There’s a special place in my heart for the latest technology manifest in the form of accessories. And there’s no better time to utilize them than on the road; in an airport, cab, hotel, or off-site meeting. We recently unveiled the BlackBerry Mini Stereo Speaker, and this one’s a must-have.

The BlackBerry Mini Stereo Speaker is a portable Bluetooth audio device with remarkable sound quality from a device that’s just over 3.5 inches long and 1 inch tall. It can be used for a wide variety of audio functions with your BlackBerry 10 smartphone – including both playing the music from your smartphone, and enhancing hands-free calling. The speaker can be connected to two devices at once (personally, I connect my BlackBerry 10 smartphone and BlackBerry PlayBook tablet), and can remember additional connections to other devices for convenience.

The speaker is much more than a transmitter of audio from your smartphone. It has a built in microphone that allows you to use it for hands-free calling, can have headphones plugged into it, and (I can’t go much further without pointing this out) a very sleek design that lets you clip it onto a shoulder strap or seat belt.

“Enhanced” hands-free calling isn’t a marketing term. The speaker utilizes noise reduction and echo cancellation technology, ensuring that your voice is heard loud and clear. The design under the hood produces exceptional volume and clarity considering the size of the speaker.

The Specs

• Universal Bluetooth compatibility
• Talk time of up to 20 hours
• Standby time of up to 500 hours
• Rechargeable battery via micro-USB cable
• Built in microphone
• Headphone-out port

I’m still finding new ways to use the BlackBerry Mini Stereo Speaker. Clip it to your lapel and add headphones while on a run rather than getting tangled with the cords coming out of your pocket. Plug it into your stereo’s auxiliary input to wirelessly play the music from your BlackBerry 10 smartphone on your stereo. Or, take conference calls as a group while in meetings, using the speaker to share and hear ideas from your colleagues.

How will you use the BlackBerry Mini Stereo Speaker? Share in the comments below.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

What is Near Field Communication?

NFC is a very short range (within a few centimeters) communications technology that allows a data connection to be created between two devices. Basically, it allows you to tap one device against another to create a connection between them to exchange data. NFC can also be used to bootstrap a Bluetooth® or Wi-Fi® connection, allowing you to continue to stay connected even when you pull your device away.

How will NFC affect business?

As Geoff discussed in the video, Near Field Communication has the capacity to change the landscape of business with things like information sharing, mobile payments or gaining access to a building. The use cases extend both internally to organizations as well as externally as part of the customer experience. Let’s look at a few of these ideas in further detail.

Sharing information at an end-user level

BlackBerry® Tag, which is available with the BlackBerry® 7.1 OS in NFC-enabled BlackBerry smartphones, offers a new way to share information at an individual level. Almost any type of media can be shared with a single tap to another NFC-enabled BlackBerry smartphone. Consider sharing contact information in this manner at a conference, passing around a document for review on the go, or providing a customer with a PDF product brochure just by tapping their smartphone. The ability to share while mobile is being significantly enhanced with NFC and apps like BlackBerry Tag, and businesses can experience a clear benefit as a result.

The mobile payment ecosystem

The concept of a digital wallet garners much press and discussion in the market. I think we can all agree that centralizing activity on your mobile phone so that you can leave your wallet at home is an exciting concept; many of us already own credit cards that we can pay with by tapping on a point of sale terminal. But I’m intentionally referring to this as an “ecosystem”, as it’s just that: building mobile payments requires collaboration between banks, merchants, carriers, point of sale technology producers, and several other service providers.

The good news is that much work has already been done to lay the groundwork for mobile payments with BlackBerry devices. In fact, mobile payments using NFC-enabled BlackBerry smartphones is already being done in several parts of the world. BlackBerry smartphones were the first to be certified for mobile payments by Visa and MasterCard. And we’ve been working with Turkcell in Turkey, the ISIS group in the U.S., Rogers in Canada, and many others worldwide to make mobile payments with BlackBerry smartphones a reality.

While security may be a concern held more by organizations than end users at this point in time, once you put your money where your phone is, it becomes a concern for everyone. And given our heritage in security, we continue to work closely with our partners around the world to help alleviate many of those concerns.

