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When you see someone walking down the street talking to themselves, or driving alone in their car having a conversation with no one in particular, its more likely that theyre chatting away on their cell phone with a wireless Bluetooth headset in their ear. With so many people relying on cell phones like additional appendages these days, theres a more comfortable solution than cradling a tiny handset on your shoulder. All you need is a Bluetooth-enabled phone and a compatible wireless headset.
Whether you want style, sound quality, comfort or all of the above in your Bluetooth device, youve got options. And while youre cutting cords, why not free up your music player too? You can easily pair it up with a set of Bluetooth Stereo headphones and listen to your tunes on the go. Some of these headphones are dual purpose and include an integrated or attachable mic for making phone calls. Heres a few of our favorites.
If youre looking for a Bluetooth headset strictly for mobile phone calls, Plantronics has two good options—the Voyager 510 and the Discovery 655. Our current Editors Choice in this category, the 510 is very comfortable with a snug fit. Phone calls sound loud and clear on this headset, and the 510 blocks out background noise well. The sleek Plantronics Discovery 655 is much smaller than the Voyager 510, but it has great sound and is also quite comfortable. The 655 also has cool features like a vibrate mode to alert you to an incoming call and the ability to charge the unit with a double-A battery when you dont have anywhere to plug in.
A more stylish, but just as effective option is the BlueAnt X3 micro. Available in six colors, the X3 micro has a fun, friendly design and a competitive price to boot. This device performs well and packs a couple of unique features. One such attribute is the ability to switch between up to three paired devices with the touch of a button: A convenience for those who frequently toggle between their cell phone and VoIP.
When it comes to dedicated Stereo Bluetooth models, weve recently looked at two very different options. The first is the budget-priced Logitech FreePulse Wireless Headphones. These sleekly styled more traditional pair sit over the ear, so some outside noise is able to leak in. Sound quality suffers a bit, but not too much.
Those craving more high quality sound may be intrigued by the Etymotic Ety8, high end in-ear headphones. You can easily connect it with your iPod, smartphone or mobile phone (for music only) and enjoy high resolution sound and good noise isolation. One issue some may have is with the Ety8s looks, though, is that they resemble tiny microprocessors hanging from your ears.