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Apple buys Wi-Gear, branded Bluetooth headset coming?

It appears that Apple is spending at least a few dollars out of that US$51 billion cache of cash. 9to5Mac reports that the company has purchased a small Bay Area Bluetooth headset design firm named Wi-Gear. Wi-Gear's products included three generations of the iMuffs A2DP Bluetooth stereo headset (seen above), which worked with a rather unsightly dongle for those devices that didn't have built-in support for Bluetooth 2.0 and without the dongle for newer iDevices.

The story posits that Apple picked up Wi-Gear to design an as-yet-unannounced stereo headphone product for iOS devices and MacBooks. Apple's previous foray into this market was the highly unsuccessful mono Bluetooth headset, so it appears that the company decided to just buy the expertise needed to field a competitive product.

One of the co-founders of Wi-Gear, MIchael Kim, now lists his current position on LinkedIn as an iOS Bluetooth Engineer at Apple. The About page on Wi-Gear's website now shows the following message: "Notice: Wi-Gear has ceased operations and is no longer in business. We will be unable to respond to any inquiries."

9to5Mac seems pretty certain that the end result of the acquisition will be a new Apple-branded stereo Bluetooth headset. I'm personally hoping that Apple lets Kim and the other Bluetooth Engineers design the internals, and gives the external design to Jony Ive's team.

[via Engadget]



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It appears that Apple is spending at least a few dollars out of that US$51 billion cache of cash. 9to5Mac reports that the company has...
 

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TimTom

I'm hoping that Apple consider Kleer technology for wireless audio transmission. Its far superior to crappy Bluetooth.

November 09 2010 at 2:32 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jeff

I would love Apple to make a pair like the Sony Ericsson HBH-IS800 pair....smallest form factor I have ever seen. Audio is just ok, so would expect Apple to make them better.

November 09 2010 at 1:04 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Jeff's comment
arudb

Those look nice but personally I need an all in one, music, video, and phone solution.

November 09 2010 at 1:29 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
danielhertlein

I'm personally hoping that Apple lets Kim and the other Bluetooth Engineers design the internals, and gives the external design to Jony Ive's team.

Amen to that. But I think it's safe to say that Apple would never put it's name on a product that looked anything like the iMuffs.

November 09 2010 at 12:11 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
n00neimp0rtant

Oh hnnnnnnnnng I am SO ready for this. I always thought it was odd that they supported stereo Bluetooth, but didn't make headphones with it. I have used both the iLuv i212/i202 (identical; one just comes with an extra adapter) and the Jabra Halo. I MUCH prefer the iLuvs; they just fit more comfortably and are easier to use and charge. I have gone through 3 pairs of them however because I keep breaking them, and my 4th is on its way to me in the mail right now =P

I would stoked to see an Apple-branded pair of stereo Bluetooth headphones, so long as I could carry them in my pocket, whichever form factor they may be. I like the idea of folding, but have yet see a folding pair that fits in one's pocket. That's why i like the iLuvs; they're earclips, so they fit right in your pocket.

Now THIS is some Apple news I care about =]

November 09 2010 at 11:50 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
arudb

I prefer my Plantronics BT903+. I can link to my iPhone and my iPad at the same time. Watch movies, music etc on the iPad and pause to take an incoming call, then switch right back without any issues. 7 hour battery life too, TUAW how come you haven't reviewed those yet?

November 09 2010 at 11:33 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
3 replies to arudb's comment
SubGenius

This is purely conjecture of the worst kind!
Apple acquires iMuffs? Really?
It is far more likely that the company went out of business because their products are a joke.
One of their engineers was probably hired by Apple.

Move along nothing to see here.

November 09 2010 at 11:20 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to SubGenius's comment
nova20

Seriously. I'm waiting for a waterproof version of this product for scuba divers and snorklers that will be called the iMuff Diver.

November 09 2010 at 11:34 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
redcard

I'm not sure what conjecture of the worst kind is.

Anyway, your post is conjecture of the worst kind.

November 09 2010 at 1:03 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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