Hearing, Speaking Better is Company Goal

A firm on the Suffolk County side of Long Island's Islip Airport, Andrea Electronics, has a bunch of products they say will let you speak more clearly on (or to) a computer, as well as online. If they work as advertised, you might find good uses, and good bargains, here.

I spent some time today with Doug Andrea, third-generation CEO of the firm, and got the scoop on their headsets, microphones and other gear designed to cancel surrounding noise and let you be heard clearly. If you bought a copy of IBM Corp.'s "Via Voice" software years ago, you got an Andrea-made headset/mic combo. If you have a notebook from Dell or HP with two mics built into the top of the screen, ditto.

The firm has a new Bluetooth headset for cell phones and PCs which promises better voice reproduction and longer battery life. There's also a device that'll bridge your phone, your PC and your headset: make a voice call, answer a Skype online call, and bridge the two, the firm promises. And there's a USB-based headset offering, Mr. Andrea says, superior sound.

Of course, these are all the claims of a manufacturer, but I've known the Andrea Electronics name for more years than I care to reveal here (their former offices were near my boyhood home in New York City). Mr. Andrea has promised some review samples and if they work as advertised -- or if they don't -- expect a review in The Washington Times.