I stopped using my Nokia ear bud because the Skype callers said the mic on the N800 sounded clearer to them. But, thanks for the tip in the RCA headphones. I need something better to listen to Leo Laporte's TWIT while mowing the lawn. (Note:I'm such a geek...and I'm not using the N800 for yard work. I have an old SanDisk 512MB I use for that.)

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SKYPE and GizmoProject ( and RTCOMM ) bluetooth please.
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I did the xterm hacks for Kagu bluetooth but that doesn't work with non-stereo headsets, so my two bluetooth models still don't work with the N800. If OS2008 is officially released and lacks a working Skype it matters not to me if OS2008 supports HSP and AVRCP.

My headphone/headset hack is working nicely.

The built in microphone on the N800 is extremely sensitive. That is good when sitting at a table or desk and using the N800 in speakerphone mode for Skype. QUESTION: Have you tried doing that with any SIP running via RTCOMM? Everyone I called complained of a substantial echo (they could hear themselves). Furthermore, if you are in a noisey room or outdoors, or in a car, you can forget using the built in microphone. The sensitive mic. picks up every sound and sends it. This background noise problem applies to all forms of VOIP ( RTCOMM, SKYPE and GIZMO). The wired headset cuts much of the backgournd noise.

No one has said my wired headset's mic. sounds unclear (yet).

I'll be happy once the N800 has BT headset profile so I can start using my IOGear and Mot. headsets with it.

Echo when using internal mic and speakers? or internal mic and headphones?

I use headphones and the internal mic, and as long as I keep my mouth close to the mic it works great; the mic gain will crank up if it doesn't have a good strong sound source.

The only problem I've had is when using the N800 as a speaker phone, audio will cut in and out unless there's a steady stream of sound going into the mic, I think the voice activity detection is a bit screwy or something. I didn't have this problem with OS2007, but I did have some terrible echo (when using builtin mic and speaker)

I'm using N800 and OS2007, bad echo with RTCOMM as speaker VOIP-phone. No echo with Skype as VOIP-speakerphone.

So, what if I buy a nice headset with a boom mic, is there any way to rewire the mic in the Nokia earbuds to go to an external mic while keeping the button functional?

The microphone is in the pendant shown in one of my photos. The microphone is soldered directly to the printed circuit board's component side. To do what I think you are describing would involve unsoldering the microphone on that pcb (in the Nokia pendant). You should not have two microphones in parallel. Also.... I do not know the specifications of the Nokia microphone.....things like impedance, sensitivity, etc. so it is not a slam dunk that your boom microphones electrical characteristics would match. It might, and it might not.

There is a tiny pin hole in the pendant, and the microphone wasn't directly on the other side of that pin hole. The Nokia microphone was buried in some "channels" that the sound traveled through. almost like a miniature pipe or tubular structure. Probably to some provide protection from wind when used outdoors. If you do your own microphone, you won't have that wind guard. Keep that in mind. I am surprised how "sensitive" that microphone in the Nokia pendant is, especially when I saw how far away it was buried from the outside of the pendant.

The PCB isn't designed to accommodate an external microphone wiring (there are no large "lands" to solder to, as with the headphone wires). You are going to be challenged to connect an external mic to the pendant's PCB. There is circuitry on that PCB that may play a role in the mic's functionality (resistors, capacitors) too, so I don't know if wiring your mic to the N800's 3.5mm plug directly is alright, but it could be.

There is no reason to mess with the button functionality. Pressing that button just grounds something electrically, maybe it is the mic line. If it is the mic line that gets grounded when the button is pressed, connecting your mic electrically where the nokia mic WAS (in the pendant) should retain the button's function.

I hope I haven't confused matters for you. Good luck, let us know how you made out if you try wiring in your boom mic. If you have any other questions, I'll do what I can to answer them.

M5

I'm still waiting for the next OS2008 (with the working Skype client). Let me know when it is ready for prime time.

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Can someone please recommend an application for the N800 that will show the N800's IP address in the home screen? I am tired of drilling into the connection manager to get that. I thought I saw someone's IT screenshot and his IP addr. was showing at all times. Thanks in advance for that application. M5

Hey everyone,

Just a little info on mics/earphones ect..

I too have found that the n800's onboard mic is great and does a better job. I just use a cheap set of regular ole stereo headphones while using skype etc.. and it works great.

That is good, but to answer Skype calls, and end Skype calls with the N800 in your pocket or a case on a belt clip, you need to have the Nokia pendant pushbutton.

I did not think Skype would work properly with an ordinary headphone plugged into the jack ( I thought the internal N800 mic would be disabled ). I'm glad it does, but I still want the pushbutton, and the external mic that is in the pendant. I won't need that after the bluetooth really works with Skype....whenever that day arrives.