Customer Reviews

Iogear GBU311 Bluetooth To USB Adapter

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This bluetooth adapter works like a charm on my Dell PC, with XP, SP1. Set up was simple. What I like most about this adapter is how intuitive it is to use. For instance, all I need to do is right click on any word document or MP3, and I can easily send it to any bluetooth enabled device, whether it's my Palm, SE T610 cellphone or laptop. Bluetooth Version 1.2 was important to me because I have a wifi network set up in my house and I needed as little interference as possible.

I've also been able to surf the web via the Bluetooth modem and hotsync my Zire 72 and T5 via Bluetooth. Very cool.

There's lots of other things I plan to do via Bluetooth, like sending faxes.

First of all, contrary to what a previous reviewer has said about "checp laptops reaching 50 degrees C easily" - this is tru, but it does not matter! This is USB adapter, and as such is ouside your laptop, i.e. at room temperature. So, unless the laptop's air exhaust is blowing straight over the USB ports, this is not an issue!

Now, the adapter uses the WIDCOMM BT commans stack, which is apparently one of the better ones out there (certainly seems to be better than Windows XP's default one!). I'm no expert on BT, but a little research on the web seems to confirm this. This stack is quite compatible with Skype, which is the whole reason I bought this adapter and the Logitech MobileFreedom headset in the first place... ;]

Points of note:

1. The headset needs to be connected from the computer, not from the headset side. It uses the audio gateway stack by default to communicate over Skype (configure Skype to use your Bluetooth Audio device rather than the default one - this option is available as of version 1.2 at least, maybe earlier). If you try and use your headset's call pickup button, likelyhood is that it'll connect and then disconnect because there's no phone app to pick up the call (Skype is not BT-compatible by default).

2. There is a Skype third-party add-on (http://www.skypeheadset.co.uk/) that should work with this - have not tried it yet, but the comms stack is supported, so it should be OK.

3. Range: wow! I walked from one end of the office to the other, had continous good, clear connection with this adapter and headset combo. Impressive!

Altogether I'm quite happy with it. Now if only Skype had more built-in support for BT headsets and voice-activated dialing, I'd be truly happy! ;]

This is my first time reviewing product and I do it because I really feel I have to warn others about it. This is also my first time returning a product to Amazon.

It works great for synchronizing. I have Windows XP SP2 and Sprint PPC-6700. However I cannot get it to work with my headset, Bluespoon AX. I know the headset works because I have been able to use it with Targus BT USB. I bought the IOGear because connection with Targus is dropping every 5 minutes or so. IOGear is worse though. It connects to the headset but it doesn't have Audio Gateway service. I have no idea how other people get it to work with their headset. I notice that the reviewers that get it to work with their headset use Logitech. So if your headset is not Logitech, you might want to consider another product.

I am also disappointed with what I believe a marketing problem in IOGear. I admit that it is my fault that I didn't pay attention that Amazon does not list Audio Gateway service on this IOGear. But the funny thing is if you buy this product, the packaging has a picture of this USB connecting with some peripherals, one of them is a headset. However if you go to IOGear website and search for this product, the picture in the web is slightly changed. In the place of the headset, it shows the USB connecting to a camera. A problem with headset?

My last annoyance with this product, although this might be Microsoft fault, Targus fault or a combination with all three, is the software. This IOGear comes with its own BT implementation. It looks like it might work better, but I will never know since I cannot use the product. The problem is I cannot uninstall the software completely. It doesn't appear in Add/Remove Program but it is still there. I bought another Targus BT USB and the software from IOGear keeps appearing and taking over Targus software. I have uninstall/reinstall several times. For example, if I turned off the Targus BT or plug it off, the IOGear software takes over. The problem is the software from IOGear doesn't have Audio Gateway service hence it won't connect to my headset.

All said, I think BT has a lot of holes in its implementation. Try at your own risk.

I bought this in order to update a Parrot hands-free system I'd installed in my car. My personal laptop did not have BT capability, and the device that Parrot sells to update the system cost almost $60 (not to mention I couldn't use it for anything else). The most cost-effective method seemed to be buying a BT adapter that I could use for other purposes.

The IOgear was easily one of the cheaper 1.2 adapters on the market (supposedly having a range of 330 feet and shouldn't interfere with existing wireless technology). I had heard reports of some having issues with XP SP2, but I thought I'd give it a try anyway.

I did have issues with installing it on XP SP2, but a quick search on the Internet provided a fix. (The native XP BT drivers need to be renamed before installation, in a nutshell.) Once installed, it worked well. It doesn't interfere with my 802.11g wireless network in the least bit. It doesn't, however, appear to reach BT devices much beyond 150ft, at least in my experiences. However, it will certainly do to connect some of my printers wirelessly, so it's well worth the price I paid for it.

I'm using this adapter to connect to my bluetooth headset using the headset profile. It's working great and it's very cool to walk around the house as I'm holding a voice conversation on MSN Messenger. The new version of bluetooth (1.2) is a definite improvement from the previous 1.1 standard. The 1.2 standard allows for frequency hoping so you can use it along with your wireless internet connection with minimal frequency interference. Before this new adapter, I could barely connect because of the direct interference. I'm very happy with the connection quality now and I rarely have connection issues. I'm using a new Logitech 1.2 compliant bluetooth headset to connect to my PC. The sound quality is great. You can't beat the price.

Its cheap, it works. Decent range, too. What more do you want?

Interesting note--the PCB inside the case has a tiny blue LED on it that lights up when the dongle is plugged in. Why they didn't incorporate it in the case I don't know. But its a nice blue color; I carved a hole in the case so it shines through.

I will keep this short and to the point. The Iogear GBU311 installed easily on my Windows XP desktop system and has performed flawlessly since then. I use it to sync data to my cell phone/PDA as well as for wireless lan and haven't had a single problem. Coverage is good in both distance and quality. If you want Bluetooth that works and won't give you a problem, in my opinion this is the way to go. And no, I don't work for Iogear.

As a previous reviewer detailed, this device does not provide the audio gateway necessary for use with bluetooth headsets. One reviewer did report positve results with a Logitech MobileFreedom headset, but I have have failed trying with the Motorola 820 and a Platronics 510. In other areas this device performs as expected. However, connecting to a bluetooth headset was important to me, and for that reason I cannot recommend this device.

Works Incredibly well. I have a Zire72 and I can sit on my neighbor's porch and surf the net from home. Installation happened just as instructions said. But, If you want to surf the net on a palmpilot using bluetooth it takes a' bit of work.

First of all you have to go to your device manager in Win XP and find your bluetooth device and tell it to search for an updated driver. That's for all USB bluetooth devices. Lynksys has those instructions on their website, which is a strike against IO Gear & PALM not providing all the information on their support sites. I honestly plan on buying a HP next time because of lacking support from palm.

(...) Great Product, lacking support, and Good Luck.

I also had trouble after installing the software. A glance through the manual indicated that I should uninstall the current Bluetooth driver, but there was no mention of how to do that. A previous reviewer had the following comment... "The native XP BT drivers need to be renamed before installation, in a nutshell"

Well, having spent about an hour trying to figure out just how to do this I can point you to the following web page...

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/840635

Follow method 1, then install the iogear driver. After that things will work correctly. You would think that Microsoft could actually fix this problem with an OS update instead of having everyone figure it out on their own.