The Waterloo-based Allerta has officially announced the inPulse smartwatch for BlackBerry--but as we reported last week, it's not exactly what it seems.

The inPulse isn't a full-blown BlackBerry smartphone, and Research in Motion has nothing to do with it, as CrackBerry.com reports. Instead, it works as a companion device that alerts you to incoming BlackBerry messages or calendar events.

The inPulse features a 1.3-inch full color OLED display, Bluetooth 2.0, a tiny 150 mAh lithium-ion polymer battery, a glass lens, a vibrating motor for alerts, a micro-USB port to charge the thing, and the ability to install firmware updates over the air. The company estimates that the inPulse lasts about four days on a single charge; it also requires an app install on the main BlackBerry, which needs to run BlackBerry OS 4.3 or up.

Allerta is taking pre-orders for the inPulse smartwatch at $149, with deliveries scheduled for February 2010.

Kempler & Strauss has launched the W PhoneWatch, which it claims is the world's smallest GSM quad-band cell phone watch, along with the Communicator, a Bluetooth hands-free device.

Like just about everything these days, Kempler & Strauss bills the W PhoneWatch "ideal for individuals with an active lifestyle." In K&S speak, that means a 1.5-inch, 128-by-128-pixel touch screen, a camera, a video recorder, an MP3 player, Bluetooth, and a microSD slot that works with 4GB cards.

The W PhoneWatch also includes a bevy of PIM apps, including a calendar, address book, a calculator, and stopwatch, plus the usual SMS, voice mail, speed dial, and a vibration mode that must feel great on your arm.

The Communicator, meanwhile, sports a suspiciously short range of 16 feet (most Bluetooth devices list 33 feet these days). It also works with MP3 files--could be great for wireless podcast listening--and features a noise-canceling mic and internal windscreen. The W PhoneWatch lists for $199 and is available via K&S dealers nationwide; no word yet on a release date or a price for the Communicator.

The Suzuki SX4 is a low-end economy crossover with some pretty advanced tech built-in, including a removable Garmin navigation system with the same robust feature set you'd expect from a regular standalone PND. However, that doesn't mean the two manufacturers thought everything through. As Edmunds.com found during its long-term test, the unit lets you issue voice commands, and can also stream MP3s from an SD card through the stock car stereo.

So far, so good. But it's not so simple; first, the unit can't play anything imported in the default iTunes AAC format and only works with MP3s. Not only that, but you must navigate through many submenus to get to the MP3 player. That's still not the end of the world--until you cue up a song.

Once you motor away from a stop, that's it; the system locks the Garmin down into "Safe Mode," which is intended to prevent you from controlling the GPS while driving. Except that it also takes away control of the MP3 player! Plus, if you choose a song and then set out, it will only play that one song--it doesn't move to the next one automatically. And it won't let you re-establish control of the MP3 player unless you stop the car, or pull the unit out of its housing and reseat it. Priceless. (Thanks to Warren W for sending this in)

Dual-mic Bluetooth headsets are nothing new, but i.Tech Dynamic may be helping to bring the price down. The company just launched the i.VoicePRO 901, a noise-canceling model with multipoint capability to connect two cell phones simultaneously.

The company uses its own noise-filtering software; one mic detects and helps eliminate ambient noise, while the other focuses on your voice. The i.VoicePRO 901 also features Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (enhanced data rate) Class 2 compatibility, five hours of talk time, and a weight of 0.4 ounces.

The i.VoicePRO 901 comes in three colors: silver, black, and wine. It lists for $79.99, and is currently on sale at Amazon and Skymall.

Motorola has unveiled the H17, a Bluetooth headset with an extended mic boom that folds up and turns the unit off in the process. This is nothing new for Motorola--the idea dates back at least to the Motorola HS850, if not earlier. But it's interesting to see it make a return in a new product.

In addition, the H17 features Motorola's CrystalTalk technology for better audio quality, along with RapidConnect, which lets H17 owners power-up the unit and answer a ringing call just by unfolding the boom. The H17 also includes voice prompts for pairing instructions and battery status. It lacks the bone conduction found in the company's high-end Endeavor HX1 headset, though.

Motorola claims the H17 offers five hours of talk time on a single charge; a quick 15-minute charge will bring back two hours of talk time. It also connects simultaneously with two devices (like many recent Plantronics models). No word yet on a price or release date.

This is the O.R.B. It looks like a ring. It sits on your finger. It communicates with your handset via Bluetooth. When you get a call or have a meeting scheduled, it vibrates. With a twist, the thing turns into a sleek Bluetooth headset. All in all, the thing looks pretty snazzy.

Created by Hybra Tech, the device uses bone conduction to transmit calls through your skull. A FOLED (Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode) display is located on its side to let you know about meetings and incoming calls.

The O.R.B. will launch next January for a suggested price of $129.

Are you ready to change your impression of Bluetooth headsets? Forget the blinking ear appendage that you already know, Jabra has just announced the HALO, a sleek foldable stereo headset that you'll want to take everywhere.

