IOGEAR USB 2.1 Bluetooth Micro Adapter (GBU421)
by IOGEAR
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List Price: Our Price: $9.99 You Save: $6.96 (41%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of IOGEAR USB 2.1 Bluetooth Micro Adapter (GBU421)
Customer Review: IOGear USB 2.1 Bluetooth Micro Adapter GBU421
Summary: 5 Stars
So pleased to have this! Was enjoying recent laptop purchase with one exception, no bluetooth. This addressed that problem for me.
The physical item looks nice, flickers a blue light that is not distracting at all. Streamlined shape has not snagged on bag as I pull laptop out of bag or return. Thought the smooth, curved surface might make it difficult to extract from the USB slot if desired, although I prefer to leave it in place. It was actually easier to remove than the small adapter that accompanies the MS wireless mouse 3500, and felt sturdier.
The functionality has been a pleasure. It installed readily on a Windows 7 Home Premium laptop. It immediately located my personal cell, my work cell, my son's cell. I haven't been able to use it to connect the MS mouse, but suspect that this is a function of the mouse rather than this device.
I expect it to connect, so I'm not overwhelmed by the fact that it does. But the range is better than I expected. In my case, this extended my cell phone options nicely.
I can get a decent cell phone signal on the first floor, but typically not in the basement rec room. Had cell on charger on 1st floor, was downstairs with laptop. Opened the pc suite software (Nokia's Ovi) for my cell phone and was able to sync phone.
Showing my technological naivete . . . I had not realized that I could reply to my phone's text messages through the phone by typing on computer (through the pc suite Ovi software) . . . I've sent texts from my e-mail account, but it is inconvenient for recipient to reply. Being able to use the laptop keyboard for texting from phone was also a nice change from the smaller phone keypad.
So the net result was that I could leave cell phone on first floor, in decent signal range, and reply to text messages from laptop downstairs, thanks to this device. If cell had been downstairs, it would not have had signal.
I'm pleased, was worth the price.
Customer Review: Works on Win 7...with a little work.
Summary: 3 Stars
I just got this today and didn't read any reviews on this item...figured how much trouble could i run into. :)
I have a net-book (had Win 7 starter, upgraded to full)and it didn't come with a Bluetooth option, so I had to get an adapter. I bought this one.
When I first ran the drivers, on installation a driver failed. Said I could probably use the device still. I was able to connect my device, but it had alot of interference and didn't respond so well. I went online to find a solution. I read on a post about a different adapter with the same issue and how they resolved it.
They mentioned they downloaded the Broadcom utility program from their site and that's how they fixed their issue on a Toshiba. Figured I give a try on my Asus Eee PC.
Here's how I fixed my issue on Win 7 Home Premium:
Leave your drivers installed, whether from the CD or downloaded from site ( I did both).
Make sure you adapter is active and then run the Broadcom utility([...]), this will take some time as it will search for your model and after a bit start to downnload and install correct drivers. It will delete the previous installation of drivers.
I knew it was working when it identified the failed driver.
It will post that it has stopped your service and will begin to update. Some installs will display failed, not sure why...but looking in my device manager it found the correct drivers for all unidentifiable Bluetooth items.
Be patient and let it run its course and you should be good. I just paired my Motorola S9-HD. Works like a charm.
I hope this helps those who bought or might choose to buy it. Seems like the drivers for a few adapters don't work correctly.
Gave it a 3 for the hassle... :) But does work, with a little work.
Cheers!
Customer Review: Fantastic!
