iPhone support A2DP?

[Daywalker7]

Still using the iCombi adapter with the O Rokr headphones for music and phone functions. When you sync (the iCombi adaptor and O'Rokr's) the iPhone will display three phone speaker options:

1 - O'Rokr Headphones
2 - iPhone
3 - Speakerphone

While this is probably the same protocol for "head-sets" I only make the comment here because the O Rokr headphones are connected through the iCombi adaptor which is A2DP. Seems Apple allows for this connection, just that the iPhone does not have the A2DP function "lit up". We'll have to wait and see what Apple comes up with to manage wireless headphones for both the music and phone functions.

I wonder if there are any hackers out there working on opening up a2dp on the iPhone.
I wonder what possible reason Apple could have for blocking this feature if the iPhone in fact is capable of it? I was leaning towards replacing my pc's with macs but if this is true, then I don't know.

 

[Life_is_art]

Who knows what they're up to?

Well, as speculated above, it could be a deliberate move by Apple to stall the market until they decide to release their own A2DP-enabled stereo Bluetooth headset. That makes as much sense as anything, since I think most people assumed A2DP was a given for a "state of the art" iPhone that was supposed to double as your next iPod (well, iPod Nano, anyway).

Interesting thought, that maybe someone could hack the existing software to output sterero....

 

[Life_is_art]

Stereo Bluetooth? Nope, you're SOL

Will the adapter only work with oakley products?
I'm getting the Motorola s805 DJ style bluetooth stereo headphones.
Do you think the connection will work with that?

Nope, you'll have no luck. The iPhone doesn't broadcast stereo over Bluetooth - period. Again, it appears that even though the Bluetooth software that Apple licensed support A2DP, Apple disabled this feature.

The only way you can use wireless headphones is with some dongle like the iCombi, which is itself an A2DP-compatible transmitter.

Still can't figure out why Apple crippled the Bluetooth software that would support A2DP....

 

[Daywalker7]

Nope, you'll have no luck. The iPhone doesn't broadcast stereo over Bluetooth - period. Again, it appears that even though the Bluetooth software that Apple licensed support A2DP, Apple disabled this feature.

The only way you can use wireless headphones is with some dongle like the iCombi, which is itself an A2DP-compatible transmitter.

Still can't figure out why Apple crippled the Bluetooth software that would support A2DP....

That's not true. Bluetooth stereo does work with an adaper.
I used a pair of iphono minis and the adapter that came with them and they work great. I just don't like the big adapter hanging out of the top of the phone. The Oakley one looks more compact.

 

[jomaha]

Will the adapter only work with oakley products?
I'm getting the Motorola s805 DJ style bluetooth stereo headphones.
Do you think the connection will work with that?

I use the iCombi adaptor with the Motorola S9 BT headphones and they work fine. I have not used the phone function with the S9 but the iPod feature works great.

I think its BlueTooth compliant and works with any A2DP device

Good Luck

 

[Life_is_art]

Just to clarify....

That's not true. Bluetooth stereo does work with an adaper.
I used a pair of iphono minis and the adapter that came with them and they work great. I just don't like the big adapter hanging out of the top of the phone. The Oakley one looks more compact.

OK, so just to be clear:

- The iPhone does not directly support stereo Bluetooth (A2DP). That is, it doesn't broadcast a wireless stereo signal. The only stereo signal the phone produces goes to the (wired) headphone jack.

- What can work is to use an adapter, like the iCombi, that plugs into the wired jack and then broadcasts using Bluetooth A2DP. So it's the adapter that's providing the wireless stereo, not the iPhone.

So that's why I'd say "the iPhone doesn't support A2DP", any more than my old Walkman does. Sure, you can buy an add-on device to work around that shortcoming - but after spending $600 on "state of the art", why the hell should I have to spend more money on a kludgy workaround?

 

[LESLIEx317537]

My other phone Sony Erricsson Cybershot k790a has A2DP.
And FM radio with RDS. And a 3.2Mega Pixel Camera, with Xenon flash.
Also can use as a bluetooth modem.
Also works with Apple iSync, unlike iPhone.
Plus I can store files on it.

My iPhone is currently broken being serviced. My SE saves me again.

 

[Daywalker7]

OK, so just to be clear:

- The iPhone does not directly support stereo Bluetooth (A2DP). That is, it doesn't broadcast a wireless stereo signal. The only stereo signal the phone produces goes to the (wired) headphone jack.

- What can work is to use an adapter, like the iCombi, that plugs into the wired jack and then broadcasts using Bluetooth A2DP. So it's the adapter that's providing the wireless stereo, not the iPhone.

