Bluetooth Audio (Jawbone Icon)

[calmor15014]

Just picked up a Jawbone Icon and installed the A2DP software on it. My work Blackberry Curve can see it and use it as an audio gateway, but the Captivate (for whatever reason) can not. Captivate is running the stock 2.1 ROM, no major software updates (no SetCPU or anything) and non-rooted.

The phone connects to the Icon automatically when the Icon is turned on, but if I disconnect using the phone, it will not reconnect without turning the Icon off and back on again. Even just turning off BT on the phone and turning it back on leaves the headset disconnected. Also, I can not adjust the settings in the BT settings window - I check off A2DP, leave the window, and come back to find it unchecked. The Blackberry, by comparison, will connect back to the Icon automatically without shutting down the Icon.

I did unpair the device and re-paired it after the upgrade to the A2DP software.

Is there an issue with the BT on the stock ROM that won't allow this headset to work as an A2DP? If so, any word if that will be fixed in the Froyo update due out in a month or so?

Thanks!

 

[calmor15014]

After a little fooling around, I was able to get the phone to connect as an A2DP device and headset device, with the Icon disconnected from the Blackberry.

Then it wouldn't connect to the Blackberry, even after I shut off A2DP on the Captivate.

In a mad fury of power-cycling devices and switching services on and off, I was somehow finally able to get it to connect to the Blackberry as a headset only (disabling the A2DP services on the BB itself) and the Captivate as both a headset and A2DP gateway. I'm not sure how, and I'm pretty sure if I ever shut anything off it might not work again. I did have to put the Icon into resync mode to even get it to connect to the Captivate again, even though I didn't have to un-pair the Captivate with the Icon.

Weird.

<rant> I never could understand why Nintendo and Sony can use their Bluetooth devices so well (I've never had to re-pair a device unless I had paired it at someone else's house then brought it back home), yet a simple headset was a pain in the neck to make work correctly back in the day. The new headsets (like this Icon) have so many more functions and finally connect to one phone easily, but adding on the extra options makes it work just about as reliably as the old school ones did - not at all. </rant>

On one hand, requiring to put the Icon into "pair" mode to work with the Cappy indicates that the phone may not be to blame, but the Icon itself.

Does anyone else have issues with A2DP on their Captivate, regardless of headset?

 

[sinjin]

offtopic -sort of....how do you like the Icon?

 

[calmor15014]

So far, so good. I think wearing it with the hold-in-your-ear pad will take a little getting used to - I've been wearing it for about 4 hours now and it's a little bothersome, but I'm thinking it will get better. I haven't worn a Bluetooth device in ages.

The call quality is good, it remembers up to 8 devices (and between the two phones and the PS3 that should be fine), and the free upgrade to A2DP should work out well for in-car navigation. I haven't heard anyone complain about the call quality yet.

I haven't had time to do a thorough test of the A2DP volume that I've heard was an issue, but I think they fixed that through software. I wasn't even going to use the A2DP system (I'd rather listen to music through the headphones) but learning it would transmit all the sounds through the headset sold me, as I occasionally use the phone for navigation purposes.

After using it for one day it's a little too early to make the call but it's a strong competitor in the higher-end Bluetooth market.

 

[sinjin]

Thank you for the review...btw what is A2DP? Sorry for my ignorance.

 

[calmor15014]

A2DP stands for Advanced Audio Distribution Profile... essentially it is the Bluetooth service which allows transfer of music and audio. It's typically used in stereo headsets, is one-directional (playback only), and allows for higher quality than the Headset or Hands-free profiles.

On the Captivate as well as most devices that support this profile I'd guess, A2DP will pass all of the sounds (including tap-click noises) through to the receiving device (in this case the Icon). The caveat, with the Icon at least, is that there seems to be a power-saving function which causes the first second or two of the audio to be cut off. After the Icon senses that information is being transmitted, it plays back faithfully. There is then a period of time (maybe 20-30 seconds) after which if no sound is played, it goes back into power-save mode. For turn-by-turn navigation, this is a deal-breaker as you miss half of the direction being given while the device wakes up.

I took my Icon on a bicycle ride with me using the A2DP and the Endomondo app, which gives information at each mile completed. Like the navigation example above, though, I was missing the first parts of the reading. To keep the audio channel open on the return trip, I used the music player app. It had the advantage of playing some music to keep me going, and I didn't miss the beginning of the status announcements.

 

[NewDruid]

Using my Icon is the only way I use the phone. Rarely do I make/receive phone calls just with the phone itself. Love BT, love the Icon.