OK, it's not a clever title. But it's where I am. I got a new phone yesterday evening. The LG VX5300 is a "tri-mode" analog-capable phone, which is important in Oregon where there are still substantial analog-only areas. The phone has some really cool features; a camera with flash, speakerphone, funky voice dialing, and support for Verizon's low-speed "NationalAccess" network featuring only airtime charges for access. The phone is Bluetooth, with quite a few claimed profiles supported…
So far, Bluetooth has been no fun. I wandered down to Fry's and bought some hardware. On the Linux side, I got a dongle that I have twice managed to get firmware into (or something) and get hooked up to the hci_usb driver so that it can talk. I can't reproduce this process at all, though. During the time I had the dongle working, I managed to pair my phone with it exactly once. Never could get it to work again.
I also bought a Bluetooth headset. The salesman talked me into a $80 Plantronics model he claimed was absolutely wonderful. Either the power supply or the battery is busted; it squeals and fails to hold a charge. Can't even try it out.
Fry's is such a nightmare. Guess I'll be back there early tomorrow, though, and trade in my headset. Don't know what to do about the dongle yet. (B)