Hands on: Asus’ Fonepad is an OK tablet, but an awful phone

Two days ago, I wrote an editorial about how happy I was that screen sizes on phones may finally be stabilizing  and not continuing to grow out of control. In it, I said it wouldn’t be long before 7-inch tablets would become phones themselves. I spoke too soon. Yesterday, Asus unveiled a 7-inch device named the Fonepad. It’s basically a Nexus 7 with a phone built into it. We caught up with Asus on the Mobile World Congress show floor to check it out.

If you want to know what it’s like to use the Fonepad, you need only pick up your Kindle Fire, Nook Color, Nexus 7, Galaxy Tab 7, or find any other 7-inch tablet (or a paperback book or older Kindle) and pretend to use it like a phone. Do you feel empowered? Is this the kind of life you want to lead? If you don’t mind barely being able to hold your phone in one hand, or having a phone dialer large enough to read from across the room, the Fonepad may be the Fone for you. To me, it’s like a special accessory the phone company might give to people with fat fingers. Something given to anyone who walks into a wireless store in a muumuu.

The tablety-phoney thing is really a modified Nexus 7 with 3G built in. Though the Nexus 7 is branded a “Google” device, Asus actually manufacturers it. One look at the Fonepad and you know it came off the same assembly line. Unfortunately, a Chinese worker must have hit the “crappy” lever at the front of the plant, because many of the nice flourishes of the Nexus 7 like the grippy design, are missing, instead replaced by a gray plastic look common to devices a couple years ago.

The insides of the Fonepad aren’t as impressive as a Nexus 7. Instead of a speedy quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, Asus has shoved in a single-core 1.2GHz Intel Atom processor. It does the job in standard use, but if you plan to tax your tablet phone with any difficult applications or games, you’ll find it slowing down fast.

Other specs include 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal memory, a 1280 x 800 pixel LCD screen, a 3-megapixel rear camera, a 1.2-megapixel webcam, and a microSD slot for expanded file storage. It runs a modified version of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and looks about like what you’d expect an Android tablet to look like.

As a phone, it’s awful. The microphone sits extremely low compared to the earpiece and if you hold it up to your head, it’s pretty much the equivalent of wearing a Phantom of the Opera mask or gluing a big book to the side of your face. You look like an idiot and won’t be able to hear your friends. It’s a lose, lose. There are some benefits to having a larger screen, but there’s almost nothing this device can do that you can’t do well on a 4.7-inch or 5.5-inch phone like the LG Optimus G Pro or Galaxy S3. If you really want a small tablet that provides benefit, you’ll want to opt for a Galaxy Note 8.0 or iPad Mini – two devices with 8-inch screens. Eight or nine inches is a great size range for tablets. Seven inches is not.

The Fonepad will hit shelves around the world in the next few months for about $250, but don’t expect to see it in the United States. Because Asus has only included 3G support, and no LTE, no U.S. mobile carrier is going to want to stock the Fonepad. Of course, for you die hards, just remember: If there’s a will (and there shouldn’t be), there’s always a way.

As the Mobile Section Editor for Digital Trends, Jeffrey Van Camp is responsible for the content and direction of coverage on smartphones, tablets, e-readers, and other mobile gadgets and software. Jeff has been writing about tech, video games, and movies on the Web for more than a decade. Before joining DT, he spent several years working with mobile app/game developers and wireless carriers. You can reach him @JeffreyVC on Twitter or Facebook.

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Hands on: LG Optimus G Pro holds its own with Galaxy Note 2

Mobile World Congress may be the launchpad for the global version of the LG Optimus G Pro, but it feels like we already know it intimately. Though there were a lot of new LG devices on display, we couldn’t help but spend most of our time with the G Pro.

At the risk of stating the obvious, the Optimus G Pro is big, and every bit of its 5.5-inch screen is felt when you pick it up. It feels solid in the hand, and amazingly shaves about 20 grams off the weight of competing devices like the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and even the Nokia Lumia 920’s overall weight. The back has the same spangly finish as the Nexus 4, and looked great against the white chassis. There was no flex to worry about, although the buttons on the side are made of plastic and have an unpleasant, cheap click to them, not unlike most Samsung products.

