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Jan 14, 2009 
For those of us who travel, work from multiple offices, or work from home, there are several critical weapons for productivity. Certainly, you need to have a laptop and a strong cell phone signal. Those are just minimum requirements for business.
If you spend any amount of time on the phone, then you are most likely aware of the Bluetooth capability. In case, you aren’t….just look around at all the people that seemingly are walking around talking to themselves and have a strange contraption on their ear (like a big bulky hearing aid). I tried that little single ear gadget and found that road-noise and co-workers talking was too distracting in the ear that didn’t have the gadget. Basically, the mixing inputs didn’t allow me to operate at 100% efficiency. However, about 2 years ago, I spent the best $80-$90 ever. I bought the Motorola H 98689 T820 Bluetooth Stereo Headset (Black)
Since I spend many hours a day on conference calls, if this device was anything less than perfect, it would eventually end up in storage (the back of my desk drawer). However, the battery life allows me to use them all day long (I just plug in the charger each night). Though there is no visible microphone wrapped around, I have never had anyone say they can’t hear me. Also, there is a volume control, so that I can crank up the sound if there is someone speak softly on the conference call. I don’t think I could ever go back to using a cell phone for any more than 10 minutes without these headphones.
The only downside is that I don’t believe these portray the “cool” look. They just look like you are walking around with a pair of headphones listening to music. One of my co-workers said that I had the “Princess Leia” look. Like I had a bun on each ear.
Princess Leia “Bun” Look
I just pulled these up on Amazon and shockingly you can still buy the same version that I have. It is down to $39.99. With over 200 reviews, it is getting 3.5 stars out of 5 which surprised me. I looked at some of the reasons that people didn’t like these and there are comments about not being comfortable when running, someone else had the earpad come off, and someone said they had a small head so they were uncomfortable. I can only speak from my experience that I’ve had these things for years and would give them 5 stars. However, I’m using them for work and while driving, as opposed to jogging or anything like that.
As an add-on suggestion, my wife bought me an iPod adapter that broadcasts the signal to Bluetooth. It connected easily with the HT820’s and I just play my music to the headphones. If a call comes in, I hear an alert signal. When I answer the cellphone, it automatically pauses the music and puts the voice through. Pretty neat product integration. There probably are all kinds of devices, but the one she gave me is the Sony Bluetooth Wireless Transmitter for iPod (White)
If your spouse spends a lot of time on conference calls (especially while traveling), get them an HT820 from Motorola. Throw in the iPod Transmitter if they use the iPod as well. For a total of $85, I believe they will really appreciate it (unless they have a small head or something).
Though this sounds kind “sale” oriented, I don’t work for Motorola, Apple, or Sony. I just found these products (especially the headphones) valuable enough to repeat to any friends or family looking for gifts. Believe me, I have many more stories of poor experiences….but am somewhat hesitant to post those kinds of things.
