Austin-made BluSpeech to make conversations in cars less shouty

If you've ever found yourself shouting in your car from the driver's seat to a passenger in the back seat and struggling to be heard, you might be interested in a new Austin-made gadget, BluSpeech.

Especially in larger vehicles like vans, road noise, the car stereo and other factors and make it difficult to have a conversation. In development by Austin startup Netabla since 2012, the $199 Bluetooth set doesn't require a phone to operate and includes two receivers that act a bit like walkie-talkies, transmitting audio with a range of about 50 feet. They can be charged by USB and, says co-founder John Lawrence, they cancel out noise with digital signal processors, allowing for clearer, less-shouty conversations. The set comes with clips for car visors, but BlueSpeech can also be used in the home or other environments. It's available for purchase at bluspeech.com.