LG may have skimped a little with the buttons and building materials, but it certainly hasn’t done so with the screen, as its 1080p resolution looks fabulous. The demo videos were beautifully crisp and the 400ppi pixel density produces such detail and sharpness, it makes us want a similarly high-res display on every other mobile device we own.

Android 4.1.2 is installed along with LG’s own user interface, although there isn’t much to separate it and Samsung’s TouchWiz, with the pair sharing similar icons, transitions, and animations. They’re not twins, but would certainly be considered close relatives. Like Samsung, LG uses custom apps baked into the OS to differentiate itself from others, some of which look useful and others bizarre.

On the helpful side we’ve got QMemo, which turns the screen into a notepad and you use your finger to trace out notes. The handwriting recognition is good, but it needs some concentration to “write” neatly, as jotting anything at speed results in massive, scrawled letters on the screen. QMemo can be accessed through the notification center, but it’s at its best when assigned to the QButton on the side of the device. This shortcut key means QMemo is a single, simple click away when on a call, a time when you’d you’re likely to need it most.

So, QMemo (and the QButton) are additions we could see ourselves using. (The Q button can be used as a shutter button, as well.) Dual Recording on the other hand, isn’t. It records a video using both front and rear cameras at the same time, with the forward-facing cam’s picture (containing your face) appearing in a little picture-in-picture box. Even LG struggled to give a good reason for its existence, saying it would be helpful in business meetings, but not elaborating any further. During playback, the extra window is distracting and detracts from what’s presumably the focus of the video – recorded using the rear camera – making Dual Recording feel like a feature produced purely because it could be done, rather than fulfilling a need.

(Editor’s note by Jeff: While I agree with Andy that no one needs dual-sided recording, the feature could come in handy in select circumstances and LG implemented it in an impressively polished way.)

The list of LG’s custom apps continues in a similar vein. A collaboration tool for sharing screens and content, the option to display three apps at the same time, and the now obligatory universal remote (named, you’ve guessed it, QRemote) are among the best ideas shown.

Like all tablet/smartphone hybrid hardware, the overriding impression of the Optimus G Pro is it’s size. LG has made a few concessions in the OS to compensate, such as the ability to shift the keyboard and dialer over by a centimeter or so to make one-handed use a more viable prospect; but the fact remains any mobile device with a screen this big won’t be for everyone. The daintily-handed could find it awkward (although this is hardly unique to the Optimus G Pro), and should try before buying. For all those already convinced this is the form-factor for them, the few missteps here aren’t enough to eclipse the gorgeous screen and LG’s mostly value-adding apps.

Andy's fascination with tech began in the 90s, at a time when SMS messages were considered cutting edge, but it would be a decade before he would put finger-to-keyboard as a technology writer. In the interim he wrote about travel, formulated strong opinions about films and owned a series of audacious cars.

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Gmail 2.0 for iOS hands on: It’s not perfect, but it’s getting there

Gmail has finally made the jump to version 2.0 on iOS, much to the joy of users of the Google-made email service. A whole new look and some much-needed feature additions like multiple account support make this a worthy upgrade for most, though power users may find the navigation troublesome.

Google has been making it a point to show its apps some more love these days. After an update to Gmail on its native OS of Android, Google decided to give iOS users a gift of a major update to its mobile mail client. The previous versions of the app on Apple devices left a lot to be desired and led to a lot of third party solutions, one of the best of which being Sparrow, which is now owned by Google. After six months of reworking its in-house offering, it’s clear Google made something worth using – as long as you don’t compare it to it’s Android equivalent.

After getting the update to the new look Gmail app, the first thing users will notice is an entire redesign to the interface. The previous theme of Gmail included dark colors and somewhat boring, rounded corners, and so-so fonts. Now bright colors, crisp texts, and sharp boxes. Even pulling down the menus to refresh or loading a message displays a multi-colored, animated ball that offers just a second of extra brightness to the experience. 

