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Blue Tango Classic Bluetooth MP3 Player Reviewed

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the stuff-to-play-with dept.

VL writes "Looking to broadcast your tunes around the house? We look at a product that does that without the hassles of wires. The theory behind this sound card is very interesting, that of wireless audio from a computer to a speaker system in another room. The downside to this is that it is a class II Bluetooth device, which suffers from short range for the signal, 12' isn't really that great for a wireless device."

86 comments

  1. Fair Use? by Sparr0 · · Score: 3, Informative

    12 feet seems like fair use. Lots of people use FM transmitters in their car to do that. How far is copyright infringement? If you broadcast your music 200 feet are you still ok? 20000?

    1. Re:Fair Use? by Haiku+4+U · · Score: 1, Funny
      12 feet seems like fair use. Lots of people use FM transmitters in their car to do that. How far is copyright infringement? If you broadcast your music 200 feet are you still ok? 20000?

      I believe the case
      you are looking at is one
      of "Far Use". Ha Ha!

    2. Re:Fair Use? by Sparr0 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      My first FP and I didn't even realize it, I just assumed there was plenty of stuff already buried under my threshold/filters.

    3. Re:Fair Use? by mooncaine · · Score: 1

      Seems pointless to me. 12 feet isn't too long to run a cable. I was hoping for more like 150 feet, so I could listen to the stereo [or the tv's audio] downstairs in the garage.

  2. Obligatory CmdrTaco comment by generic-man · · Score: 1

    Wireless, but less space than an iPod. Lame.

    --
    For more information, click here.
  3. bluetooth headset? by ctar · · Score: 2, Insightful

    12' isn't really that great for a wireless device.

    It is if your receiver is a wireless headset - I've been trying to find a good solution to receive bluetooth audio from my powerbook into some sort of wireless headset (last time I researched, the cel-phone ones worked, but supposedly with limited quality)

    1. Re:bluetooth headset? by kfg · · Score: 1

      And exactly the sort of thing that Bluetooth is intended for, to work the speakers on your desk without wires, but without burning up batteries or interfering with other, more long range, wireless devices.

      But I guess a one line shell script isn't done until it can send and recieve email.

      KFG

    2. Re:bluetooth headset? by thatcrazykid · · Score: 2, Informative

      Check out the Icombi AH10. It's a Bluetooth headset capable of receiving audio streams and includes remote control buttons on one of the earpieces. They also have some transmitters for iPods and other devices.

  4. You mean by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 4, Informative

    Looking to broadcast your tunes around the house? We look at a product that does that without the hassles of wires

    Like an FM transmitter?

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
    1. Re:You mean by That's+Unpossible! · · Score: 1

      Like an FM transmitter?

      Try to get one of these to work well in a large city with lots of radio stations. Good luck, you'll need it, or a Faraday cage for a house.

      --
      Ironically, the word ironically is often used incorrectly.
    2. Re:You mean by anagama · · Score: 1

      At 12' it really doesn't seem like much of deal. I've connected my stereo and computer before with a long headphone jack extension -- invisibly. Look at the place where the floor meets the wall -- chances are there is carpet and moulding at that corner. Using the blunt end of a butter knife, push the extension wire under the moulding between your computer and stereo -- at the stereo end, use a headphone to RCA adapter, at the computer end, plug into audio out. I've strung together two 25 footers so I'd have enough to go around doorways and corners with no ill effects and except for the points behind the computer and stereo, complete invisibility. Pretty cheap too.

      --
      What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
    3. Re:You mean by Worminater · · Score: 1

      on nicer stereo equipment i notice quality loss with the cheap 15 dollar 25' digitla jack extension i bought. Difference is most notable on my headphones. Buy some nice shielded wires and that should be fine though..

  5. On the need of a device to *recieve* the signals by Haiku+4+U · · Score: 0
    I would rather have
    A small battery powered
    wireless player.

    I can stream music
    to it from my server in
    your Mom's basement. Nice.

  6. Bleh. Just use your... by consonant · · Score: 1

    iPod! Griffin Technology's iTrip. And it does F.M, so no funny business like being tied down by distance! From the Apple Store - "...the coolest iPod accessory in the world."

    --
    [Slashdot Comments We Liked]
    1. Re:Bleh. Just use your... by civman2 · · Score: 1
      And it does F.M, so no funny business like being tied down by distance!

      I don't know what you did to your iTrip, but mine certainly has range limitations. If I take it more than about 5 feet from my car antenna, it starts to get a bit crackly, and if I go even farther, it cuts out entirely to static.

