Communications have made some huge leaps forward over the past couple of years, and with them the possibility of carrying out multiple-person conversations at large distances (teleconferences). And one of the best examples of this evolution is represented by Parrot's Conference device, released back in the first half of 2007, which, at the time of its launch, has been touted by the manufacturer as the first Bluetooth hands-free teleconferencing system specifically designed to work with mobile phones.



Designed for use in large meeting rooms as well as offices and suites, the Parrot Conference features three high-sensitivity microphones for effective 360-degree voice pickup. Furthermore, since it's completely wireless, it can easily be moved from one room to another as needed. Additionally, the system features a 5W hi-fi speaker and advanced echo cancellation technology for clear, full-duplex conversations.



The 160x128-pixel, 262,144-color TFT LCD display of the Parrot Conference displays the phonebook, one's contact numbers, their identifier and the user settings. The device also sports a 12-key digital keypad that allows for speed dialing if required, as well as 5 different control buttons and an integrated Skype interface.



The whole system is run by no less than 3 Parrot P4+ microprocessors @ 64 MHz, as well as 32 MB of flash memory and 4 MB of SDRAM. Moreover, it incorporates 3 high-capacity Ni-MH batteries, which provide a continuous functioning time of around 10 hours (4 hours recharging time).



The Conference is compliant with Bluetooth specification v1.2 and supports several Bluetooth profiles, including here HSP 1.1 (Head Set Profile), HFP 1.0 & 1.5 (Hands Free Profile), OPP (Object Push Profile), PBAP (Phone Book Access Profile) and SYNC (Synchronization Profile). Moreover, it has a maximum range of around 30 feet (10 meters) and supports pairing with up to 50 phones or devices (by PIN code).



The Parrot Conference Bluetooth teleconferencing system retails for around 290 US dollars, which is actually a pretty decent price tag, taking into account the features and specs this device has to offer.