It’s not a deal-making feature or anything, but it’s just a nice little touch that adds a bit of class to browsing mundane emails. That or it’s a very clever cover up for some in-app lag, in which case it worked because it’s distracting.

The threaded message view now includes a nice icon, subject, sender, and message information taking up all available space. There’s a bit more in the iPad version, taking advantage of the extra screen space, but on the iPhone it’s a little sparse. It’s also a bit more difficult to collapse an expanded thread on the iPhone. This is just the start of issues with message movement. You have to back out of each message and re-navigate your inbox to go to the next message. It seems like a little thing, but it really does change your browsing experience – especially if you’re used to Sparrow or other major third party options.

Integration with other Google products like Google+ and Calendar are welcome improvements that make things a lot easier. Direct replying to events with Calendar is great for creating a more universal Google experience. Seeing Google+ notifications right in your Gmail inbox is also nice, especially if you’re a heavy user of the social network that, with the bigger push by Google through other tools like Gmail, now seems like an inevitably perpetual presence than a forgotten option.

A heavily requested feature that has finally made an appearance in Gmail 2.0 is the ability to include multiple accounts in the app. You can link up to five Gmail identities to the Gmail app and switch between them. It’s nice, but if you’re a power user it probably still isn’t quite what you’re looking for. Changing between accounts is a multi-tap process. It’s not painful or anything, but it’s a little cumbersome and less than efficient – more just required to get to where you need to go. Perhaps we should just be glad it’s here but when you’re used to things like Sparrow, it’s hard to accept less.

All things considered, Gmail 2.0 for iOS is anything but a disappointment. For people using Apple’s Mail app or other free alternatives out there, Gmail is definitely a big enough step up to act as your go-to mail client. It looks great, the ability to manage multiple accounts was much needed, and the overall Google integration is very useful for people that already call other tools from the search giant their defaults. If you spend a lot of your day communicating from inside your inbox, Gmail 2.0 probably still leaves a bit to be desired. Navigating the app can be cumbersome and there’s a bit of a lag issue. It’s too clunky to be as quick and easy as one would want, it’s not quite up to par with Sparrow or the Gmail Android app – technically making Google it’s own biggest competitor no matter how you look at it. Gmail 2.0 is a huge jump from its previous version, but it doesn’t quite land it in the big leagues yet.

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To Photo Sync or not to Photo Sync? We go hands on with Facebook’s new auto uploading photo feature

Facebook's Photo Sync finally was released, so went hands on to reveal everything from setup to built-in features - and of course, we take a look at how safe the system is.

After months of testing, Facebook finally launched its photo syncing feature for both iOS and Android devices. The new product is a convenient option for users to store all of their images in what’s essentially free storage space of up to 2GB courtesy of Facebook  and push them public when you so choose – of course there’s that pesky privacy thing, and users are right to maintain a little concern about something that directly sends data to the social network. Does Photo Sync’s benefits outweigh the risk of unwittingly uploading photos you’d rather keep to yourself? We go hands on with the new feature and break down the pros, the cons, and everything in-between. 

If you haven’t already enabled Photo Sync, you should see a notification that pops up on the News Feed of your iOS or Android device asking if you’d like to sync your phone to the desktop app. Don’t worry about any downloads from the App Store, no need to head there for Photo Sync. Facebook says that the feature was already a part of the build in a previous update, but it was simply just turned off.

To turn it on, you’ll need to go to your Facebook profile page on the smartphone app, and select “Photos.” At the very bottom of the screen you’ll see a button for “Synced.” That tab will take you to a splash page briefly introducing you to Photo Sync. Opt into the feature by clicking on the “Sync Photos” button. Once this is done, if you open up the Facebook desktop app and go into your photos, you’ll see a new tab labeled “Sync for iPhone,” and here you’ll find the photos that have been synced.