      FM may go farther than Bluetooth, but it still has distance limitations.
    2. Re:Bleh. Just use your... by rcbarnes · · Score: 1

      Highly NOT recommended. I sell retail in the summers, and we get nearly as many of these back as we sell. Perhaps a later rev. of the hardware will be more reliable, but between the low power signal and high failure rate we see, I say stay away for a bit...

      --
      "Fight for lost causes. You may discover they weren't."
    3. Re:Bleh. Just use your... by e2d2 · · Score: 1

      Yeah I bet you get hardly any attenuation with that powerful FM IPod transmitter! No distance limitation what so ever :P

      Seriously though, even "low-power FM" transmissions are regulated by the FCC. What's considered low-power to the FCC? It means Effective Radiated Power (ERP) maximum of 100 watts! I might be crazy but I doubt the IPod can generate this much power (5v x 1A = ucantdoeeet).

      Even these can only broadcast about 3.5 miles with a 100 ft. antenna: http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/lpfm/index.html

    4. Re:Bleh. Just use your... by e2d2 · · Score: 2, Informative

      From the ITrip website:

      Operating range: 10-30 feet, depending on the quality of the FM radio receiver (limited by FCC regulations)

    5. Re:Bleh. Just use your... by Pollardito · · Score: 1

      i would trust someone who owns it over their website, the grandparent clearly has one and gets less range from it than that

    6. Re:Bleh. Just use your... by e2d2 · · Score: 1

      Agreed. The web site is gonna use the range under best conditions using the standard DB isotropic antenna ("perfect", for mathematical purposes). But I've used one of these, they are made for inside the car so they _seem_ to work ok as far as signal goes.

  7. Something similar? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was looking for something similar. Not using bluetooth or anything - just to connect to audio devices via the normal 3.5mm plug wirelessly. For example to connect pc to hifi without trailing wires.

  8. The bloody metric system. by GNUALMAFUERTE · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    That's 3.65m, when is the USA going to leave the the IX century and use the metric system?, it's specially strange that /. doesn't correct quotes to use the metric system, it's called 'editing', that's what editors are suposed to do.

    --
    WTF am I doing replying to an AC at 5 A.M on a Friday night?
    1. Re:The bloody metric system. by Solder+Fumes · · Score: 1

      "when is the USA going to leave the the IX century and use the metric system?"

      When the other countries have more fucking nukes, man.

    2. Re:The bloody metric system. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This from a person who proclaims that the US is stuck in the 9th century?

      Hi. The US wasn't even formed until the 18th century.

      Oh, you thought that IX meant 19? When will trolls leave the I century and use Arabic numerals?

    3. Re:The bloody metric system. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      The US officially adopted the metric system decades ago. Everyone just ignored it. Other than forcing people to use it at gunpoint, what do you suggest that isn't totalitarian?

    4. Re:The bloody metric system. by EternityInterface · · Score: 0

      When you don't use roman numerals you're COUNTING WITH THE TERRORISTS.

      --
      the sun is god
    5. Re:The bloody metric system. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Poster needs a bloody bloody editor.

    6. Re:The bloody metric system. by Biff78 · · Score: 1

      The US system of measurement dates from 1593 in England, hence the US left the 9th century behind by 700 years. Furthermore, it has always been the perogative of the dominant economic power to dictate the system of weights and measures used in trade. Since the US is the dominant economic power with a GDP greater than China and Japan combined (2 & 3, respectively,) not to mention a GDP greater than the entire 25 member state European Union, it is actually quite generous of us to continue to let the rest of the world use their quaint metric system. Flame on!

    7. Re:The bloody metric system. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please get your facts straight.

    8. Re:The bloody metric system. by droptone · · Score: 1

      Technically, 2 and 3 in the world rankings of GDP would be the European Union and China, with their combined GDP ousting the U.S. by $7,162,000,000,000. I think it's fair to include the EU as relevent since you phrased it as "economic power" and not as countries. Goodday sir.

      --
      Every post I make begins with the assumption P=~P.
    9. Re:The bloody metric system. by pyrrhonist · · Score: 2, Funny
      when is the USA going to leave the the IX century and use the metric system?

      Dec. 23, 1975

      Where have you been?

      --
      Show me on the doll where his noodly appendage touched you.
    10. Re:The bloody metric system. by Monstard · · Score: 1

      Since when does a wanker who moans yet again about the u.s. using an intuitive and meaningful measurement system get modded as "Interesting"?

