Monday, Apple finally approved some IM apps that now support push notifications. Included in the updates was my app of choice, Beejive. When it first hit the app was a little slow and had a problem with signing into AOL. I think the slowness was everyone wanting to try it out and the AOL issue was resolved within a day. Everytime I have tested the push it has come in within a second from when the other user send me a message. I am very happy with how this is working. Since then I am now always signed in with my phone instead of my work and home computers. My only complaint is I wish Beejive had a little louder sound when the push notification comes in. I was thinking they would have just used the text message sound, but instead it is the iChat bubble sound when you type in a message. It is a very small complaint that I can live with. Some users have reported unsuitability with it, but I haven’t had any of those issues either. Here is a pic of what the push notification looks like.
Another new feature in 3.0 is now support for bluetooth Stereo headphones. I wanted to give these a try, but figured they would be at least $50 and was going to pass. I read some reviews and found out the Insignia NS-BTHDP model is quite affordable on ebay. I bought them for around $18 shipped, so I figured I couldn’t go wrong. I am amazed at how well they sound and it is really nice to cut the cable when I want to listen to music/podcasts. The headphones have a built in mic for answering calls as well, but I think mine were defective, as I haven’t been able to get the mic to work with my phone or computer. I’ve emailed the seller to hopefully get a replacement, but it isn’t a huge deal. I mainly wanted them to listen to music when mowing the lawn and doing other things around the house. They aren’t the most attractive headphones, but they do sound good.