At first, not all of your photos will be immediately synced (keep in mind we’re testing this feature on an iPhone). Fewer than two dozen of your most recent images will be automatically synced, and to allow Facebook to sync the rest of your images you’ll need to scroll down and opt in again by pressing the “Sync all Photos” button.

Syncing won’t immediately happen when first turn the function on. In this initial hands on, it probably took around 45 minutes to sync 300 photos. But once this is over, all photos taken are automatically uploaded from then on until you disable the feature.

You also can’t actually share photos within the Synced page on the smartphone app. The page is just a repository for reviewing the photos that you’ve synced, although you can delete photos here if you wish. If you want to share these images directly from your smartphone, you’ll need to access Facebook’s in-app camera.

And if you’re worried, no it won’t delete the photos on your phone’s native camera app. Instead of manually deleted photos though, we found a hidden trick for removing them from the Synced page: You can hold down your finger on the photo that you’d like to delete between two and three seconds (the latter to be safer just so you don’t end up opening up the image instead), and a window slides up with an option to “Remove Synced Photo.”

This is where all the magic happens. As mentioned before, you can use Facebook’s native and now built in Camera app to share your photos, group them into albums, and even adding flair using Facebook’s photo filters, but there’s a certain comfort in managing photos from the desktop as well. It’s really not uncommon for your fingers to accidentally open up different types of links on your smartphone, which could mean the difference between sharing a photo of your dog or a photo of … something else that you don’t want your Facebook friends seeing. That’s probably the nicest way to phrase it. 

When you select one or more images on the “Synced from iPhone” tab – each photo you select is marked by a green checkmark – buttons will appear for creating a post with the photos that you’ve selected, sending the photos in a message, creating a new album with them, or to add selected images to an existing album. Deleting images can also be done here, which will become a familiar tool for those of you that are already reaching the 2GB limit.

Since every action taken on the smartphone version of the app is synchronized with the desktop app, every photo that finished syncing from your phone will trigger a desktop notification, along with a number of photos pushed. What this also means is that if you’ve deleted a synced photo from your smartphone, that photo will be deleted from your iPhone gallery as well.

Some other smaller features that you might overlook is that the photos are displayed by month, and the bottom right corner of the page shows the percentage of free space that you’ve used of the 2GB. Downloads of the images are also supported via the desktop version of Photo Sync.

This feature is an important one to take note of. On the smartphone app, there’s a gear icon at the top right corner of the Synced page where you can select one of three options: “Sync over Wi-Fi or cellular,” “Sync over Wi-Fi only,” or “Don’t sync my photos.” You’ll want to specify which setting you want since by default you’re syncing over Wi-Fi or cellular. You can also keep track of how much storage you’re using up here.

After toying around with Photo Sync on Facebook, the initial impression is that it’s a bit slow and manually refreshing the iPhone and desktop versions to see the latest images gets old. We also encountered a bug that wouldn’t allow us to delete something; a prompt reading “Could not remove photo from Sync,” kept popping up on the iPhone – which could be a bit horrifying. However we saw that the photo was deleted when viewing via desktop. 

Overall, Sync Photos could easily be a Facebook Photo addicts dream come true. The sharing process is seamless and takes just three steps from selecting photos to publishing it on your Timeline. There’s also an opportunity here for Instagram integration as well, given how Facebook is trying to tie these so tightly together – although, the privacy implication there is that the security and relative exclusivity of sharing photos via Instagram would come into question. We reached out to Facebook for comment on this and we’ll update if we hear a response. 

For now, go forth and use Photo Sync – as long as you’re comfortable with Facebook’s ability to keep those auto uploads private until you say otherwise. 

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Hands on with Hipstamatic’s new Snap Magazine iPhone and Web app

Hipstamatic, the photo sharing app, debuted Snap Magazine for the iPhone and Web, so we went hands on with the app and its magazine issues.