So that's why I'd say "the iPhone doesn't support A2DP", any more than my old Walkman does. Sure, you can buy an add-on device to work around that shortcoming - but after spending $600 on "state of the art", why the hell should I have to spend more money on a kludgy workaround?

Read the posts carefuly before you reply to them.
in my post I asked if the Bluetooth stereo headset I have will work with the adapter that another poster mentioned.
You decided to reply with something we already know.
I do agree with the last part of your post. We should not have to pay more money after spending $600.00 on a so called state of the art phone to make it do what my wife's $50.00 Sync can do.

 

[GMAN901]

I just received my icombi adapter! So far I tested it with my itech R35 clip, but it doesn't seem to want to pair with the adapter. I noticed when I plugged the adapter in, I get a message stating the device is not compatible with the iPhone. The good news is that this is the first adapter I have tested where the audio seems to route through the adapter versus routing through the speakers. I noticed a couple other adapters, namely the motorola and jvc adapter did not change the audio from routing to the speakers. I am getting the Motorola S9 soon, so I hope these will pair!

 

[kwan]

Just received the Cerulean RX/TX and it works!
BT 2.0 and it connects to my Sony BT headunit. Best thing about it is I don't have to keep bringing it in from my car to recharge it, as it uses the iPhone's battery.

 

[jomaha]

I just received my icombi adapter! So far I tested it with my itech R35 clip, but it doesn't seem to want to pair with the adapter. I noticed when I plugged the adapter in, I get a message stating the device is not compatible with the iPhone. The good news is that this is the first adapter I have tested where the audio seems to route through the adapter versus routing through the speakers. I noticed a couple other adapters, namely the motorola and jvc adapter did not change the audio from routing to the speakers. I am getting the Motorola S9 soon, so I hope these will pair!

Pairing is always a bit tenous. The trick I have found to work with the Motorola S9's and Oakley O'Rokr's is when turning the headsets on (while the icombi adapter is in the iPhone), hold the on/off button for 10-15 seconds and it will search for the icombi adaptor, emit a double or long "beep" and begin to transmit. I have found you will get the "not compatible" message whenever you connect it to any 30 pin peripherals not sold as "iPhone Compatible"

Note on the S9's: I cannot get the phone to work through the icombi adaptor/S9 combinoation. Plays iPod great though.

 

[blinkygab]

iPhone + icombi AP21 + Motorola S9 works for me.

 

[el31415]

I just received my icombi adapter! So far I tested it with my itech R35 clip, but it doesn't seem to want to pair with the adapter. I noticed when I plugged the adapter in, I get a message stating the device is not compatible with the iPhone. The good news is that this is the first adapter I have tested where the audio seems to route through the adapter versus routing through the speakers. I noticed a couple other adapters, namely the motorola and jvc adapter did not change the audio from routing to the speakers. I am getting the Motorola S9 soon, so I hope these will pair!

I have the motorola S9 and I love it pair with almost anything that has bluetooth

" I noticed when I plugged the adapter in, I get a message stating the device is not compatible with the iPhone. "

Anything not specialy designed for the iPhone will give you that message

I'm getting same message when I use IPOD acessories and they work work anyway

 

[GMAN901]

I have the motorola S9 and I love it pair with almost anything that has bluetooth

" I noticed when I plugged the adapter in, I get a message stating the device is not compatible with the iPhone. "

Anything not specialy designed for the iPhone will give you that message

I'm getting same message when I use IPOD acessories and they work work anyway

Yeah, I got the S9 and it works perfectly! This is so cool to have, even if I have to use the very small icombi adapter! I love that I have a wireless BT phone now when jogging outside! I must admit that my phone before the iPhone was the imate Jam, which did not come with the BT stereo profile, but it did let me tether to my laptop. I actually modified my Jam to use a hacked BT stereo profile, but it sucked! This definitely makes me feel that my iPhone is complete!

 

[moberod]

Motorola S9/iCombi

Note on the S9's: I cannot get the phone to work through the icombi adaptor/S9 combinoation. Plays iPod great though.

I had some difficulty with that initially. I got lucky and got it to work the first time, but then I could only get one to work at a time (either the bluetooth working with the iPhone or the iCombi adapter to listen to music, not both). Here's what I did to fix it. When you initially pair the S9 with the iCombi, have Bluetooth turned OFF on your iPhone. Turn the S9 on at the same time as you connect the iCombi to your iPhone. Wait for that to pair and test out the music and make sure it works. Then disconnect the iCombi, turn on Bluetooth on your phone, and pair your S9 to the iPhone. Then, all you have to do is connect the iCombi back to your phone and you should be good to go for both.