    11. Re:The bloody metric system. by Xenotionar · · Score: 1

      These are actually Hindu numerals... the Arabs got them from further east...

      People used to pay a lot less attention to this stuff.

      --
      To vacillate or not to vacillate, that is the question... or is it?
    12. Re:The bloody metric system. by Danger+Stevens · · Score: 1

      There's little that's intuitive about a base-2 system that started out with the measure of a king's foot. We've crippled ourselves by sticking with these crappy measurements.

      base-10 is the way our math system runs, we should have a measuring system that reflects that.

      Australia converted their whole country pretty much overnight. If we didn't have such a large population of reactionaries who're scared of anything that might seem communist we'd have been there too.

      --
      World Changing - News for Humans, Stuff about our planet
    13. Re:The bloody metric system. by zippthorne · · Score: 1

      When metric system users start using the metric system.

      Why would you talk about kilogram-force or "it weighs 4 kilogrms" when you've got a perfectly serviceable unit for force already in that system.

      I thought half the point of SI was to disambiguate such things. The US standard system has two units for mass and one for force, but magically everyone uses them correctly. (ok well the magic is that one of the units for force is the same as the unit for mass, but surely that comes from the days when people didn't know there was a difference between weight and mass)

      --
      Can you be Even More Awesome?!
    14. Re:The bloody metric system. by mooncaine · · Score: 1

      I'm with ya -- the math of measurements would be so much easier for me if my fellow Americans used the metric system. I was a kid when they tried it -- seemed perfectly sensible and easy to understand to me and the kids with me.

      Since we never were forced to use it, I didn't develop a good sense of "how long is a centimeter" or "how heavy is a kilogram", but I bet that would come after only a short time of using the metric system. I sure did get a good sense of how much volume a liter was.

      I even liked the Celsius temperature system. It's all so simple and useful: 0 freezes water, and 100 boils it.

    15. Re:The bloody metric system. by linj · · Score: 1

      Actually, this was developed in Taiwan, and the length was originally measured in metric.

      Oh, and Bluetooth doesn't conflict with wi-fi as much as 2.4GHz does, which is what most of its competitors use. Although Bluetooth has shorter range, many people already use 2.4GHz phones and devices, so that's why Bluetooth was selected over 2.4GHz. Erm, one more thing praising this: this thing can run with other Bluetooth enabled A2DP devices, such as a Pocket PC. In that case, if you have the drivers, the receiver works with your phone, PDA, or even your laptop computer.

  9. On why an FM trans/receiver is close to worthless by Haiku+4+U · · Score: 0
    FM transmitters
    don't allow you to control
    what is being sent.

    Airport Express '2'
    should run on batteries and
    send transport info.

    Then your server can
    do what you pay it to do.
    Serve the mp3s!

  10. Even better... by hotsauce · · Score: 1

    ...an 802.11 hub that plugs into your receiver, so that you can pick receivers from your computer: Airport Express.

    --
    Lies about crimes
    1. Re:Even better... by tsm_sf · · Score: 1

      That's what I immediately thought of... seems like a real hardware-intensive way to do the same thing, for more money and less functionality. I read the FA, am I missing something? (emoticon denoting my comment as snark-free)

      --
      Literalism isn't a form of humor, it's you being irritating.
  11. 12' is a joke! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    12' (without walls!) doesn't even reach into the garden.

    Seriously, this hardware is more of a cheap rip off than worth being submitted here as news!

    How small is the label on the package that says it's only 12'?

    1. Re:12' is a joke! by typidemon · · Score: 1

      10 meters is pretty good if you don't want your headphones to be cabled into your laptop.

  12. Slashdot Editing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Amazing that yet another stupid review from a site that is like 1000s of others gets through the system. Nice editing guys.

    News for Nerds. Stuff that nobody gives a shit about.

  13. bitrate? by Jeremy+Erwin · · Score: 1

    What's the bitrate of this device? If it's less than 1536 kbs, is the audio compressed? Is this compression lossy?

    1. Re:bitrate? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All audio recorded, whether on wax cylinders, vinyl, or digitally, is encoded with some sort of lossy compression.

    2. Re:bitrate? by bmidgley · · Score: 1

      The A2DP encoder, even at highest quality, is well below 700kbps (the bluetooth 1.x baseband rate). And yes, it's a lossy codec that is not as size efficient as mp3 but is supposed to be have greater cpu efficiency.

      You cut the complexity and bitrate in half when using A2DP's 4 subband rather than higher quality 8 subbands. I have a sort of tinny sounding headset (iTech) so I prefer the results when using 4 subbands.