Hipstamatic arguably lost the photo sharing race when Facebook acquired Instagram and catapulted the already-accomplished platform to a new, unforseen social status. Then Google went ahead and acquired Nik Software for another photo sharing competitor, Snapseed. Rather than capitulate to the bleak future that photo sharing apps appear to have in the wake of Instagram’s overwhelming successes, Hipstamatic has gotten creative by launching Snap Magazine, a digital-only magazine that aggregates hand curated images from its users. While the app debuted on iPads, Hipstamatic today announced that it has expanded to Snap Magazine with its new iPhone and Web apps.

The magazine isn’t just the self-promotional publication you might it expect it to be. Admittedly, there are mentions of Hipstamatic here and there, and the advertising inserts are all promoting Hipstamatic products, but all in all it’s a lifestyle magazine that could easily be found on the bookshelves at Barnes & Nobles. The editorial team explores music, visual art, travels, fashion, food, and just about anything else you can think of. Of course, Hipstamatic stays fairly true to its roots by favoring images over text and paying particular attention to graphics, design, and photography.

While the magazine is inarguably good-looking, we checked out Snap on the Web were disappointed with the user experience. There’s a delay when flipping through the pages and it unfortunately reminds us of the experience of flipping through digital magazines on self-publishing platform Issuu, which has its fair share of quirks. Really, things just feel rough around the edges here, like Snap is meant to be experienced via mobile. 

There really isn’t much of a discernable difference between the iPad and the iPhone versions of Snap – which isn’t to say it’s all that engaging. The issues are essentially image files and there isn’t a hint of the interactivity that traditional iPad-based magazines offer, save for the page turning animation. It’s like you’re reading a print magazine on a mobile device. For some of us, that’s enough; others want interactivity. We had to download each issue before perusing, but they are completely free.

On the iPhone, Snap Magazine’s iPad version has simply been ported to fit the smaller screen size (it’s also optimized for the iPhone 5). When it comes to reading Snap Magazine from an iPhone, you’re forced to squint or zoom into the pages to read the text. Since it’s a magazine packed mostly with photos, luckily, this isn’t a huge inconvenience. When the phone is flipped horizontally, two pages are visible side-by-side as opposed to just one when being viewed vertically. You’ll recognize that touching the bottom of your screen surfaces thumbnails of every page that you can easily scroll through to select a specific page.

There have only been five issues out so far, so the magazine is still in its infancy. Hispstamatic hasn’t released any official concrete figures for the number of users, but based on Appdata we can get an indication of how it’s performing. As of this writing, Snap is the 106 top free app in the photograph genre and the 101 top free iPad app in the same genre.

The magazine is filled with the beautiful images that nearly defy smartphones – really, it’s hard to believe that the collections of images published on Snap weren’t taken using a DSLR. Editorial-wise, Snap is on trend with editorials, like a feature on the band Imagine Dragons, and even journalistic editorials covering world issues. The company has also established a Hipstamatic Foundation for Photojournalism that it hopes to educate the next generation of photojournalists.

Snap Magazine is really a breath of fresh air among digital publications, even if many images are sourced from Hipstamatic users and Hipstamatic users alone. Still, it’s an interesting way to make use of the photos were creating and sharing – even if Instagram has laid claim to the market, Hipstamatic deserves props for continuing to explore it. 

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Hands on: 365Scores tries to unseat the champ, but falls short of ESPN

Sports is always full of showdowns between top contenders and underdogs looking for an upset. 365Scores aims to play David to ESPN's Goliath, but seems to have forgotten its slingshot. A great option for soccer fans, but there's too much missing for American sports.

ESPN has been the undisputed king of sports for some time now. Though the company attempted to break into mobile technology in a uniquely terrible way back in the mid-2000's, it was a misstep that led the “Worldwide leader in sports” to the top of the heap for sports-centric mobile apps. As for any top contender, though, there is always an underdog that presents an unexpected challenge in its own attempts to dethrone the king. For ESPN and its top-seeded ScoreCenter app, the sixteen seed here to play Cinderella is 365Scores.

