We take a look at the BL@ST Bluetooth headset which boasts a built-in FM transmitter that turns your car stereo into a handsfree for your phone.
A while back we featured a piece on Lambda BL@ST, the company producing a Bluetooth headset designed and built in this country.
Well, the device is now out of testing stages and should hit the market as you read this.
A while back we featured a piece on Lambda BL@ST, the company producing a Bluetooth headset designed and built in this country.
Well, the device is now out of testing stages and should hit the market as you read this.
In.Tech got an advance unit for review and here’s our thoughts on the shipping version of the BL@ST.
Two radios in one
So what’s interesting about the BL@ST is that it’s not just a Bluetooth headset — this device comes with an FM transmitter built-in so you can easily transfer your calls to your car stereo by just tuning into the same channel the headset is transmitting at.
However, I’m getting ahead of myself here, so I’ll deal with the main features first.
The BL@ST is a nice-looking device — build quality is good and it’s actually about the size of most in-ear Bluetooth headsets, although in fact it’s a device that’s made to be clipped on to your shirt or pocket and used with a pair of regular 3.5mm stereo earphones.
In addition to the regular headset profile, the BL@ST supports A2DP Bluetooth stereo as well, and as such comes with a pair of high-quality in-ear earphones so you can stream high-quality music from your phone when you’re not making phone calls.
Turn on the BL@ST (by holding down the Stop/Play button for two seconds) and you’ll be presented with a bright OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display hidden on the front face of the product.
The OLED display is very bright and easily readable in a variety of lighting situations, and shows you, amongst other things, the phone’s signal strength, volume level and battery life of the BL@ST.
The functions of the device are accessed and navigated entirely using the directional pad and the Play/Stop button in the centre.
Other than the nice display, the big feature of the BL@ST is that it has an FM transmitter built-in — once you have it turned on, you can transfer the audio output to your car stereo by just tuning your car stereo to the appropriate FM radio frequency.
The BL@ST actually supports 15 possible radio frequencies so you should be able to find a frequency with as little interference as possible.
In fact, you don’t actually have to tune your car radio to a frequency without any radio channels because the BL@ST is quite capable of overriding any weaker radio channels that are on any one frequency.
Once you perform the usual Bluetooth pairing procedure you’re basically up and running and if you want to switch to the FM transmitter, all you need to do is hold down the Forward button for two seconds.
In case you’re wondering, once the BL@ST is in FM transmitter mode, it is possible for other car radios tuned to the same frequency to listen in on your call.
So, if you’re having a private and confidential conversation, it’s probably better to use the supplied earphones instead.
For the rest of us, however, I don’t think our mundane calls would even be of interest to any user even if they happen to be tuned in.
In use
Since all navigation and modes are accessed using just five different buttons, setting up the BL@ST for the first time and accessing some of the other features can be a bit confusing at first.
Also, you have to press some buttons in combination to do some things, so I highly recommend you sit down and read the quick start guide before you start using the device.
Once set up however, most of the button combinations are standard for Bluetooth headsets — for example, you can end a call by hitting the Play/Stop button or mute a call by pressing the Forward button once.
The one thing that you will probably access the most is the FM transmitter and that is accessed by holding down the Forward button for about two seconds or longer, after which you’ll get a visual confirmation that the transmitter is on.
IMHO, the BL@ST really could have benefited from a little slider switch to turn on or off the FM transmitter — this way, you’d get a clear visual cue of whether you have FM on or not, without having to turn on the display.
Security concerns aside, inadvertently having the headset transmitting your music or your phone calls all the time would really drain the battery and a slider switch would really go a long way to at least minimise this problem.
If you don’t have any music or calls running, the FM transmitter will turn off after a few minutes to save power.
Other than that, audio quality on the BL@ST was very good — A2DP audio quality is very good and had a good balance of bass and treble.
The BL@ST actually comes with a built-in DSP and twin micropphones — one to pick up your voice and the other analyse and cancel out background noise when you’re making phone calls.
So, people receiving your calls will hear you loud and clear even when you’re making calls in noisy environments. We actually tested this feature and found it worked very well to isolate your voice from extraneous noise.
Audio quality using the FM transmitter was good, although you really need to make sure the BL@ST is clipped to your shirt or somewhere in your car where it’s not covered for interference-free audio.
Battery life on standby was pretty good — I managed to have it on standby for about three days, with some music listening and making a few phone calls.
I’d say if you’re a heavy user, you’d probably have no problems running it for at least one working day without having to recharge.
Interestingly, the BL@ST actually can charge while it’s being used, so if you have a car charger you can run it even when it’s charging.
Conclusion
The BL@ST is a relatively budget-priced Bluetooth headset with a solid set of features.
Sound quality was also pretty good overall, and thanks to the noise cancellation feature, even people who receive your calls will be able to hear you when you are in a noisy environment.
Of course, the FM transmitter is really icing on the cake and works as advertised, although as mentioned before, a dedicated slider for turning on or off the transmitter would have made the feature a lot more practical in use.
The BL@ST is worth considering if you’re in the market for a Bluetooth headset.
Pros: OLED screen; very clear audio for both caller and receiver; FM transmitter.
Cons: FM transmitter could do with a dedicated switch.
