Bluetooth handset 'Bluewire' can take, record phone calls hands-free

Bluewire is a Bluetooth headset with a very clever party trick. It can record the audio from both sides of a phone call and can even capture the sound from a Skype or FaceTime chat too. As such, it’s the only Bluetooth headset on the market with such capabilities, or at least it will be if it hits its Indiegogo crowd-funding goal of $40,000 over the next 30 days. However, with over half of the funding target already pledged within its first 24 hours on the site, there’s a good chance that it will be making a huge difference to journalists’ lawyers’ and argumentative couples’ lives very soon. The headset records audio to its internal 16GB SD card – which can be transferred to a computer via USB or copied automatically to a smartphone via the supporting app – and can also be used as a dictaphone for capturing voice memos of up to five minutes in length on the fly. And, because it connects via Bluetooth it can actually be paired with another headset. So if you already use a hands-free kit and think it’s more comfortable than the Bluewire you can keep using it and as long as the Bluewire is less than 10 meters away it will still record calls. This feature means that it also works seamlessly with an in-car Bluetooth hands-free kit. Although the device isn’t the most streamlined on the market – it’s 55mm long, and 21mm wide – it is small enough to fit on a keyring and double as a keyfinder. If you’ve misplaced your keys, using the Bluewire app on your smartphone will make the Bluewire sound an audible alert. Likewise, if it’s the smartphone that’s misplaced, tapping on the Bluewire will make the handset ring loudly. As for battery life, it should be good for four hours of talk time or two and a half hours of recording time and, because it supports the Qi wireless charging standard, there’s no need to fiddle with cables and plugs when the battery’s flat. Bluewire’s makers are offering the standard device to early bird backers for $149 – it will eventually retail for $269. Meanwhile, a special Ivory edition with 32BG of on-board storage and a Qi wireless charging pad can be snapped up for $295. AFP