Apps on earphones? where can't they go?

Smartphones are the obvious location for apps, they’ve got loads between them but, they’re not the only places. Obviously laptops and desktop computers have had apps or widgets for ages, whether they’re calculators or a Spotify launcher.

Apps are creeping into TVs – new sets from places like Samsung and LG come with Facebook and weather applications – and other household appliances are getting in on apps too.

The Wall Street Journal drew attention to one of the more surprising places you can find apps, a Bluetooth headset, Aliph’s Jawbone Icon. It’s headphones that connect with your computer or indeed smartphone via Bluetooth meaning you don’t need to plug them in and you can talk hands-free.

Plug the headset into a computer go to the relevant website and you can download apps for this, what is essentially a microphone with an earpiece.

Of course as the WSJ points out – this is great for consumers because it means that when they buy something it can increase in functionality through these extra pieces of software.

So how can you possibly increase the functionality of a headset with apps?
Well, through your computer you can give it either audio apps or dialling apps. Audio apps do things like give you an audio reminder that the battery is about to die, dialling apps “perform functions by dialing out on your phone, like hands-free text messaging”. Presumably you need a handset to really understand what that means.

See Jawbone products here
The Jawbone MyTalk software site is still in private Beta
The Wall Street Journal is behind a paywall so you probably can’t see that either, but if you can, it’s here