After that initial double pairing, you should always be able to use both without going through the same trouble. You won't have to turn your Bluetooth on or off on your phone anymore; you can leave it On all the time. Just turn on your headset and wait a second for iPhone to recognize it, and then connect the iCombi.

Because it's not "supposed" to work for the iPhone, occasionally, I've noticed the iCombi will stop working for little or no reason. Just disconnect and reconnect, and you're good to go.

In my opinion, this is a small hassle to deal with in order to have Stereo Bluetooth while Apple gets their stuff ready to update the iPhone.

 

[Spin This!]

Again, it appears that even though the Bluetooth software that Apple licensed support A2DP, Apple disabled this feature.

Apple didn't disable the feature... it was never implemented to begin with. A2DP is a specific Bluetooth profile. The standard doesn't define what profiles a manufacturer must include in their device.

Apple's upcoming Leopard includes support for A2DP; I'd expect to see implementation in the iPhone eventually.

 

[Life_is_art]

"Disable" = "To deprive of capability or effectiveness" (American Heritage Dictionary

Apple didn't disable the feature... it was never implemented to begin with. A2DP is a specific Bluetooth profile. The standard doesn't define what profiles a manufacturer must include in their device.

Apple's upcoming Leopard includes support for A2DP; I'd expect to see implementation in the iPhone eventually.

I understand that profile is essentially a definition of a feature set, and that a given "Bluetooth enabled" device won't support all profiles - they're not all appropriate.

The earlier point in this thread, though, is that the Bluetooth software that Apple licensed (called BlueMagic, from Open Interface) DOES provide all the necessary codecs and support for A2DP. In fact, that company's claim to fame is their great Bluetooth audio.

So as far as we can tell, Apple has all the necessary software and communications capability for A2DP already installed on the iPhone - they simply failed to "turn it on", whatever else that required in the phone's OS and hardware. I guess it's fair to quibble whether that qualifies as "disabling" or "failing to enable"....

But again, the whole point is that the iPhone is supposed to be the end-all & be-all, state-of-the-art media phone.... and yet it doesn't provide this feature that's now becoming standard issue on other phones.

 

[Spin This!]

the Bluetooth software that Apple licensed... DOES provide all the necessary codecs and support for A2DP....they simply failed to "turn it on"

Just because the hardware supports it doesn't mean an OS X driver—compiled specifically for Apple's custom ARM-based chipset on the iPhone—is going to magically appear out of nowhere. Again, A2DP was never implemented in Apple's mobile OS X to begin with.

the whole point is that the iPhone is supposed to be the end-all & be-all....

You can believe what you want but show me on Apple's website where it says this. If you really think any device is the "end-all, be all" I can understand you're pretty pissed.

Give Apple some time... or even write to Apple. Complaining about a feature here isn't going to magically bring it to life.

 

[HELPmepLox]

I had some difficulty with that initially. I got lucky and got it to work the first time, but then I could only get one to work at a time (either the bluetooth working with the iPhone or the iCombi adapter to listen to music, not both). Here's what I did to fix it. When you initially pair the S9 with the iCombi, have Bluetooth turned OFF on your iPhone. Turn the S9 on at the same time as you connect the iCombi to your iPhone. Wait for that to pair and test out the music and make sure it works. Then disconnect the iCombi, turn on Bluetooth on your phone, and pair your S9 to the iPhone. Then, all you have to do is connect the iCombi back to your phone and you should be good to go for both.

After that initial double pairing, you should always be able to use both without going through the same trouble. You won't have to turn your Bluetooth on or off on your phone anymore; you can leave it On all the time. Just turn on your headset and wait a second for iPhone to recognize it, and then connect the iCombi.

Because it's not "supposed" to work for the iPhone, occasionally, I've noticed the iCombi will stop working for little or no reason. Just disconnect and reconnect, and you're good to go.

In my opinion, this is a small hassle to deal with in order to have Stereo Bluetooth while Apple gets their stuff ready to update the iPhone.

so after u went through the complication of the first time, the phone now has a saved record of those devices and u don't have to turn on and off to with the same hassle right

 

[moberod]

so after u went through the complication of the first time, the phone now has a saved record of those devices and u don't have to turn on and off to with the same hassle right

Pretty much. It seems that the S9 headset "remembers" the iCombi after they auto-pair with each other a few times. The key is to pair S9 and iCombi with Bluetooth OFF, the first time only. Then, turn Bluetooth On on iPhone with the iCombi NOT connected. Then, you can keep Bluetooth On on your iPhone forever. Just make sure you turn your headset on first, and THEN connect the iCombi.