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: Adapter Works; Needs Improvement
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this adapter to work with my two year old Vaio laptop that didn't have integrated Bluetooth. I use it to connect to wireless headphones and my Android smart phone. I go between two operating systems including Windows 7 and Ubuntu 10.10 so I have been able to utilize this adapter in both operating systems with little problems, though it wasn't a painless process to set this up.
Within Windows I experienced the most problems in that the provided mini-disc didn't work at all and I had to resort to downloading the software to use it from the manufacturer. I was hoping that Windows 7 would have native support and that I wouldn't need anything extra but to use it to transfer files and not just stream music the software is a prerequisite. When using Linux(Ubuntu) I didn't experience any problems and had it running within a couple minutes.
The device itself does the job I need it to do although I am upset that the blue indication light is so bright. Although I am usually on the go when using it, I feel as though the light isn't necessary and quite frankly distracting if I am watching a movie or typing. When the device is synced and transferring data it is constantly blinking like a blue strobe light so be fore warned.
Being so small I don't really notice it in the laptop, it sticks out about 7mm, and so far has held up pretty good. The device stays firmly plugged in and doesn't feel loose at all. So with my disdain for the blue light and the setup process set aside you can't really go wrong with this as its cheap and does its job.
Customer Review: Good product but beware of using with Vista 64 bit
Summary: 3 Stars
Several reviews have stated that they had gotten this to work with Vista 64 bit. I didn't bother checking for compatibility because I purchased this item at a brick and morter retailer and the package said "Vista". It did not specify 32 or 64 bit and usually when that's the case, it will work with both. I'm currently running 64 bit Ultimate edition. Most posts that mentioned that it worked seemed to be using 64 bit home premium. Maybe that's the problem? I tried both calling and emailing tech support. When I called it was 10pm on the weekend and they answered within 2 minuets. Great response there, but the rep didn't seem to want to help me. He told me to return it and buy a different one which was supported on 64 bit. The one he recommended was much larger though. I also emailed and had gotten the same response. I requested an ETA for 64 bit support and he said that there was none. The product works very well on my XP machines. If the packaging and support was better I would have happily given this product 5 starts.
4/10/09 - Update
I was notified by IOGear of new drivers. I've been using them for a few weeks now and they're a big improvement. They work well with Vista Ultimate 64 bit. I still think they should have labeled the packaging better since for the first 6+ months they were on the market, there were not drivers for the 64 bit OS. Since the new drivers are working so well, I would probably give it a rating of 4 now.
Customer Review: One of those "perfect" accessory gadgets that works!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the little gadgets that you find out that and wonder "why doesn't everybody do this?" In fact it's so simple that it's hard to write a review for it! Perhaps an explanation will help demonstrate.
So far, I have added this handy little gadget to two of my computers, one a windows XP system, which didn't come with Bluetooth, and a Vista equipped laptop, which came with Bluetooth but which I inadvertently uninstalled, then could not reinstall.
Both were a snap. For the XP system, I plugged it in and the system selected the drivers. After a few minutes of fooling around with the Bluetooth setup, I now have Bluetooth on my XP system. Same thing for the Vista system.I had simultaneously purchased Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10, with the wireless microphone version, because I did not want to be tied by a wire to the computer. Rather than using the much larger USB connector for Bluetooth which comes with the wireless microphone, I used this tiny little gadget. It's so small that with my notebook, I was able to insert it permanently on the far side of the laptop, where it does not interfere with using the mouse or plugging in other USB devices on the right side, or a larger device interferes with using the mouse.
So, for all the gadgets you can buy to add Bluetooth to a system which did not come with it already, this is my choice. In fact I plan on buying a couple more for use at the office.
Customer Review: Windows 7 64-bit installation with IOGear GBU421
Summary: 4 Stars
This only applies to Win 7 x64 users
Win 7 64-bit Installation of IOGear driver for GBU421 Bluetooth.....
Download, save and extract the zipped driver file for the appropriate version of windows from the IOGear site (do not use included mini-cd.) For Vista/Windows 7, this is version 6.3.0.6300, dated Sept 24, 2010.
[...].
Install the driver software first, before inserting the BT mini-adapter into a USB port.
DO NOT use the setup.exe in the root directory of the downloaded archive. Rather, go into the Win64 folder and find the Inst.exe application and run it. This should install all needed drivers for devices to be successfully recognized.
On my system, a bluetooth icon was placed in the taskbar which allowed me to select "add a device." You will need to know how to enable your device for sending a pairing signal once the computer is looking for devices. You will be told if the process completes successfully or not. In my case, this worked the first time, but only after messing with several other unsuccessful attempts in trying to follow the included instructions.
The only CON I have so far is that closing the Bluetooth Device Control window will disconnect my device, so it must be left open or minimized while the device is being used (headphone in my case.) I do not know if this is true with other devices.
Good luck
Customer Review: Win 7 user and it works great!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am using a Win7 laptop and I will say this thing works great! I know there are some reviews out there for this product saying it doesn't work but the problem is Win7 removed Bluetooth from the OS for some reason. If you search for the bluetooth stack installer you can download it and then put bluetooth back in Win7. It's an easy process, not sure why Microsoft removed bluetooth from Win7 but that's not the point of this review, point is once you install the bluetooth stack it works great!
Now for this dongle, it is very small and I love it hardly sticks out the side of my laptops USB port. I bought this because I use a laptop at work and we have to lock our computers everytime we step away from them, I have a tendnacy to forget to do this and I found a free program called "Phoenix Freeze" (google it) and it allows you to pair your bluetooth phone to your computer, then when you are within range your computer is unlocked, as soon as you step out of range it auto locks itself. It's a great program and this little dongle works perfectly with it!
The only "con" that I can think of is that it really is very small and is sometimes hard to grip if you need to remove it. It doesn't come out, you just have to firmly be able to grab it. But then again I never take it out so it's not that big of a deal for me.
I am very happy with this little device. It does exactly what I need.