Designed with the sports fan’s incessant need to be in the know about his or her favorite teams in mind, 365Scores delivers constant and customized updates to users regarding games as they are occurring. Firing up the app allows you to set up your account, giving you the option to start from scratch or link to your Facebook, allowing the app to draw information from your likes and interests to create your content stream. Regardless of what you pick, you’ll be able to select what teams and leagues you follow regularly and would like information about. The selection is pretty impeccable, with thousands of leagues available thanks to a robust list of soccer leagues from around the world. There are all of the American favorites as well, including the NFL, NBA, and MLB. Hockey, volleyball, rugby, and handball teams are all represented, as are tennis players. This comes up a little short of ESPN’s app, which includes X-Games performers and racing events like NASCAR, but still has more than the average fan could ask for.

With customization options set for teams and leagues, you’ll move into the standard home screen. This will show recent scores, news, videos, and tweets from the teams you’re interested in. News is aggregated from across multiple mediums, including official team and league websites and Yahoo! Sports. All that is available in the app is a title and a link to the full article, which will then require you to do your reading in a web browser. The video works essentially the same, as its drawn in from official sources and then played through YouTube. None of 365Scores’ content is original so if you already browse for your sports news and media elsewhere, you’re never going to come across a piece of commentary you haven’t heard.

The real appeal to 365Scores is the ability to set alarms for important moments in the games that matter to you. Options vary depending on the sport, but for the most part you can set an alarm for the start of the game, the end of any quarter or period, any major score, and the end of the game. Obviously for basketball, there is no alarm for every score because it’d drive you to treat your phone like a basketball and the trash bin like a hoop.

While there is content for most major sports, it’s pretty clear that 365Scores was originally designed for soccer. Footy fans have the option to see a video of a score within 5 minutes of its occurrence. That means you won’t just get to see the number pop up on your screen to let you know your team took the lead, but you’ll be able to watch it shortly after it happened in real time. There are also parts of that original soccer-centric build that plagues the app in other ways. Using 365Scores to stay updated on the Monday Night Football game, every touchdown was announced as a “Goal!” The message is still received, but these are little tweaks that are needed to reach the right audience in the long run.

It’s also worth noting that, on Android, tapping the notification that a goal was scored will take you into the 365Scores app but drops you on an empty page. There’s no information about the scoring play and you have to hit the back button in the app after every notification. That lack of information theme continues in the fact that there are no stats, even in completed games. There’s a quarter-by-quarter score, but no box score or individual stat lines. It’s literally all about the score. Soccer fans can see goal scorers, but there’s nothing to indicate time of possession or other general tale-of-the-tape type stats.

Going back to that number one seed versus the sixteen seed from earlier, it’s clear that 365Scores is a major underdog. There’s some promise with the scoring updates that, if developed further to include players and stats, could become a real contender. Of the non-elite options out there, 365Scores is probably one of the best – especially for soccer fans. But when taking on a top seed in the NCAA March Madness Tournament, the sixteen seed has never won. That streak continues.

You can download 365Scores for free on iPhone and Android.

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A quick hands on with the newly updated LinkedIn app for BlackBerry smartphones

We posted last night that Version 2.0 of the LinkedIn application had been released and now actually works, as opposed to the previous version which didn't seem to like any of my devices. This morning the update showed up for me so I swiftly downloaded it (for free) and it seems that they have made a pretty nice job of things. I clearly have nothing to compare it to but the user interface is friendly, crisp and smooth.

As you will see in the video - the main screen is made up of the 'LinkedIn Today' section at the top and then followed by recent updates. Clicking on the LinkedIn icon in the top left corner takes you to a nice page made up of four large tiles. These are updates, You, Inbox and Network.

Connecting with people and sharing an update works perfectly however I'm not convinced it is perfect as there are no notifications that come with the app, or if there are they do not work. Thanks to a couple of the CrackBerry team members I have sent messages through the app and received an email response but nothing from the app itself. Notifications would be great, but at least we now have an app we can use. Oh well, one step at a time.

