Naturally, as time progresses, personal interest and taste change; replaced with new interest(s). Despite my own attempts to persuade myself to ignore the urge, I rarely follow through with my intention(s) to resist falling for the next latest & [purportedly] greatest gadget. Call it a pricey hobby, an infatuation, a crazy lust for all things shiny and electronic. There are very few items that manage to hold my attention and interest long enough to die a slow and natural death of overuse, abuse, and accidental breakage.

The most difficult urge? Mobile phones. As revisions and updates surface, cellphones become more and more advanced packing a more powerful "punch" than preceding handsets. Try as hard as I might – even going as far as ignoring tech sites and forums whose sole purpose is to focus on mobile phones – a small glimpse of a thumbnail is enough to send me careening for more information and a means to acquire a handset for my own use. It seems like only yesterday the amazing Nokia N95 was all I could think about, then the Apple iPhone dropped on to the scene, now… The HTC TyTN II Kaiser.

Deciding to give the HTC TyTN II Kaiser a proper break-in and thorough use before reviewing, I thought it might be interesting to recall my first, second, third – and all the way up to my current mobile handset [in chronological order].

• Motorola V8160 – This was my first and probably the smallest flip phone that I have ever or will ever own.
• Nokia 8290 – I think everyone had one of these phones at some point in their life. Nearly bombproof, the 8290 was a true warrior of a handset.
• Nokia 8390 – My favorite mini candy bar handset from Nokia; that white backlit display was just perfect.
• Sony Ericsson T68i – My first color screen handset. Nice to look at [for its time] but incredibly slow.
• Nokia 7250i – My first decent camera phone. The T68i didn’t count because it required an external camera.
• Siemens SL56 – A tiny slider that didn’t last too long. The cramped keyboard was too small for heavy SMS messaging.
• NEC 525 – Large vibrant screen but cumbersome phone software.
• SideKick (color) – Sometimes you just end up with a sour lemon.
• SideKick II – I assumed the 2nd generation SideKick was going to be better. *cough*
• Treo 650 – My first experience with Palm. Juggling multiple applications was great.
• Samsung A920 – A complimentary handset from Sprint. Samsung made a solid flip phone that doubled as an EVDO modem for tethering.
• Treo 700p – An updated case and OS provided an even better Palm experience than the Treo 680. No other threaded SMS app comes close, unless you count the iPhone.
• Samsung Upstage – A complimentary handset from Sprint. The two LCD screen design is more inconvenient than convenient.
• BlackBerry 8703e – A solid BlackBerry device.
• BlackBerry 8100 Pearl – The slim form factor was great, the keyboard layout, not high on my list of favorites.
• Nokia N95 – A true power packed Nokia candybar slider. 5MP camera, 30 fps recording, GPS, Symbian.. Nearly perfect. Well actually, now that the 3G US version is out… It just might be.
• BlackBerry 8300 Curve – The slim form factor of the Pearl, but a full-size keyboard reminiscent of my first BlackBerry the 8703e.
• Apple iPhone – The easiest phone to open, charge, and start using. A high resolution touch screen that still has its faults.
• HTC TyTN ii Kaiser – My first Windows Mobile (6) device. I’ll share my thoughts regarding my feeling of switching from the iPhone to the Kaiser.

* There were a few other handsets between the first and current handsets but their names have slipped my mind.

The list will go on. But for now, I’m overwhelmed with the HTC TyTN ii Kaiser. Check back for an update which will share my experiences switching from Apple’s all touch-screen iPhone to a Windows powered Smartphone. That Apple iPhone could never be labeled a true Smartphone anyway… right? What handsets did you own, and which among them was your favorite?

Motorola is trying their best to make a niche for themselves in the mobile entertainment arena with the ROKR (rocker get it?) line of cellphones & accessories.

Sprint / Motorola sent me Motorola’s latest, the MOTOROKR S9. Although I admit fascination for anything Bluetooth, the MOTOROKR S9’s behind the head wireless design was a bit of a turn-off. Regardless, I put the headphones to work with a Samsung Upstage, Apple iPhone, and Mac OS X.

Supports A2DP? Well that is just swell

The MOTOROKR S9’s performed as expected with the Samsung Upstage. Not surprising considering the handset supports the Stereo Bluetooth Profile A2DP. Sadly, audio quality was flat and distant. This would have be "acceptable" had the headphones been of the standard Bluetooth wireless hands-free headset variant, but they weren’t. They are supposed to play two roles: 1) Bluetooth stereo headphones and 2) wireless hands-free headset.

Audio quality aside, controlling phone calls or audio playback is done with controls conveniently placed on the headphones above both ears. Phone controls – answer / end & volume – above the left ear, audio controls – play / pause & skip-forward / back – above the right ear. Answering / ending a call, or playing / pausing audio is done so by buttons with a resounding click. Increasing / decreasing volume, or skipping forward / back is much subtler with touch sensitive controls.

Functional handsfree headset for non-A2DP supported devices

Excited with the prospect of being able to enjoy wire-free stereo sound with my iPhone (as I did with the Samsung Upstage), I was sadly disappointed and reminded of the fact that Apple neglected to support the A2DP Bluetooth profile. Why Apple why? Was it to conserve battery life? Is it a "feature" for a future iPhone release?

A2DP stereo Bluetooth sound or not, the MOTOROKR S9’s functioned like any other basic Bluetooth headset. Strangely, the S9’s – when paired as a standard handsfree headset – only output sound through one ear bud. Whether or not this is normal for Bluetooth headphones during normal voice calls is beyond me (drop your comments below of your A2DP stereo headphones output sound through both ear buds during a voice call).

During voice calls, audio quality for anyone on the opposite end of the call reported somewhat muffled sound and complained of excessive background noise. Not at all surprising considering the microphone is integrated into the left ear bud.

Similar feedback was reported while using the S9’s for VOIP calling via iChat audio / video & Skype. For anyone interested in getting the Stereo Bluetooth profile A2DP to work with Mac OS X Tiger, check out this helpful article by David C.

Likes

• USB charger – charge the headphones from your computers USB port(s).
• Fairly lightweight and unobtrusive if your head fits.
• Convenient phone and stereo function (controls) separation – communication on the left-side, stereo on the right-side.
• Increase / decrease volume & fast foward / skip controls are nearly touch sensitive.

Dis-likes

• Uncomfortable. I found the MOTOROKR S9’s too narrow, larger heads will definitely feel the squeeze. On top of the firm plastic frame, the included earbuds are also uncomfortable and difficult to position for thorough sound output.
• Unattractive. This probably goes for any wireless behind-the-head headphones. My co-worker asked if I was from the future immediately after putting them on.
• Terrible pairing / setup process. As cool and "convenient" as it may seem to be to limit functions to a single button, it doesn’t hurt to have a single pin-hole button dedicated to pairing.

On a related note, Apple iPhone users should check out Ultimate Buds. The third-party service mates the popular Etymotic ER6i earphones with Apple’s own. Ultimate Buds sells the conversion outright, or conducts the operation on your own Etymotic & Apple earphones [that you supply]. Look for feedback regarding the conversion when my "Ultimate Buds" arrive.

Want these MOTOROKR S9’s?

Want to score a free MOTOROKR S9? Use the comments below to convince me why you need the wireless A2DP Stereo Profile Bluetooth headphones. One lucky reader will receive the MOTOROKR S9 headphones free of charge – I’ll cover shipping via UPS anywhere in the continental US. International readers, we’ll have to work something out.