Plantronics M155 MARQUE Bluetooth Headset for apple iPhone

The Good The Plantronics Marque M155 is a fashionable and affordable headset that is comfortable in the ear. Audio quality is good. It comes with a free one-year subscription to the Vocalyst service and voice alerts, and you can answer calls with your voice. It also has a visual battery indicator when paired with an iPhone.

The Bad The Plantronics Marque M155 does not have good noise cancellation, resulting in poor call quality when outdoors.
The Bottom Line The Plantronics Marque M155 is an attractive and comfortable Bluetooth headset that complements the iPhone's style, and works well as long as you keep it to indoor usage
Plantronics is marketing the Marque M155 as a Bluetooth headset designed for use with smartphones. Indeed, we can't help but notice its silver sides and button design are very similar to the iPhone 4 (and the upcoming iPhone 4S). Features are decent--you get A2DP audio streaming, voice alerts, and a free one-year subscription to Vocalyst, a Plantronics service that will read your messages, let you dictate replies, and carry out other functions. It also has a companion application for both Android and iOS devices, and if you pair it with an iPhone the headset's visual battery meter shows up on the iPhone's screen. Call quality wasn't perfect, especially in an outdoor setting. For only $59 retail, however, you might be able to forgive that imperfection.

Even though Plantronics said that the Marque M155's sleek and svelte design is meant to complement most smartphones, we think it's quite obvious the company took major design cues from Apple when designing the Marque. The Marque M155 is thin and rectangular, with a glossy black or white finish on the front and back. It has squared-off sides covered in silver, which reminds us of the iPhone 4. Even the multifunction call button on the front looks very similar to the iPhone's home button.

On the back of the headset is an earpiece clad in a clear earbud cover. The Marque M155 comes with three different sized eartips, and each of them has a loop attached so the headset will fit securely without an ear hook. Still, it does come with an optional plastic hook if you feel the need for additional stability--we didn't. To us, the Marque M155 felt very comfortable in the ear, fitting neither too deeply nor too loosely. We were able to wear it all day without feeling like it was going to fall off.

Also on the back of the headset is a hidden notification LED that lights up when the headset is powered on or when it's charging. There are a sliding power switch on the left spine and a volume control button on the right. There's no volume rocker, so you have to cycle through a few volume levels before getting to the right one. Plantronics seems to want you to use your smartphone's volume control instead if you want more refined control. It's a little annoying, but not terribly frustrating.

Apple wants you to get rid of 'chicken fat' using its iPhone

Apple unveiled its latest iPhone ad during the Stanley Cup.Apple

Apple may not be ready to track your health with HealthKit quite yet, but it wants to remind you how the iPhone can already help you get fit.

The Cupertino, Calif., company on Wednesday released the newest TV ad in its "You're more powerful than you think" campaign. In the latest spot, iPhone users swim, run, and weigh themselves, all while connected to apps on their smartphones and while using accessories.

And they're all working out to a track called "Chicken Fat." The song in the ad was originally composed for President John F. Kennedy's physical fitness program and was performed by Robert Preston. Recordings of the song were sent to US school officials to accompany the official US Physical Fitness program of the President's Council on Physical Fitness.

"Go you chicken fat, go away," says the song, which sounds like it's backed by a marching band. "Go you chicken fat, go."

The new ad comes as Apple hosts its Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco. During its high-profile keynote Monday, the company showed off the latest version of its iOS mobile software and its Mac OS X operating system, as well as a new smart-home program. It also launched a new programming language, called Swift, to help developers make apps faster.Health has become a big focus area for companies across the tech sector. Several have introduced health-centric gadgets, such as the Samsung Gear Fit and Jawbone Up24, and countless others are working on smart glucose meters and similar products. Other companies see an opportunity to mine patient data or collect readings on individuals to predict when they'll get sick and tailor treatment.

Another new feature shown by Apple was HealthKit. The software, available this fall with Apple's newly unveiled iOS 8, will let consumers track health-related data and serve as a hub for that information. It includes a corresponding app named Health, which can be used with third-party fitness devices.

The promise, according to what was demonstrated at WWDC, is to knit data from separate apps and even fitness accessories into one repository. Nike, for instance, was named as one company that will be enabling its data into Health. A picture of a Fitbit next to the iPhone shows it won't be the only fitness device to get quick support. And a partnership with the Mayo Clinic promises to import an individual's particular health parameters, like blood pressure, and then contact a hospital if one's readings suddenly get too high.

Apple unveiled its new HealthKit feature Monday at its Worldwide Developers Conference.

Aside from HealthKit, Apple so far has been relatively quiet in the health and fitness market. It has partnered with Nike on a fitness app but hasn't released a wearable or health-centric apps of its own. A new motion co-processor introduced in the iPhone 5S last fall, called the M7, works alongside the main chip in the device to continuously measure motion data without draining battery life. Apple said last fall that M7 would enable a new generation of health and fitness apps, but so far, only a handful of apps -- including Nike+ Move, DayOne, Runtastic, and Strava Run -- take advantage of the chip.

The ad released during the Stanley Cup on Wednesday doesn't show features of HealthKit but instead demonstrates apps and accessories already on the market.

Apple shows the customers tracking their progress with the iPhone and third-party accessories such as the Wahoo Fitness Blue SC Speed/Cadence Sensor, Withings Health Mate, Zepp Golf Sensor, Misfit Shine, and Adidas miCoach Smart Ball.