More information/Download LinkedIn for BlackBerry smartphones

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Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE hands on

Sometimes it’s easy to overlook the quieter Android launches, like the low-key release of the Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE earlier this week by Sprint. It’s a 4-inch budget-friendly device that Sprint is touting as one of their most affordable LTE-capable options, and it's in stores now. For $100 on contract, you can’t really go wrong with that the Victory has to offer; It’s got a 800 x 480 display, a Snapdragon S4 MSM89610 Lite processor, 4  GB of internal storage, and ships with Android 4.0.4 onboard. It’s also got a decent 5 MP rear camera, 1.3 MP front shooter, and Samsung’s signature TouchWiz interface. We took a brief look at it last night here in New York—hit the break for our knee-jerk reactions.

The Victory is noticeably lower-end than than Samsung’s current flagship, the Galaxy S 3, but its also noticeably cheaper. And for $100, it offers quite a bit for your buck. Performance was snappy and call me crazy, but that display isn’t nearly as bad as you might assume. It’s also NFC-capable, with both S Beam and Google Wallet onboard. Unfortunately, the big downside here is a flimsy-feeling plastic finish and a rather bulky and stout footprint—this is definitely last generation’s design, maybe even older.

While it’s a solid offering for the price, especially if you’re a Samsung fan, there are better options out there with the same pricetag, including the absolutely incredible Droid RAZR M on Verizon. For diehard Sprinters, though, the Victory is definitely a bargain worth looking at, which is exactly what we'll do in our full review.

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SuperTooth Buddy hands free Bluetooth speakerphone for iPhone review

SuperTooth Buddy hands free Bluetooth speakerphone for iPhone review | iMore.com Skip to main content AndroidBlackBerryiPhone / iPadWindows PhonewebOS

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iMore iPhone iPad Forums Apps Accessories Reviews How-To Podcasts Free wallpapers: iPhone & iPad Guides: iOS, iCloud, Siri, photography, jailbreak Free: iPhone apps & games, iPad apps & games Shop Online Cases Chargers Screen protectors Headsets & More Free shipping on orders over $50 SuperTooth Buddy hands free Bluetooth speakerphone for iPhone review By Anthony, Sunday, Aug 19, 2012 a 9:24 am 6

The SuperTooth Buddy is a simple no-nonsense Bluetooth 2.1 device that will connect up to 2 iPhones (or other phones, if for some reason you're not all in on the Apple gear) for hand free use in a car, truck, or other vehicle. Since more and more jurisdictions are forbidding talking or otherwise using a mobile device in your hands while driving, accessories like the SuperTooth Buddy are becoming essential for everyone from those who drive all day for a living, to those who drive to work, to those who drive the kids around.

The SuperTooth Buddy offers full duplexing, digital signal processing to eliminate echoes, and double noise reduction to give you the best sound quality possible over a Bluetooth connection. It also features support for volume control, for call waiting, voice control, and last call redial.

You can either clip the SuperTooth Buddy to your car visor, but it also contains a magnet so it can adhere to any magnetically attracted surface as well. Since it's so small, it's easy to find a convenient place for it, and once attached, the Supertooth Buddy stays out of your way until you need it.

It takes roughly 3 hours to charge the SuperTooth Buddy's lithium-ion battery over USB with the included cable, and that gives you 1000 hours of stand by time and 20 hours of talk time. In my tests, that was pretty good.

Since this is such a no nonsense hands free device, the SuperTooth Buddy does not come with a FM transmitter. In today's market, however, I think the FM transmitter is kind of a necessity to be competitive.

Also, while the SuperTooth Buddy can connect with up to two iPhones (or other Bluetooth enabled devices), the second device that gets added to the unit is greatly limited functionality -- it can only accept or reject calls.

