Trendnet ClearSky Bluetooth VoIP Conference Phone Kit: Cool looks but lukewarm sound

Setup and Installation

TRENDnet provides an installation guide to get you started quickly without having to read the user manual. The guide, generously illustrated with screen shots, takes you through the 18 steps required to install the Bluetooth adapter drivers, the applications, and initially pair the conference phone to the Bluetooth adapter. The users manual expands those steps to 22 steps and provides better instructions for initial pairing.

In addition to the device drivers, the installation process installs the TRENDnet pairing utility and a full version of BlueSoleil from IVT.

The TRENDnet pairing utility resides in the system tray and will automatically pair the adapter and the conference phone after the initial pairing if loaded. Figure 7 shows the TRENDnet Utility with its available options.

Figure 7: TRENDnet Phone Utility

BlueSoleil, which is a set of Bluetooth application profiles, simplifies connections between multiple Bluetooth devices. If you have other Bluetooth devices such as cell phones, Bluetooth-enabled printers, and others, you may find IVT Bluetooth very useful.

Figure 8 shows the BlueSoleil Main Window with a connection to the ClearSky phone.

Figure 8: BlueSoleil Main Screen showing connection to the ClearSky phone

Though both the Quick Installation Guide and Users Guide had fairly complete instructions, both stopped short of guiding the user to a completely successful installation. Specifically, in order to have calls redirected to the conference phone, you must first change the sound options from within Skype. Since neither of the guides explain how to perform the task, here's a quick run-through.

To change the sound device within Skype, click Tools, and then, click Options. From the Skype Options screen, select Sound Devices from the list of sub-menus. The Sound Devices panel appears (shown in Figure 9 below), allowing you to choose your Audio In, Audio Out and Ringing settings. Select Bluetooth SCO Audio for all three settings, and click Save.

Figure 9: Configure Skype Sound Devices