Bluetooth headsets sound like a great idea -- they promise to give you a wireless earpiece that will let you take or make phone calls handsfree while you're on the road.
But there are so many on the market, how can you pick one? We've boiled down our experience with a number of different headsets to three top criteria you should consider when looking at Bluetooth headsets.
Comfort & Fit
People come in all shapes and sizes, but earpieces are limited to a small range of sizes that try to fit every ear. You'll need to find an earpiece that is comfortable to wear, stays in your ear, and doesn't poke or jab your ear or your face.
Take a look at the number of attachments that the earpiece comes with -- is there just one or two, or does the manufacturer provide a variety of parts so you can find a better fit? You'll want to make sure the earpiece is comfortable when wearing it the way the manufacturer intends. For example, Aliph's Jawbone earpiece needs to touch your face for its noise canceling feature to work. If you're not comfortable with an earpiece resting on your face, this particular model may not be the one for you.
Ear loops can be painful if they're too small, and an earpiece can fall off if the loop is too big. An ear loop that hooks over your ear is really only useful when walking around.
Ear buds, on the other hand, can be uncomfortable if they are too large. If they're too small, the earpiece can fall off.I find Apple's iPhone Bluetooth Headset fits my ear perfectly and I can wear it for hours. (Meanwhile, I find the white earbuds that ship with the iPhone to be uncomfortable after an hour or so.)
Try a few to see what best fits your ear.
Style & Design
Headsets have become more accepted despite their nerdy appearance. Style is an important personal choice, and recent earpieces have become smaller, less obtrusive, and have fewer flashing lights. Jawbone has positioned their headset as trendy and stylish. Others are more functional.
Buttons are important to the function of an earpiece. You need to be able to find them when you're wearing the earpiece so you can actually answer or drop calls. Some earpieces work with voice activated dialing on BlackBerry handhelds, which adds a great convenience factor. If you have large fingers, you don't want to end up disconnecting your callers by pressing the wrong button. You also want to be able to put the earpiece on without pressing the wrong button and dropping a call.
Charging is easiest with headsets that will charge via USB on your computer. Most require a special USB cable with a proprietary connector that plugs into the earpiece. Check the cable before you buy, since you'll need to add this cable to your traveling kit.
Does it work?
It's important that an earpiece work in the environment where you'll use it most. Think about your calling patterns. Where do you need to use an earpiece? We see three common scenarios:
1) Low background noise, in a quiet office or at home.
2) In a place with constant background noise, such as an airport terminal.
3) Outdoors on a windy city street.
In the office all of the headsets we tried worked well, with clear sound that callers could
understand. Background noise filtering was reliable with the Jawbone, so it did what it advertises in our colocation facility with
constant background fan noise. All of the headsets we've tried failed the wind test, making it hard for callers to hear us.
Know that you won't be able to use a headset when walking down the street in an urban environment. Wind, buses, and traffic will make your calls unintelligible.
If you spend a lot of time on the phone and are constantly on the go, a bluetooth headset is probably a good addition to your mobile tech kit.
But remember: If callers tell you they can't hear you, shut off the earpiece and use your phone.