BlackBerry Remote Stereo Gateway Review

There’s hardly a day that goes by when I’m not listening to music on my Treo or Centro with Pocket Tunes Deluxe.

Overall, music has consistently been one of the favourite functionalities on my smartphone and I’ve always sought to find the best new solutions available to enhance my mobile music experience.

Among others, over the years I have added the following to my arsenal:

Software

• magicButton (see my review): controls PocketTunes (Play, Stop, Prev and Next track, forward and rewind) using any corded headset with button such as the Palm 2 in 1 Stereo Headset Pro.
• Softick Audio Gateway (see my review): provides wireless streaming audio (A2DP and AVRCP) support for Treo and Centro so that you can listen to music using a Bluetooth Stereo Headphone
• Kinoma Player 4EX (see my review): provides access to thousands of podcasts and more while on the go.
• Station Ripper: allows you to “save” online radio streams as individual mp3 files.

Services

• DRM-free music downloads from amazonmp3
• Music subscription services such as Yahoo Music Unlimited, Rhapsody To Go and Napster To Go

Accessories

• 2.5mm Stereo Adapter
• Audio Y Cable Splitter
• In-car FM Transmitter
• Bluetooth Stereo Headphones: Motorola S9 and Plantronics 855
• Large 16GB SDHC (for Treo 680) and 8GB microSDHC (for Centro) memory cards
• Bose Quiet Comfort 2 Noise Cancelling Headphones

Now the latest addition to my Treo and Centro Music Kit is the new BlackBerry Remote Stereo Gateway – a small and ultralight solution that allows you to wirelessly transmit music to your home or portable stereo (Note: Palm OS smartphones need to have Softick Audio Gateway installed).

The main advantage of this Remote Stereo Gateway is that it provides a direct connection to your stereo via the included Audio Y Cable (below center) or 3.5mm Stereo Cable (below right).  Music is transmitted wirelessly over Bluetooth to the device from where it’s fed directly to your stereo – thus significantly increasing audio quality over that provided by traditional FM transmitters.

In order to keep the weight to a minimum, the BlackBerry Remote Stereo Gateway does not have an internal battery which means that you’ll need to have a mini-USB wall charger (not included) to keep it powered at all times.

Once paired with your Treo or Centro you’ll be able to roam freely in a room, listen to your favourite music streamed to your stereo all the while having the benefit of keeping the smartphone in your hands to forward/skip your tunes whenever you want – perfect if you happen to be in a “music discovery” mode.

Overall, the BlackBerry Remote Stereo Gateway is exactly the solution that I have been looking for but its relative complexity and cost will clearly not be for everyone.  A great and very affordable alternative is simply to combine a 2.5mm Stereo Adapter with a long Audio Y Cable Splitter and plug your smartphone directly into your stereo.

Treonauts always play a different tune…