Philips Luxe MP3 player doubles as Bluetooth headset

Philips' admittedly lovely Luxe MP3 player is a curiosity. At $95 for a scant 2GB, it's far pricier than its competition, and the one-line LED screen isn't going it any favors either.

Where it tries to separate itself from the competition is with its novel Bluetooth function: it will pair with your phone and cut your music and display the caller ID number on its display when a call comes in, allowing you to answer the call on your device with its dual mikes.

That's pretty neat, but I'm guessing in the age of iPhone and the Android we're going to see phones get increasingly sophisticated audio playback functions, with built-in earbud headsets. This bridge device is all too likely to be a redundant gizmo of the status quo in the next year or so.

Philips LUXE player connects to your music and calls [Crave]

[#1 posted by Garr , October 27, 2008 10:02 AM]

... but I'm guessing in the age of iPhone and the Android we're going to see phones get increasingly sophisticated audio playback functions, with built-in earbud headsets.

In answer to that, I guess a possible strength of the LUXE player in this case is the fact that it acts as a (bluetooth) headset that's compatible with the earbuds of your choice, as opposed to the ones delivered with the phone that can only be used with the respective device itself (due to proprietary connectors) and which are of middling quality in the best of cases.
That is, provided you have a separate microphone, which I don't think is the case.
But for us, the issue is moot, since it seems only to be sold in Asia.

Oh and before I forget to mention it: I like it!

[#2 posted by ckd , October 27, 2008 5:45 PM]

I've been using the MyBlu as a combination iPod wired remote/Bluetooth headset for a while now. (I also use my own headphones instead of the iPod earbuds.)