Robert S. Anthony, PC World

PC World magazine features an article about the 510 Bluetooth headset from Sound ID, Mountain View, Calif–located in the heart of the Silicon Valley–which is being promoted as the world’s first wireless headset with its own personalized iPhone app.

The article notes that instead of developing the unit as just another Bluetooth device, it was designed "ear-gonomics" in mind, CEO Michael R. Jones told the publication. Jones previously served as president and CEO of Phonak LLC, and as CEO of Phonak Group, oversaw North American operations, and also the worldwide operations for Unitron. He is a past chairman of the Better Hearing Institute and the Hearing Industries Association.

Model 510 includes several earpieces and an earhook so each user can get a comfortable fit, and also works with Sound ID EarPrint, a new iPhone app, to tune its audio quality to the user’s ear. The free app is available for download in the Apple iTunes App store now, but the unit will not be offered at AT&T stores until June 6.

To read the entire article, click here.

The EarPrint app functions as an equalizer while adjusting audio compression.

Three microphones and Sound ID’s noise-suppression technology separate voices from other sounds, making outgoing audio clearer, according to the article.

The unit, which supports Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, is rated for 5.5 hours of talk time and 135 hours of standby time per charge.

The company aims to bring personalized sound to mainstream consumers by combining deep knowledge of the human ear with cutting-edge Bluetooth technology and patented adaptive noise compensation techniques, according to the Sound ID Web site.
 
The company was founded in 2000 by otologist and entrepreneur Rodney Perkins, MD. He assembled scientists and engineers in psychoacoustics, product design, and software development to create the products.

Perkins participated in the development of several successful Silicon Valley companies, three of which have gone public–ReSound, Laserscope, and Collagen Corp, notes the Web site.  Perkins is the founder of the California Ear Institute at Stanford, and holds 10 issued patents.
 
He received his medical degree from Indiana University, served his surgical residency at Stanford University School of Medicine and fellowship at the House Ear Institute, according to his bio on the site.

[Source: PC World]