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"Mono Bluetooth headsets are already everywhere, but this could be the year that those of the stereo variety take off, and Altec Lansing's hoping its new BackBeat series will be a contender. They're made in partnership with earpiece-guru Plantronics, so callers will find integrated voice dialing, omnidirectional microphones, 7 hours of talk time, and AudioIQ to boost volume when you're in a noisy situation."

After a 6-month study-related hiatus, I'm back! And this first post is on something I've been looking at for some time. Stereo BT headsets have largely been a niche area over the last few years, but the technology has certainly improved in the interim. What still bothers me though is the price, with most stereo headsets coming in at the US$100 dollar level (like the Backbeat). That's the price for a premium mono headset with noise-cancelling, and way, way over what typical mono headsets cost these days - not exactly a recipe for mass-market adoption. Granted, you've got a lot more technology and research dollars embedded in stereo headsets (and hopefully better quality sound), but is that worth the premium? Thoughts anyone?

"Last week's analyst and media reports widely citing the launch of Bluetooth 2.2 next summer are incorrect. The next version of the short-range wireless technology will probably be 3.0, Bluetooth Special Interest Group Executive Director Mike Foley said. "We're going to come up with a high-speed specification next summer and we've been talking about that for a long time. It most likely won't be 2.2 but the exact name and number isn't finalized... I think a 3.0 is a lot higher probability," Foley told Wireless Week. In addition to faster overall speeds, the major update to Bluetooth also will have faster connection times. That may not matter when using a Bluetooth keyboard, but it's useful for telephony connections, he noted. Low-power versions of Bluetooth are also on the roadmap."

Well, this wouldn't be the first time the media hears a snippet, runs with it, and then gets the story wrong. The Bluetooth SIG is indicating it may go right past go, will not collect 2.2, and go directly to 3.0 next summer. For heavy BT users, a faster connection time between devices will be nice. It will be interesting to see how BT telephony connections improve with the faster specs. You can find out more by reading Mike Foley's Blog. Any heavy Bluetooth users looking forward to the changes?

"This Bluetooth headset checks in at just 4-millimeters thick and 5.5-grams, and we're told that the internal battery should last through 5-hours of yappin' or a week in sleep mode. Interestingly, we haven't a clue if this one's headed Stateside, but those in Europe can pop one in their ear canal soon for €39 ($61) / €49 ($76) depending on hue."



A couple of concerns I have with increasingly small headsets are how easy it is to lose one, and battery life. For the former Modelabs has thoughtfully included a belt clip, something I wish more headsets would come with. For the latter, well there's not much that can be done given the current state of battery technology, and 5 hours talktime means you'll probably only need to charge every couple of days or so. The Bluetrek certainly looks good, and is pretty unobtrusive given the size, but from the price I'd gather it doesn't have any noise-cancellation built in. I'm also a bit puzzled by the difference in price based on colour. If you don't mind those caveats, this headset is certainly worth a look.