IOGEAR GBU211 Bluetooth To USB Adapter

List Price: $35.99 Discount Price: $24.95

Features:

• Bluetooth specification 1.2 compliant to reduce interference with Wi-Fi devices
• USB specification 1.1 compliant
• Communicates and controls Bluetooth-enabled devices
• Up to 66 feet (20 meters) wireless working distance
• Built-in security to assure the privacy of your communication – pairing, encryption, and authentication

Accessories:

Iogear Bluetooth to USB Adapter

Customer Reviews:

works well. Quick start quide has some mistake [Posted on 2005-12-08]
I got mine today at Fry's. It works all right with my logitech BT headset. I had some problem installing it. I believe the reason was that I followed the instruction on the quick start guide which is actually incorrect. By ignoring the advice to disconnect the adapter during driver installation I succeeded in the second round. BTW, I am using Win XP.

An extension cord helps with better signal, which doesn't come with the little usb adapter.

Reliable, fully featured, and compatible. [Posted on 2005-12-18]
This device works well on Windows XP, Service Pack 2, with not a single problem in recognizing the hardware.

Installing the included software and drivers is optional because Windows XP has included Bluetooth support in its service pack, but I can confirm that installing the included drivers resulted in no problems.

The device has a rounded form factor, which could become a problem when sharing room with other USB devices on hubs of tightly spaced USB ports.

I have successfully paired the device with the Motorola Razr, the Motorola V551, and the Nokia 6230, as expected. With a lower price tag than most other USB Bluetooth adapters, as well as its full pack of features, this Bluetooth adapter is a bargain.

Not 2.0 compliant. [Posted on 2005-12-31]
I use the IOgear GBU211 for a modem connection with my Motorola E815 bluetooth capable phone. It paired to my laptop without any difficulties. The phone itself has a 66' bluetooth radius so I only needed the same from the bluetooth adapter; if you want to use bluetooth headphones definitely go with something that has a stronger signal.

I remember hearing about bluetooth technology about 4 years ago and it has taken its time in finding its niches in the market. I'm seeing it everywhere now, and although I initially got this just for use with my phone-modem, I can see myself using this adapter for wireless headphones or a wireless mouse (though I hear the mice suffer from lag, so I'm holding out on that).

A big con on this product is that it's bluetooth 1.2, which has a 723kbps (or 90kBps) limit. It works fine for a modem connection but not for file-transfers; it takes 11 seconds to transfer 1 megabyte at that rate. The bluetooth 2.0 standard is three times faster and is backward compatible. Higher throughput will also have less bottlenecking if you're using multiple bluetooth items (say simultaneously using a BT mouse, BT headphones, BT modem & BT networking/internet sharing). There will be more & more bluetooth gadgets coming along and a computer can have only one adapter installed at a time. Although this product works as advertised I recommend getting one that's 2.0 compliant.

Excellent Easy-to-use Dongle [Posted on 2006-03-19]
The Iogear adapter worked great with my iBook and Motorola PEBL phone. Pretty self-explanatory (of you are at all familiar with your system) and worked great without having to use the included software with OSX (10.4.3, Tiger). Really handy to have if one is not ready or able to get an internal bluetooth card for a one's machine. This is a great piece of gear and at about $20, definitely worth the throw.

Great for the price [Posted on 2006-08-12]
Bottom line up front:

Works very well, very low price, works much better with the
included drivers than with the generic windows xp driver

Detailed review:

I bought this so I could use my new Treo 700w with my non-bluetooth-enabled laptop. The price was my main motivation in buying it.

Initially I just plugged it in and used the default windows xp drivers and it worked okay, however it didn't always work and i'd have to unplug/replug for my phone and the device to find and talk to each other.

After getting tired of that, I decided to install the drivers that ship with the product. I've had a much better experience since i did that. I was afraid the software would be really clunky given the cheap price, but it's actually quite good and gives you a TON of options that the standard XP driver does not provide.

If you use a this with a laptop and you dock/undock it, you'll have much better luck if you stop the adapter prior to docking/undocking. Otherwise, you'll probably end up having to unplug/replug it.

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