model; although the gels provide a custom, and comfortable, fit I find they easily fall off in your pocket or as you jam the whole headset into your ear
• Pocketability: the device is solid, the ear hook is strong, and without ear gels, you can easily pop this into your pocket without fear of breakage
• Charging: a big selling point of the BT5010 compared to other units like the BlueAnt X3 is the miniUSB charging plug; no need to carry “yet another” charger or buy a custom tip for your iGo

The headset has been a solid performer for months although I have a few criticisms:

• Sliding boom is too delicate: if you touch it, even slightly, it will hang up the call. It seems the sensor is near full extension which guards against an accidental acceptance of a phone call, however it means an increase in accidental hang-ups
• Replacement ear hooks: the “Gumby-like” ear hook broke after a couple of months of use. Fortunately a five-pack of replacements is inexpensive the Jabra Store
• Answer delay: when a call is placed there is a solid two second delay before the microphone is activated. The other party might ask another “hello?” or wonder if you’ve hung up on them

These issues aside, the headset has worked well and battery life has not diminished with successive recharging. The BT5010 is not the most svelte headset available but it’s a workhorse.

So we heard Google acquired the Twitter-like service called Jaiku. Jaiku offers a few ways, via your mobile device, to publish a post but it’s the native Symbian (S60) client which I think is what hooks the Nokia peeps.

Let’s pause for a moment and consider that Google picked up GrandCentral earlier this year. One of GC’s big features is Visual Voicemail for web-based clients or mobile devices that have a WAP browser.

Through its acquisition of Jaiku it’s reasonable to think Google will continue (and expand) it’s support of the Symbian platform. If so, turning GC’s Inbox into native S60 would compete head-on with the iPhone’s killer feature: visual voicemail.

However, there is also the issue of getting GC to sync with mobile devices or third-party services like Plaxo or even Google Contacts. Let’s not forget the long-awaited Gphone which should integrate seamlessly into Google’s network of web-based products.

Perhaps the Gphone will mean an end to Google’s Symbian development even before it gets started. Let’s hope not because GC Inbox would rock on my Nokia E61.

I’ve had my share of wireless routers and, quite honestly, none of them have worked very well for me. The radios in Linksys WRT54G units couldn’t emit their way out of a paper bag, third-party firmware such as DD-WRT seems to have on-going issues with the SIP (VoIP) protocol, and most recently my Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 decides to stop passing traffic every 10-14 days. For fun I installed DD-WRT v23 SP2 and v24 RC3 onto my Buffalo and they still haven’t fixed the SIP issue and strangely enough I can’t connect to LAN clients once my WAN connection starts working.

My father mentioned his D-Link DIR-655 has been reliable and we have a similar setup of Xbox 360s, Macs, and mobile devices. I gave it a shot but it’s too early to say how much better the DIR-655 will be. At the moment my MacBook Pro’s Airport meter is waffling low and high - never a good sign.

The point of my post… I couldn’t get my Nokia E61 connected to my “Mixed N and G” network using “WPA/WPA2 security” with “TKIP and AES” (the latter two being the default). The D-Link access point would come and go on the E61’s WLAN scanner and would not connect. I changed the security settings and it connected properly. For awhile at least.

Today it reverted back to not connecting. After more noodling it seems the E61 won’t connect to the D-Link when set to “Mixed N+G” mode so I changed it to “G-only” and it connects straight-away. VoIP with Truphone works as well. Edit: Unfortunately Devicescape stopped working but a manually created Access Point works fine. Devicescape started working again but it seems to have a mind of its own on when it will connect to the wireless AP.

This doesn’t address the silliness of owning a Draft-N access point which is forced to run at G-only mode and leaves two issues:

• What is different about Mixed N+G and the E61?
• Why did Devicescape give up the ghost?

I hope to find out over the next few days.

P.S.
In light of this, D-Link must be doing something right. My wife’s Thinkpad has never been able to connect to her company’s VPN with the Buffalo access point (yes, VPN passthru was enabled) but it’s working fine with the D-Link.

Nokia knows how to throw a party; the booze was flowing and food was everywhere. I’ve never seen so many N95s in one place and not just the demo units but the ones brought in by guests. Getting a chance to talk with Nokia staff was the best part of the evening and I learned a few things about the U.S. launch.

Nokia isn’t responding to Apple’s launch of the iPhone. They’ve been planning a U.S. campaign for years and it seems the tall ivory towers at Nokia HQ were the cause for delay. It was largely an analysis and numbers game compared to Apple’s “innovation at any cost” strategy.

Nokia USA exec Bill Plummer thanked the crowd for being early adopters and spreading the word about Symbian. He went on to say, and it was mentioned by other Nokia staff and users, that the Nseries devices are for content-creators compared to the iPhone’s position of content-consumption. After witnessing the capabilities of the N95 I’d agree, but the “creator vs consumer” comparison changes based on the context.

Who, exactly, is creating this content with the Nseries and are they willing to spend $500 to $700 to do so? I have an unlikely, but perfect, target customer and it’s not college kids or aspiring YouTubers.

One word: parents.

It’s not always possible, or convenient, to have a still camera and camcorder lying around for capturing those spur-of-the-moment childhood memories but a mobile device is always at hand. The N95 grabs those memories with a 5 megapixel still camera and can capture full-motion video. It may not be HD but neither is my Digital8 camcorder.

What about the N95’s other multimedia features?

How better to silence an upset child than playing their favorite movie. I keep Pixar’s Cars and The Incredibles at the ready on my E61. I also load up on still photos because my son loves seeing his grandparents.

Movies and photos not doing the trick? Load up an educational game (a la the resurrected N-Gage gaming platform) to keep your child occupied while you wait in the pediatrician’s office.

What did I forget?

Phone-to-phone videoconferencing at a moment’s notice, wherever you are. Save money on your mobile bill with the N95’s built-in VOIP (a la Truphone or Gizmo) or the soon-to-be-released Skype client. Use the built-in GPS receiver and Maps application to find your way. Sync your calendar and address book. Read your e-mail.

Parents spare no expense for their children especially when it comes to taking photos and video. Is the ability to watch movies, videochat, have GPS, and use VOIP worth the N95’s $700 price tag? Let’s see what separate devices would cost you.

• 5 MP still camera: $250
• Camcorder: $500
• Video iPod: $250
• Portable GPS: $350
• VOIP phone: $150
• Total: $1,500

The N95’s feature set is leaps and bounds ahead of the competition and $700 is a bargain compared to buying separate devices. Dad and mom can have their own N95 for less than one set of cameras, portable GPS, etc. Some people don’t like an “all-in-one” device but the overall convenience and capabilities outweigh the negatives.

I almost forgot to mention the N95 can make an ordinary phone call.

After a bit of waiting my inbox was greeted with an invite to GrandCentral. EDIT: I’ve got ten invites to pass out if anyone is interested. No more invites are left - I sent my last one today; thanks for some great emails. Contact me if you want one and tell me:

• How will this simplify your mobile device life?
• Do you intend to use it for work or personal?
• The URL of your favorite blog (not the one you’re reading now)
• If there was one thing you could do today that would make your life better tomorrow, what would it be?
• Your three favorite books
• Your three favorite films
• What you want to accomplish in life - your big dream

Why am I asking for all this? Because I hope to learn something from you and telling me what you’re up to in life might be a catalyst to make it happen.

P.S.: Don’t send me the names of books or movies or links that are illegal or obscene.