BL@ST Specification
(Lambda Mobile Apps)
Bluetooth stereo headset
Bluetooth profiles: A2DP, Bluetooth headset profile
Standby/talk time: 140/3.5 hours
Other features: FM radio transmitter, OLED display, Caller ID, dual microphone with background noise cancellation
Weight: 20g
Dimensions (w x d x h): 20 x 10 x 63mm
Two radios in oneSo what’s interesting about the BL@ST is that it’s not just a Bluetooth headset — this device comes with an FM transmitter built-in so you can easily transfer your calls to your car stereo by just tuning into the same channel the headset is transmitting at.
However, I’m getting ahead of myself here, so I’ll deal with the main features first.
The BL@ST is a nice-looking device — build quality is good and it’s actually about the size of most in-ear Bluetooth headsets, although in fact it’s a device that’s made to be clipped on to your shirt or pocket and used with a pair of regular 3.5mm stereo earphones.
In addition to the regular headset profile, the BL@ST supports A2DP Bluetooth stereo as well, and as such comes with a pair of high-quality in-ear earphones so you can stream high-quality music from your phone when you’re not making phone calls.
Turn on the BL@ST (by holding down the Stop/Play button for two seconds) and you’ll be presented with a bright OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display hidden on the front face of the product.
The OLED display is very bright and easily readable in a variety of lighting situations, and shows you, amongst other things, the phone’s signal strength, volume level and battery life of the BL@ST.
The functions of the device are accessed and navigated entirely using the directional pad and the Play/Stop button in the centre.
Other than the nice display, the big feature of the BL@ST is that it has an FM transmitter built-in — once you have it turned on, you can transfer the audio output to your car stereo by just tuning your car stereo to the appropriate FM radio frequency.
The BL@ST actually supports 15 possible radio frequencies so you should be able to find a frequency with as little interference as possible.
In fact, you don’t actually have to tune your car radio to a frequency without any radio channels because the BL@ST is quite capable of overriding any weaker radio channels that are on any one frequency.
Once you perform the usual Bluetooth pairing procedure you’re basically up and running and if you want to switch to the FM transmitter, all you need to do is hold down the Forward button for two seconds.
In case you’re wondering, once the BL@ST is in FM transmitter mode, it is possible for other car radios tuned to the same frequency to listen in on your call.
So, if you’re having a private and confidential conversation, it’s probably better to use the supplied earphones instead.
For the rest of us, however, I don’t think our mundane calls would even be of interest to any user even if they happen to be tuned in.
In use
Since all navigation and modes are accessed using just five different buttons, setting up the BL@ST for the first time and accessing some of the other features can be a bit confusing at first.
Also, you have to press some buttons in combination to do some things, so I highly recommend you sit down and read the quick start guide before you start using the device.
Once set up however, most of the button combinations are standard for Bluetooth headsets — for example, you can end a call by hitting the Play/Stop button or mute a call by pressing the Forward button once.
The one thing that you will probably access the most is the FM transmitter and that is accessed by holding down the Forward button for about two seconds or longer, after which you’ll get a visual confirmation that the transmitter is on.
IMHO, the BL@ST really could have benefited from a little slider switch to turn on or off the FM transmitter — this way, you’d get a clear visual cue of whether you have FM on or not, without having to turn on the display.
Security concerns aside, inadvertently having the headset transmitting your music or your phone calls all the time would really drain the battery and a slider switch would really go a long way to at least minimise this problem.
If you don’t have any music or calls running, the FM transmitter will turn off after a few minutes to save power.
Other than that, audio quality on the BL@ST was very good — A2DP audio quality is very good and had a good balance of bass and treble.
The BL@ST actually comes with a built-in DSP and twin micropphones — one to pick up your voice and the other analyse and cancel out background noise when you’re making phone calls.
So, people receiving your calls will hear you loud and clear even when you’re making calls in noisy environments. We actually tested this feature and found it worked very well to isolate your voice from extraneous noise.
Audio quality using the FM transmitter was good, although you really need to make sure the BL@ST is clipped to your shirt or somewhere in your car where it’s not covered for interference-free audio.
Battery life on standby was pretty good — I managed to have it on standby for about three days, with some music listening and making a few phone calls.
I’d say if you’re a heavy user, you’d probably have no problems running it for at least one working day without having to recharge.
Interestingly, the BL@ST actually can charge while it’s being used, so if you have a car charger you can run it even when it’s charging.
Conclusion
The BL@ST is a relatively budget-priced Bluetooth headset with a solid set of features.
Sound quality was also pretty good overall, and thanks to the noise cancellation feature, even people who receive your calls will be able to hear you when you are in a noisy environment.
Of course, the FM transmitter is really icing on the cake and works as advertised, although as mentioned before, a dedicated slider for turning on or off the transmitter would have made the feature a lot more practical in use.
The BL@ST is worth considering if you’re in the market for a Bluetooth headset.
Pros: OLED screen; very clear audio for both caller and receiver; FM transmitter.
Cons: FM transmitter could do with a dedicated switch.
BL@ST Specification
(Lambda Mobile Apps)
Bluetooth stereo headset
Bluetooth profiles: A2DP, Bluetooth headset profile
Standby/talk time: 140/3.5 hours
Other features: FM radio transmitter, OLED display, Caller ID, dual microphone with background noise cancellation
Weight: 20g
Dimensions (w x d x h): 20 x 10 x 63mm
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