Summary: 5 Stars
IOGear USB 2.1 Bluetooth Micro Adapter GBU421
This product is fantastic! I bought it so I could transfer pictures from my cell phone to my laptop since my cell phone does not have a memory card in it. When I received it, I didn't bother with the CD that it came with. I went to the IOGear website and downloaded the drivers for Windows XP, which is the operating system I have. The instructions are to download the drivers and install the software first before inserting the bluetooth adapter into the laptop. After the drivers and software are installed, you restart the laptop and then connect the bluetooth adapter. It worked perfectly!. I then clicked on the option to add a bluetooth device and it found my cell phone right away. The set up was simple and quick. The transferring of pictures takes seconds. I use to do it through email which took a while and would not let me transfer pictures through email if the pictures were too large. The bluetooth has no problem with this. I also transferred pictures from my laptop to my cell phone which took seconds. It does this and so much more. I havent tried all the other things it can do yet.
I would recommend this product to everyone. You will not be disappointed. It is worth every penny.
P.S. The IOGear manual that comes with the product says if you have Win XP installed with service pack 2 you could go to the microsoft website and get the generic bluetooth drivers. I tried that first and that was not sucessful. I contacted IOGear through tech support Live Chat which is on their website and they were very helpful in telling me to download the drivers from their page instead of from Microsoft even though I have Win XP with service pack 3. That was excellent advice since the product worked after I did that.
Customer Review: Great adapter for a laptop
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great bluetooth adapter. I got tired of using my BlackBerry's USB cable to sync, but my laptop did not have a built-in bluetooth adapter. I looked at a number of options and found this item. The high rating it has is well-deserved.
As odd as this may sound, the size and shape of the adapter were really important considerations for me as I did not want a bulky USB dongle that was at risk of being snapped in half. (I've done this with USB memory sticks before and know just how easy it is to do.) The rounded shape is great because it never gets caught on anything. The size is great because it only sticks out about 1/4 of an inch from the side of my laptop (though the USB slot is slightly recessed into the casing of my Dell Latitude D620, so it gets a little help there).
Functionally, the drivers were easy to install. If you have a slot optical drive, you'll need to download the drivers since the the provided driver CD is a mini-CD. (I recommend downloading the drivers anyway since you always get the latest version that way.)
I only have had two issues with the adapter, neither of which warrant lessening the rating:
-The manufacturer's drivers did not work with my BlackBerry, but that isn't really the fault of IOGear. The built-in Microsoft drivers work fine with the adapter, so I think the manufacturer's drivers may never actually be needed. I recommend not installing the manufacturer's drivers unless something doesn't work with the default Microsoft drivers.
-Because the adapter is so small, it can be difficult to remove. BUT since it is so small anyway, I only remove it when I fly (since transmitting on an airplane is just a bad idea and potentially dangerous).
Anyway, 5 out of 5. I've used the word many times in this review, but it is worth repeating: great!
Customer Review: Windows 7 users read on to avoid a nightmare!
Summary: 3 Stars
For Windows 7 users, it can work but ignore the IO Gear instalation instructions! I tried to follow them and those hours of my life are gone forever :-( Yes I did follow the directions, check the website for the latest drivers, try turning off my antivirus, try running the driver software using the windows "compatability mode" (which has never worked) and check the reviews on Amazon and any available forums ect... Here is what finally worked: Plug the IO gear bluetooth adapter in to a usb port and go to Control panel, Hardware & Devices, Add a Device. Then turn on whateever bluetooth device you plan on using with your computer and make shure it is in Available mode or Discover mode (I used a Sony Bluetooth reciever that I connected to my stereo reciever and hade to hold a button down for 7 seconds to make it discoverable). The device will apear in the control panel window and you can attempt to conect to it (I forget if this was automatic or I had to click on something but it was easy). The control panel will then tell you that it failed to connect because the driver software is missing. You can then right click the device and select Diagnose which will lead you to an automatic search for the driver software that will install correctly as long as you following the instructions. Interestingly, the download and install screen that appeared using this process looked completely different from the one that appeared when I used the IO Gear installation instructions but it actually worked! Once the install was complete I was able to stream music from my computer to my stereo (via the sony bluetooth reciever) and it worked fine though the sound is just ok for music. It was also easy to turn of the IO gear adapter so that I could use my built in speakers on the computer when needed. Hope this helps!