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Magnetic Induction Technology Headset Reviewed

Posted by timothy on from the crystals-don't-sound-so-hot dept.

Semi-Anonymous Coward writes "The first review of a wireless headset using Magnetic Induction technolgy has been posted at mobile technology website MobileBurn. The reviewer mentions that the technology provides almost 'crystal clear' phone conversations, which is better than most Bluetooth headsets he has used. The magnetic induction technology creates a 'bubble' around the user which increases the security of their communications. Is this the replacement for Bluetooth in Audio applications? It certainly looks like it..."

10 of 158 comments (clear)

  1. Looks like by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    It certainly looks like it...

    Looks like a cause of lawsuits 25 years down the road when most of the 1st world dies of brain cancer.

    1. Re:Looks like by cynicalmoose · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Unlikely
      Magnetic induction has been used for years for two things - brain scans (which don't (I hope) cause cancer), and hearing aid loops.

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    2. Re:Looks like by *weasel · · Score: 2, Insightful

      deaf people have been known to wear their hearing aides every waking moment.

      i would think if magnetic induction were inherently hazardous to your health, deaf people would have been dropping like flies from brain cancer by now.

      --
      // "Can't clowns and pirates just -try- to get along?"
  2. Is it just me... by tbase · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...or is anyone else a little apprehensive about pairing the phrases "magnetic induction" and "headset"?

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    666-607: 6th floor apartment of the beast
    1. Re:Is it just me... by Walter+Wart · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Not really. An MRI scanner uses fields of about 2 TESLA. That's tens of thousands of times as strong as the Earth's magnetic field. It doesn't make your blood boil through hysterisis or anything like that.

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  3. Creates a magnetic bubble by Space+cowboy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ... which I can see being great for the phone. Does it interfere with the WiFi network as well ? If A interferes with B, shouldn't you expect (B) to interfere with A...

    "Excuse me Mr. Jones, could you move to the other side of the room please, you're corrupting the network"...

    Simon.

    --
    Physicists get Hadrons!
  4. Strange use of terms. by fireboy1919 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    No phone uses magnets and induction?

    I can think of a device in a phone that does.

    The idea is that a coil of wire (known as an "inductor") creates a magnetic field due to an electric current that varies in strength (this is known as an "electromagnet"), which then attracts and repels it, along with a cone designed to move sound, from a permanent magnet. In other words, the movement of the electromagnet moves the cone, which moves the air to create sound. Clever isn't it? Modern, perhaps? The whole mechanism is currently known as a "speaker."

    I'm sure that this is neat and modern, but the naming scheme leaves something to be desired. What does "magnetic induction" mean in this case?

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  5. Why replace bluetooth? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Really, this tech seems like a great leap backwards. I can't think of any advantage except price. With bluetooth you have decent range (leave the phone on a table and walk around 10-15m away), encryption and pairing (so your headset talks to your phone, and not everyone in range) and it's already available in phone, PDAs, computers (use your headset for VoIP...).

    Really, what's wrong with bluetooth?

  6. Re:How about fixing the ones we have? by panurge · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The Nokia inductive loop fitment (fits 6310s etc, do not believe what it says on the box - Nokia don't know their own product range) works superbly, though if like me you have an in-ear aid you have to put up with strangers thinking you are completely mad - holding a conversation with yourself with no visible equipment at all. There is a Motorola version which for some reason is far more expensive. Sound quality is vastly better than Bluetooth headsets etc. simply because the transducers in phones and headsets are mostly crap. I find it interesting that mobile phones look increasingly exotic while two of the bits that really matter - the input and output transducers - are so inferior compared to those used by Siemens, Widex, Starkey etc.

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  7. does it erase creditcard data while youre at it? by tkjtkj · · Score: 3, Insightful

    magnetic induction is not the best thing to have around such things as creditcards, computer chips, and compasses .. So ... how safe is it for the above devices?? tkjtkj

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