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Bluetooth product announcements flood out of CES

A wave of innovative new Bluetooth devices are being unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. We're sorting through the horde of CES announcements to find the top Bluetooth technology news.

CES is guaranteed to dazzle and excite, with Bluetooth technology helping to create excitement. The wave of new products will include new Bluetooth Smart and Bluetooth Smart Ready phones, health & wellness devices, consumer electronics devices, and PC peripherals.

After the show, many more Bluetooth Smart and Bluetooth Smart Ready devices will roll out around the world throughout 2012. This is just the beginning of the Smart Revolution.

Here are some of the new Bluetooth products unveiled at CES:

Sony SmartWatch

Sony SmartWatch for Android phones

Sony jumped into the emerging smart watch market at CES with a new device named simply the Sony SmartWatch. It uses Bluetooth technology to connect to the new Sony Xperia arc S and Xperia ion smartphones, and is also compatible with Android phones from HTC, Motorola, Samsung, and others.

The SmartWatch acts as a secondary display, showing texts and other notifications while also letting you manage basic phone functions from your wrist. You can even check Facebook posts, tweets, text messages and e-mail. CNET published this report with video of the watch in action.

Scosche reference-grade headphones

Scosche unveiled a pair of Bluetooth headphones designed for audiophiles. The Scosche RH1056mdbt headphones include a range of premium featuresd and materials, including mylar for a virtually weightless audio membrane, precision wound copper voice coils and rare-earth neodymium magnets. The headphones cost $229 and are available now.

Eton Rukus Solar speaker

This unique speaker is able to pair with any Bluetooth enabled smartphone, laptop or tablet and get its power from the sun. Eton says the solar panel on the Rukus Solar speaker can charge its internal lithium battery in about 6 hours in direct sunlight. You can also charge it with the included AC adapter or via USB. The speaker is due out in May and comes in different colors.

Parrot touch-activated headphones

These stylish new headphones from Parrot feature a touch panel on the entire surface of the right earpiece. Swipe the panel vertically to set the volume or swipe it horizontally to skip forward or rewind your music.

Called the ZIK Parrot by Starck, these headphones use Bluetooth technology to connect to a phone or other Bluetooth enabled device. They also have an active noise isolating system and phone features in addition to music playback capabilities. No price or release date was announced.

iHealth Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor

The iHealth Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor lets users test, track and share their blood pressure wirelessly. They can connect their iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad via Bluetooth technology to a soft blood pressure cuff.

The companion iHealth app includes data and graphics that allows users to view their blood pressure numbers, track them over time, and run reports. They can share the results online with their doctor or anyone they choose.

No price was announced. The product is due out in the first half of 2012. iHealth also announced a wireless weight scale with Bluetooth technology and a "smart" glucose meter.

Acoustic Research Bluetooth speaker

Venerable speaker manufacturer Acoustic Research announced a new Bluetooth wireless speaker that can connect to virtually any smartphone, including Android, iPhone, Windows Phone and Blackberry devices.

The $129 ARS70 speaker can be controlled from the phone while streaming music playlists.

iCade arcade game controls for iPhone and iPad

Retro gamers will delight at the new iCade Core.

The device uses Bluetooth technology to provde a wireless connection to an iPad inserted in a slot on top of a cabinet, allowing gamers to play classic arcade games like Pac-Man or Asteroids with real arcade-style joystick and buttons.

The company also showed a smaller cabinet called the iCade Jr for playing games on an iPhone or iPod Touch.

BodyMedia Link armband and smartphone app

The BodyMedia Link Armband uses four sophisticated sensors to capture over 5,000 data points per minute to track everything from calories burned, steps taken and levels of physical activity.

Then it sends the information to a smartphone using Bluetooth technology, providing the user with a real-time look at how many calories they're burning.

BodyMedia claims the $179 device provides the most accurate calorie burn of any device on the market.

Other CES news and events

Best of CES awards

The Bluetooth SIG announced the winners in its 7th annual Best of CES contest on 11 January 2012. For a look at the winners and all the finalists, visit our Best of CES page.

Health and wellness

Bluetooth wireless technology is changing the way medical devices connect doctors to patient - securely. Visit our CES Health & Wellness page to learn about the impact Bluetooth technology is having on the Health & Wellness market.

The Bluetooth SIG is participating in the Digital Health Summit at CES. Hear what Bluetooth SIG Executive Director Mike Foley has to say during his panel discussion "The End of the Couch Potato: How is Technology Motivating us to Stay Fit and Healthy?" on Thursday, 12 January 2012 at 4:10pm in North Hall N250.

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