Creative’s new HS-1200 wireless headset features a new, as yet unnamed proprietary compression technology developed by Avnera that rivals the Bluetooth standard. Some of the advantages of the new technology include a greater data transfer rate than Bluetooth as well as lower energy consumption (9 hours to a charge.) The HS-1200 also features duplex technology that allows users to multiple things at once, like stream full stereo music and use VoIP at the same time. Another nice feature is a dock right on the receiver, so you don’t need a separate charger.
A quick hands on playing some Unreal Tournament revealed a decent sound with none of the latency issues that are commonly found in Bluetooth devices —although the environment is not ideal for a thorough test. Expect the HS-1200 to hit store shelves this March for $US150.
ayanokouji
Tuesday, January 8, 2008 at 5:48 PMAnd it looks really good…
Hephastion
Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 10:23 AMFor what it’s worth, Avnera’s technology uses no compression whatsoever. This is true CD quality audio. The differentiating aspects of Avnera’s technology are low latency and robust interference rejection. We keep going when that microwave, cordless phone, etc has flattened other wireless links, and in applications where our chips are used for wireless speakers our latency is way below the competition, meaning that those wireless rears are actually in sync with the rest of the audio system.