    3. Re:bitrate? by Jeremy+Erwin · · Score: 1

      A "tinny sounding headset", eh? Perhaps such things will suffice for cell phones, but for listening to music?

  14. Well done by mnemonic_ · · Score: 1

    Comment of the day I think :)

  15. Do you really want your sounds in the next room ? by fuzzymutant · · Score: 0

    If it is to play half life, no ...

    If it is access to your mp3's, you might as well have a wireless media player - otherwise you have no ability to change the selection with the device.

    Both the wireless media player and this beast require your pc running, one has a useful interface.

    --
    Does anyone read this ?
  16. Sounds like... by Yahweh+Doesn't+Exist · · Score: 1

    http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/airtunes.html

  17. Airport Express? by AnnualSparrow · · Score: 2, Informative

    Odd that TFA doesn't mention Apple's Airport Express, which has been doing something like this for a year or so. It's wifi, so the range is good, and it'll connect to a stereo with digital-optical or analog inputs. You don't have to replace your soundcard, either.

    But you do have to use iTunes. Anyone managed to send audio to an Airport Express from an open-source application, yet?

    1. Re:Airport Express? by generic-man · · Score: 2, Informative

      http://www.rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/

      Airfoil lets you stream to an Airport Express from any Mac OS X application. Sadly it's not open source -- it's $25 shareware -- but it does sidestep the need for you to use iTunes for everything.

      --
      For more information, click here.
    2. Re:Airport Express? by electrichamster · · Score: 3, Informative

      http://raop-play.sourceforge.net/ or http://nanocrew.net/?page_id=115

    3. Re:Airport Express? by radish · · Score: 1

      SlimDevices' squeezebox is the pro version of an Airport Express : Burr-Brown DACs, VFD display, 802.11g/ethernet, large buffer to cope with flaky bandwidth, built in FLAC support and a lot more. And the server software is GPL, supported on Linux, Win and OSX.

      Have Fun!

      --

      ---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"

  18. and that means you can't count? by enrgeeman · · Score: 1

    the 9th century is the 800s, and therefore, you are off by 100 years.
    1593~1600
    1600-800=800
    and yes, the us measurements system is better.

    --
    sent from my slashdot browser.
    1. Re:and that means you can't count? by Biff78 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      the 9th century is the 800s, and therefore, you are off by 100 years. 1593~1600 1600-800=800 and yes, the us measurements system is better. You are correct on all counts.

  19. Make you a deal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We'll start using the metric system if you guys start brushing your teeth. Sound like a plan?

  20. I just crank the volume up.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    ... problem solved.

    1. Re:I just crank the volume up.. by Error629 · · Score: 1

      I think I live next to you. Britney Spears is no longer cool, man. It's all about Jessica now.

      --
      _________
      The world doesn't just disappear when you close your eyes, does it?
  21. What is good for most should be mandatory for all by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'd like to expound on this person's ideas by demanding that the world run only on Windows and speak only Chinese.

  22. Yeah, sounds like Airport Express by Myrkridian42 · · Score: 1
    Except I think the Blue Tango sucks, by comparison.

    The Airport Express is 802.11g, so it has range much longer than 12 feet, you can use it to wirelessly network your printer as well as your stereo, and is cheaper.

    1. Re:Yeah, sounds like Airport Express by UserChrisCanter4 · · Score: 1

      Yes and no.

      The Blue Tango is essentially a wireless soundcard output. It will play music from iTunes, but also from Winamp, a videogame, a movie, or the email notification sound.

      Airport Express plays music from iTunes. Period. That music is streamed to the airport express as an encrypted Apple Lossless Audio Codec stream. Jon Johansen (of DeCSS fame) managed to crack the method used to establish that stream, but his crack was simply intended to allow a user to play Apple Lossless Audio files from something other than iTunes. Using it it in the same way as this Blue Tango would require some sort of software "soundcard" which would pipe input to an Apple Audio encoder, encrypt the stream, and send it on its way. As far as I know, no such solution exists, though I think all of the intermediate parts do.

      Don't get me wrong, if you want a way to stream your music around the house, an Airport Express is definitely the way to go. If for some reason you want an easy way to wirelessly send ALL audio from your computer to a nearby stereo, the Airport Express is going to be overly complex.

    2. Re:Yeah, sounds like Airport Express by Myrkridian42 · · Score: 1

      Airport express does only play iTunes, unless you use Airfoil. With that you can send any audio you want.