The HALO has a 30-foot range and works with stereo Bluetooth devices, including the BlackBerry, iPhone, iPod Touch, many mobile phones, laptops, and more. You can pair it with two devices, and there's a corded option, should you prefer. It includes a microphone for making calls, and offers a big 8 hours or talk or music time or 13 days of standby time.

To give your music a little something extra, the HALO includes Zirene Power Bass for a richer listening experience. Songs fade out when you get an incoming call. I like that it folds away and even comes with a carrying case.

Look to Jabra's site for more info for pick up the HALO at Best Buy stores starting this week. It lists for $129.

Plantronics has unveiled the Discovery 975 Bluetooth headset, which replaces the Discovery 925 in the company's lineup.

The dual-mic Discovery 975 features AudioIQ2 DSP and WindSmart technologies for compensating for noisy environments. They're in effect all of the time; as part of the design, the 975 includes grooved vents on the boom and acoustic fabrics that envelop the mics in order to block wind noise.

The headset also features an adaptive 20-band equalizer to keep voices sounding natural and maintain volume. There's a rechargeable carrying case that triples talk time from 5 hours to 15 hours, complete with a built-in LCD to show battery and earpiece levels as well as Bluetooth status.

The Plantronics Discovery 975 costs $129.99 and is now available from Plantronics.com; you can also pre-order it at Best Buy and Amazon.com ahead of its release in those outlets later this month.

For more on Bluetooth headsets, read PCMag.com's How to Buy a Bluetooth Headset guide.

Samsung has announced three new Bluetooth headsets, all of which retail for under 100 bucks, that will hopefully improve on its most recent model's ineffective noise cancellation.

The Samsung WEP470 is a small, lightweight headset with background noise filtering and echo cancellation. It's not a dual-mic design, but claims to offer the same benefits due to its packet loss concealment technology. It also includes an LED battery indicator, power switch, and crystal ear hook for $39.99.

The WEP850 (pictured), meanwhile, offers a minimalist design with a true dual-mic configuration for improved noise cancellation and echo reduction for $69.99.

Finally, the complex $89.99 WEP870 offers everything the WEP850 does, plus multi-connection technology for pairing two Bluetooth devices simultaneously. It comes in chrome and graphite, a detachable stereo earbud for listening to music, and the ability to switch between music listening and incoming or outbound calls. It also has a tiny LCD screen that displays battery level, call status, and connection status. All three are available beginning today at www.samsung.com/accessories.

 Say you manage a construction site and need a rugged laptop computer. Rather than spend $3,000-$5,000 for a ruggedized laptop computer and locking pedestal stand for your pickup truck, Ford offers an in-dash computer with Internet access and wireless keyboard for $1,195. "I bet it's the first time you've ever seen Google running on the dashboard of a vehicle," says Bill Frykman, Ford Work Solutions business development manager. The package also includes remote access, Bluetooth, and Garmin-developed navigation - in other words, a Happy Meal of Technology for less than the cost of integrated in-dash navigation alone. This Ford Work Solutions system is available on Ford F-Series pickups, E-Series (Econoline) vans, and the Ford Transit Connect mini delivery van. The only downsides are that you can't have Ford Sync, the industry-leading music and Bluetooth system, and the screen seems small for doing serious work. Ford says the center-dash location precludes a bigger screen, at least for now.

Novero has unveiled TheFirstOne, a Bluetooth headset with dual-mic noise-canceling and one-touch controls for dialing or conferencing in a third party. It comes with a bunch of accessories, including a desk stand, a charging cradle that keeps the headset close by when driving, and a necklace and wearable clip.

TheFirstOne comes in lily-white with silver accents, and can automatically pair with handsets that are turned on and within range. The headset lasts for 4.5 hours on a single call and offers 100 hours of standby when not in use.

TheFirstOne will cost $149 at launch, which is $20 higher than both the Plantronics Voyager Pro (our current Editors' Choice) and the Aliph Jawbone PRIME, the two best headsets on the market today. It does come with more accessories than those two, but still, this thing had better perform well. There's no release date yet.

If you were to buy an iPod touch today, you'd find a Bluetooth radio in it with support for Bluetooth stereo headsets, personal area networking, and as a A/V remote control.  Apple does a nice job spelling out what profiles are supported in a Knowledge Base article on its Web site.

The Motorola HX1 could raise the standard for noise cancellation on a Bluetooth headset. As we've reported before, the HX1 uses a bone-conduction microphone in severely noisy areas to extract your voice straight from your skull, thus eliminating noise. The special bone mic is the little nub on the right hand side of the in-ear piece shown at left.

Okay, it's not quite the Blackberry Storm 2, but today Research in Motion announced a new accessory for its ever-popular smartphone line. The new BlackBerry Visor Mount Speakerphone lets users stream music from their handset wireless to their car's speakers. Better yet, the thing is designed to help you not crash your car, streaming call to the stereo, as well.

The device is Bluetooth enabled and clips to your car's visor, as advertised. It's available now for $99.99 from BlackBerry's retail site.