To power up the SuperTooth Buddy, you hold down the power button for about 1 second. Keep holding it down for 5 seconds and you put the SuperTooth Buddy into pairing mode. As with most Bluetooth devices these days, pairing with iOS is simple and straight forward. You go to Settings, General, Bluetooth, wait for the SuperTooth Buddy to show up, and tap on it to connect.

Once paired, you have your standard 30 foot ranger over Bluetooth 2.4GHz, but since the SuperTooth is intended for in-car speakerphone use, that's more than enough.

There is an End button on the SuperTooth Buddy as well, but that feels almost old fashioned at this point. Frankly, they could have got away with omitting the End button entirely by simply using the talk button to accept and reject calls with a second tap.

The volume buttons on the SuperTooth Buddy are large and easy to use, and the talk button will bring up Voice Control on an iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4, and the Siri personal assistant on an iPhone 4S.

The goodExtremely small and lightEasy to set up and useCan adhere via magnetsThe badNo FM transmitterProvides limited functionality for second deviceThe bottom line

The SuperTooth Buddy is a small, no frills Bluetooth speakerphone system designed for those who want to quickly and easily connect up to two iPhones (or other phones) to stay safe on the road. No more, no less. If you're looking for fancier features, like FM transmitters or big, blasting speakers, look elsewhere. If you're looking for a well designed, well built, incredibly portable, incredibly inexpensive speakerphone so you hands can stay on the wheel, where they're supposed to, check out the SuperTooth Buddy.

$32.79 - Buy now

Anthony

Anthony is an IT administrator, retro gamer, and accessory reviewer for iMore.

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2 2 61 More of: Accessories, Featured Video, Bluetooth Reviews
More of: supertooth buddy, Supertooth, Bluetooth Speaker, Hands Free ? PreviouslyApple responds to SMS vulnerability concerns, suggests using iMessage Next up ?How a digital life was recovered using 1Password, Dropbox, and DrivesSavers There are 6 comments. Add yours. roid says: Aug 19, 2012 at 10:55 am - 22 hours ago

I was looking for a review, given the title of the post.

I don't see a single word written about how the unit performs, something typically found in a review.

How about telling us:
How is the audio quality?
How does the noise reduction perform?
Things that matter in a Bluetooth speakerphone.

Thanks.

Reply Rene Ritchie says: Aug 19, 2012 at 12:32 pm - 20 hours ago

I'll let Anthony speak to the specifics but when it comes to Bluetooth 2.1 devices, the technology is so old and such a known quality that I'm not sure what much can be added from that perspective any more. Pretty much the crappiest built-in speaker (oh, hi iPhone and iPad!) is better than Bluetooth 2.1.

When something provides exceptional audio quality, like the Jawbone JAMBOX we absolutely mention it.

This guy is exactly what Anthony said it is... a small, relative cheap speakerphone that performs at average levels given the technology it uses.

Reply Gazoobee says: Aug 19, 2012 at 12:59 pm - 20 hours ago

I wish the makers of "Bluetooth speakers" would understand that they are alienating their core market of iOS users by not making Airplay speakers instead. The few extra users they will get by making them Android compatible with Bluetooth is never going to be offset by the reduction in features, usability and simplicity that not making them Airplay will engender. Airplay speakers have better quality, are easier to use and setup and far more versatile than a "Bluetooth speaker." Why not just admit that Apple does make a good standard now and then, bite the bullet, and make proper Airplay speakers that everyone can use without being a geek.

Reply Tekoo says: Aug 19, 2012 at 1:18 pm - 19 hours ago

How would you integrate and use AirPlay with a car speakerphone??

Reply cardfan says: Aug 19, 2012 at 4:17 pm - 16 hours ago

I'm not sure what this would provide over simply getting a car mount for your iphone. That's enough to be superior to this product.

Add in a BT car stereo (with an external mic) and you're good to go.

Reply Stevenojobs says: Aug 20, 2012 at 6:09 am - 3 hours ago

I know this accessory !

And i absolutely want to know how did you change the back of your iphone logo ?? I SO WANT THE SAME THING ! so cool ! Please tell me i tried to google it but no luck

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