  23. Off-topic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why is the parent not modded off-topic? Because it bashes the US?

  24. Class II Bluetooth is 30', not 12' by Locutus · · Score: 1

    Class III ~1M( 3' )
    Class II ~10M( 30' )
    Class 1 ~100M( 300' )

    YMMV since if you put one end of this in a 6'x6'x6' metal cage, your actual range will be 6'.

    LoB

    --
    "Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
    1. Re:Class II Bluetooth is 30', not 12' by Locutus · · Score: 1

      my bad, I commented on the article headline and didn't read the article before posting. The article spec's what I said but said that they were only able to get 12' in clear space and this is an obvious flaw in the system design and spec. Most likely an antenna design problem in one of the devices.

      this is a massive error in design for this kind of product.

      LoB

      --
      "Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
  25. Bedroom by imunfair · · Score: 1

    Give me a break, my bedroom is bigger than 12' - much less the rest of my house. What exactly is the point of a wireless device when I can comfortably get a wire the same length. (I say comfortably because obviously I COULD stroll around with my laptop...)

    I'm all for useful technology... but this will set me back $140 - more than a mini ipod, which I can carry anywhere, and which holds 1000-2000 songs (meaning I wouldn't have to refill it often even if listening almost constantly)

    1. Re:Bedroom by Sparr0 · · Score: 1

      What if you want to, for instance, dance while listening? Wireless headphones with 12' range are extremely useful. This kind of device I am not so sure about, but I guarantee there will be a market for it.

  26. troll? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    funny.

    he gets modded as a troll, but the dude who says something similar 2 below gets modded as +4 funny.

    strange

  27. Just Bluetooth v1.1 by Qwavel · · Score: 1

    WiFi is becoming very common and it doesn't seem to get along very well with BT v1.1.

    I'm told that BT v1.2 works better in WiFi environments, so I will wait for something that supports 1.2.

    Are there any other products like this (that might usee 1.2)?

  28. UK... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does this get round the illegalities of broadcasting anything over the FM/AM/SW bands in Britain? (iTrip's being illegal here for that very reason. Or rather, the use of an iTrip is illegal, if you want to store it as a weird paperweight there's no problem)

  29. Re:On the need of a device to *recieve* the signal by NekoXP · · Score: 1

    How did you break in
    To my mom's house, in order
    To fit the server?

  30. Mastercard Presents: Blue Tango by timothykaine · · Score: 1

    12' audio cable: $1.99

    The feeling of getting ripped off by purchasing a wireless device that cant even reach as far as your own arms and legs: priceless

    1. Re:Mastercard Presents: Blue Tango by typidemon · · Score: 1

      Class 2 bluetooth is actually 10 meters.
      Crying about technology you have no clue about: Priceless.

  31. You can't copyright a title, but ... by Lucas+Membrane · · Score: 1

    "Blue Tango" is a splendid Leroy Anderson musical composition, and although few know the name of the song, many would recognize the melody. As an appellation for this technology, the name resounds with postmodern irony.

  32. Windows version of Airfoil by Cinematique · · Score: 1

    This brings up a question I've wondered for a while now...

    Is there a Windows equivelent of Airfoil, the Airport Extreme audio sender... ?

  33. Somebody delete this crap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Did mommy let you play on dada's computer again?

  34. MOD PARENT UP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, really... mod it up. OP posted flamebait, but at least parent got humor out of it...

  35. Bluetooth 2.0 headphones by owlstead · · Score: 1

    Since the 2.0 specification should indeed make MP3 (or even better, Ogg) stereo sound possible, I am eagerly awaiting digital headphones. I would not mind an additional mike either, as long as it does not mess up the distance that the thing should work. Applications: normal in house use, but also use with laptops, PDA's and MP3 mobile phones.

    WiFi does not work for this due to the amount of energy that is needed, the problem of setting up the connection and the lack of standardisation on the application level.

    Philips and Sennheisser, get your engines started! I'll buy the first functional BT headphones you provide (under euro 300 of course).

    1. Re:Bluetooth 2.0 headphones by Xain · · Score: 0

      I've used a set of HP Bluetooth headphones for several months now, with a Dell Axim PDA. The sound quality isn't great but it's very listenable and vastly better than the built in speaker. The excellent Core Pocket Media Player (formerly Betaplayer) supports all kinds of video and audio (including Ogg) and also supports the audio controls on the headphones. You need an updated Bluetooth stack with a high quality audio profile, it's freely available for Dell's PDAs and probably others. Of course, iPaqs work out of the box.

      --

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