Physical and logical access

You may be able to leave your security badge and parking pass at home in the near future. NFC enables physical access, such as tapping your phone to gain entry into your office building, as well as logical access, such as tapping your computer to unlock it. These use cases will bring speed and convenience, not to mention cutting the cost of producing multiple access devices, and allowing you to digitally manage these assets. To that end, RIM has been working with companies like HID Global and Iris ID Systems Inc. to allow the use of NFC-enabled BlackBerry smartphones with their access systems.

What does the future hold?

As these ecosystems develop and the use cases continue to expand into the daily activities of organizations and employees in a wide range of industries, it will be very exciting to see what comes next. We’re constantly working to enable application developers and many other stakeholders in NFC technology to integrate and succeed. RIM remains committed to Near Field Communication moving forward, including the upcoming BlackBerry® 10 platform.

What are your questions about NFC? How could you see NFC technology making your life at work easier and more convenient? Share in the comments below.

Note: Do not use your PlayBook tablet while driving. Using your tablet while driving could put you and others at greater risk of an accident causing serious injury, death, and property loss. You are responsible for knowing and obeying the laws and regulations regarding the use of wireless devices in the areas where you drive.

The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet holds a multitude of advantages in this position, such as freeing up real estate in the car by replacing existing bulky equipment; its ability to be detached and become portable; and the intuitive interface – not to mention Bluetooth® pairing with a keyboard and a tethered BlackBerry® smartphone.

Feature Overview

• The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet includes the full BlackBerry Tablet OS, allowing officers to access core and third-party applications on top of the custom tools tailored to police work. All of the existing BlackBerry PlayBook tablet features are included in the device, such as the popular multi-tasking functionality. BlackBerry PlayBook tablet applications specific to police work include access to databases, communications, task lists, and more.
• The tablet, even while remaining as a portable and detachable device, is hooked right into the mechanical functions of the vehicle. Pressing the right buttons on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet’s touch screen can toggle the emergency lights, raise the caution sign on top of the vehicle, control sirens, and eventually, video feeds from the car’s cameras. Trust me when I say that it was a “wow” moment when I touched the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet screen and the emergency lights came on!
• A Bluetooth keyboard is equipped below the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Both of these are mounted onto a swivel that allows each to be positioned in the most convenient way possible for driver, passenger, or both to have access.

How is it connected?

The setup employs the BlackBerry® Bridge™ application to extend a BlackBerry smartphone’s security and data to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. This allows an officer to access information on their smartphone when away from the car, and then to continue where they left off on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet once they return. Bluetooth technology is also leveraged to connect the keyboard to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, as well as to aid in interaction between the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and the technology built into the vehicle.

So what’s the overall benefit?

This BlackBerry solution allows officers to use light, portable, and robust devices to quickly and conveniently interact with the data. The hardware and form factor also frees up a huge amount of space within the vehicle – a priority as the cars become smaller and older, and bulkier equipment becomes obsolete. The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet itself is outside of the airbag zone, improving officer health and safety. Integration of BlackBerry devices into demanding police work, especially considering the rigid security protocols, is a logical step forward.

What’s next?

The additional equipment that interacts with the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, such as a Bluetooth-connected printer and a barcode scanner that would improve the process of issuing tickets and scanning licenses was planned by Mobile Innovations, and brings even more tangible on-the-ground technology to the BlackBerry solution. This technology is currently being tested in Canada with interest in integrating secure BlackBerry solutions and products into law enforcement.

One of the most common questions I hear daily is: how do I pair my Bluetooth®-enabled wireless headset with my BlackBerry® smartphone? In response, I’d like to show you how easy it is to use the Bluetooth functionality on your BlackBerry smartphone to pair with a BlackBerry® Wireless Headset HS-500 (check out this Inside BlackBerry blog post for more about headsets!) in addition to any other Bluetooth-enabled device you might own.

Before we begin, you will want to have a copy of the product documentation that came with your Bluetooth-enabled device. This information is very important as it contains instructions on how to put your Bluetooth-enabled device into pairing mode. If you’re using a BlackBerry product such as the BlackBerry Wireless Headset HS-500, you can find the product documentation for it at the BlackBerry Documentation website or by visiting the BlackBerry Wireless Headset HS-500 User Guide.

So what is pairing mode and why is it important to me?

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry Help Blog »