The apps Wemo, Misfit Shine, Argus, Withings, Zepp Golf, Johnson & Johnson Official 7 Minute Workout App, Strong Lifts, TRX Force, Sprinttimer, miCoach Smart Ball, Wahoo Fitness, and Nike+ Running.

Here are the lyrics to the version of "Chicken Fat" used in the ad:

Touch down, Every morning, Ten times! Not just, Now and then. Once more on the rise. Nuts to the flabby guys! Go, you chicken fat, go away! Go, you chicken fat, go! Running, (two) (Run) Like a tortoise, (Okay) Too far, and too slow. Now double up, ready! (Running) Run two three four, (Like a hare) Run two three four, (Now you are) Run two three four, (Getting there) Run two three four, Go you (Run two three four) Chicken fat, (Run two three four) (Go away!) Everybody sing! Go, you chicken fat, go! Go! Go! Dismissed!

8 Things You Didn’t Know About Apple’s New iOS 8

Get ready for widgets, better OSX integration, family sharing and more

1. Interactive NotificationsBut iOS 8 promises lots of little new improvements, too. To boot:

Giving up Android’s far-superior notification center feature was my biggest sacrifice when I converted from Android to iOS for the iPhone 5. Apple’s now promising a notification center that’s far more customizable, with third-party widgets ranging from ESPN for sports scores to eBay for staying on top of your bidding game. These widgets will let you perform certain tasks right from iOS’s “Today” screen. Finally.

2. Better Keyboards

Apple, the company oh-so-famous for its walled gardens, has also for the first time opened up iOS to third-party keyboard apps. Among these is Swype, which lets users, well, swipe their fingers across the keyboard to type out words, another feature long-enjoyed by Android users but lacking from iOS. Apple’s iOS 8 is also coming with QuickType, a predictive typing feature that’s new to iOS but old hat to Android users.

3. OSX Integration

Oh, joyful day: iOS and OSX, Apple’s desktop OS, are about to get much closer. With iOS 8 and Apple’s upcoming OSX 10.10 Yosemite, you’ll be able to make calls and send SMS text messages (not just iMessages) from your Apple desktop or laptop remotely via your iPhone. It’s probably good to be a little bit skeptical about this, though: Apple’s previous attempt at marrying iOS iMessages with OSX has not gone well.

Some other nice features: You’ll also be able to “handoff” documents from an iOS device to an OSX machine and vice-versa, and it’ll be easier for OSX machines to activate an iOS device’s wireless hotspot mode.

4. Muting Conversations

Ever been trapped in a terrible iMessage conversation with a bunch of people you don’t care about, but you’re too nice to leave it outright? Good news: You can now mute those awful chats, meaning you’ll still get the messages but you won’t be bothered by alerts about them. Nice.

5. New Photos App

Apple’s new Photos app will let you view and edit images from across your myriad i-Devices, which is nice. But there’s even bigger news for the iPhoneographers out there: iOS 8′s camera will natively support selecting different points for focus and exposure, which only third-party apps could previously do. And Apple’s also letting third-party apps get under the camera’s hood, finally allowing access to more manual controls.

Translation? People who really love photography will get more out of iOS 8—and, by logical extension, Apple’s next iPhone—than any Apple iOS to date.

6. Hey, Siri

Great news, lazy people: Siri’s getting voice activation. Just say, “Hey, Siri.” Which is maybe a little friendlier than “Hello, Glass.”

7. Family Sharing

Up to six family members will soon be able to share app purchases across their multiple devices. The catch: All those devices need to be tied to the same credit card—no Netflix-style password-swapping here. The family sharing feature also means stuff like calendars can be shared across devices, meaning you’ll never have to leave notes on the fridge again.

8. Wi-Fi Calling

Stuck somewhere with Wi-Fi access but crappy cell reception? Then you’re in luck: iOS 8 will enable voice calls over Wi-Fi, though the feature will probably be carrier-dependent. If carriers were smart, though, they’d see it as a good way to get even less traffic crossing their already-strained networks—if an iPhone user is on Wi-Fi to make calls at a given moment, they’re presumably also using Wi-Fi, not mobile data, to use their data-intensive apps.

8GB iPhone 5c now available in more countries; no word on India launch yet

iPhone 5c

Last month, Apple had officially launched an 8GB version of the iPhone 5c. While there is yet no word on when the device will reach the Indian stores, Apple has begun selling it in Sweden, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Belgium, Poland  and the Czech Republic. The device is already available in UK, China, Germany,  France and Australia.

 

Some analysts reportedly believe that it isn’t really a good time to launch the 8GB iPhone 5c in certain markets. For instance, in some European countries, the 5C 16GB is selling for less than €489 compared to the €499 price tag carried by the new 8GB unit. While the 8GB and 16GB units of the iPhone 5c are widely available in India, Apple hasn’t yet announced the 8GB model for the Indian market. We hope to see it reach here at least in the next batch of countries.

 

Besides the reduced internal storage, the iPhone 5c will not have any different hardware. So you are very likely to get the same performance that we saw when we reviewed the phone. However, the update to iOS 7.1 will surely have an effect on the usability.

 

The “cheaper” iPhone 5c aimed at the emerging markets was considered as a highly anticipated device; however it was the iPhone 5s that stole the show. In fact, this report on GSM Arena revealed that Apple’s stockpile of the iPhone 5c had reached over 3 million units, confirming that it isn’t exactly a hot seller.