Windows Phone Thoughts: Talking on the Wind -- the Helium Digital Bluetooth Communicator HDBT-110

Installation and Setup
After getting the package opened, the first order of business is to charge the internal battery. Within the Communicator, the rechargeable battery is already installed, and not user replaceable. Charging is accomplished through the supplied cable, which has a standard USB plug on one end and what looks like a proprietary connector on the other. One neat feature about the Communicator is that the charging socket on the unit comes with a rubber protective insert, which is attached to the Communicator unit.


Figure 3: Location of the connectors and controls on the Helium Communicator.

For the initial charging, I used a wall-plug to USB adapter I had available and used it. After about 3.5 hours, the blue and red LEDs went out and it was done. I haven't had to recharge it yet, but according to the manual, subsequent charges should take 2 to 3 hours.

Connecting the Communicator is just like using a regular Bluetooth headset. There is no software nor drivers to install. You just need to have the phone (or laptop or whatever) recognize the device and establish pairing. It even uses the common '0000' security PIN, if required.


Figure 4: The Helium Communicator recognized by the ETEN Bluetooth Manager.

After initial pairing was set up, I found that both phones immediately reconnected whenever the Communicator was turned on.

Using the Communicator
The Helium Communicator incorporates two sets of LEDs to display status – one blue and one red, which are co-located in a ring around the central speaker. The blue set is used to show the unit is on (single flash) and paired (multi-flash).


Figure 5: Blue LEDs surround the Helium speaker

The red set shows when the unit is being shut down.


Figure 6: Helium's Red LEDs.

When the unit is charging, both the blue and red are displayed solidly together, giving a cute pink tinge. When charging is complete, the red LEDs will go out, leaving just the blue. The blue and red flash alternately when the battery needs recharging.

There are also audio cues provided for power on (ascending tones), paired (single blip), and shut down (descending tones).

Once everything is paired up, operation is simple and straightforward. The only slight oddity I found was the use of the Volume Down (-) key to initiate Voice Dialing, since my Motorola BT Headset uses the pickup button. Since the Communicator supports advanced functions like Call Waiting and Conferencing (if you've subscribed to these) each of the buttons has multiple functions, based on the current mode and tap vs. press and hold. All of these are explained very clearly in the User Manual which comes with the unit.