Nokia Talks Up Bluetooth Speakerphone

Nokia has introduced a hands-free, Bluetooth-driven speakerphone designed for hands-free use in and outside the car - with up to 20 hours of talk time.

Finland’s Nokia has announced its new Nokia Speakerphone HF-300, a new Bluetooth-driven hands free device designed to ease communications both inside and outside the car, and with power management features offering up to 20 hours of talk time on a single charge.

“We are committed to providing convenient communications in the car—and out of it too. The beauty of the Nokia Speakerphone HF-300 is in its mobility, it goes where you go, when you want to talk,” said Wolfgang Gaertner, Nokia Automotive’s senior category manager. “We are excited to have the speakerphone as part of our expanding enhancements portfolio to meet the needs of our consumers.”

The HF-300 is Nokia’s first speakerphone, and sports integrated digital signal processing technologies to cancel out noise and echoes. The device runs on batteries (so there’s no cable trailing down to a lighter or in-car outlet) and the device turns itself automatically five minutes after users stop talking, which supposedly saves power and offers up to 20 hours of talk time. An LED indicator tells users when the battery is running low. The HF-300 can be used with a variety of Nokia devices supporting Bluetooth 1.1 or higher and the Handsfree Profile 1.0 or higher; however, there’s no reason to suspect the HF-300 wouldn’t work with devices from other manufacturers which meet those basic specs.

Nokia plans to offer the HF-300 worldwide during the third quarter of 2007 for €90 (about $122 USD).