Bluetooth Headphones

I reflashed the firmware in my cell with the latest version about a week ago. The new version supports A2DP Bluetooth profiles, which basically means, I can use Bluetooth stereo headphones with it now.

I've kind of been conflicted about the usefulness of these though. On the one hand, it's just cool. On the other, wireless headphones are much more obtrusive when compared to my earbuds. Sure, the earbuds are wired, but that wire is run down under my shirt and into my pocket. When I'm not using them, they just dangle at my collar. Perfect.

Back to the "pro" side, I would be able to use the media player on my phone and not carry around an mp3 player at the gym (the earbuds that came with my phone are horribly uncomfortable, and it's a proprietary plug to accommodate the mic).

Anyway, I grabbed a set of the Motorola HT820s from CompUSA and am taking advantage of the 21-days to try them out to see if I like them.

For the positives, I have to say, I do like being able to use my phone as my mp3 player. Since I carry my phone anyway, it's one less thing in my pocket. The other really wicked feature is for taking calls. If I forget to silence my ringer, I don't have to worry about the "I love Tito's Tacos" jingle blasting at full volume in my pocket annoying people, while I'm obliviously listening to my mp3 player. With the headphones, the music is paused, and the caller is announced in my ear so I can take the call. When the call is over, my tunes pick up where they left off.

Where the Moto shines above the others is in the mic. Instead of a boom that you have to lower on most of the BT headphones, the mic is located in/behind the USB/charger port (very nice use of space). USB, of course, is another bonus. I think from now that is going to be a requirement for all my cell products—makes traveling easier, and my roommate and I can leave chargers all over the house.

The negatives? Well, they're big. They're certainly not as nondescript as my earbuds, and I'm just not one of those guys who wears his mp3 player on his arm. I'm all about the technology being disguised. It's a little hard to do with these cups sitting off your ears. The little pulsating blue "M" on either ear doesn't help either. Fortunately, that can be turned off if you remember. Only problem is, it turns off all the indicator lights. Why Motorola can't just put a tiny little flashing status LED is beyond me, but they seem to prefer the "ZOMG LOOK AT THIS THING ON MY EAR" blinky light on most of their BT products.

Anyway, I'm still checking them out. The one thing I haven't tried yet is pairing it to my laptop. Supposedly, it can pair to two devices at once, which would be cool, but I'm concerned it will only use the handsfree profile with the phone once I do that. I'll play with that feature later. At this point, I'm leaning towards keeping them, but I wouldn't mind trying out some others (I'm so afraid of commitment).