Who Needs a Bluetooth Headset Anyway?

I had my share of Bluetooth headsets. I think my first one was a Sony Ericsson that I got to pair with my Sony Ericsson t68i 8-9 years ago (the first cell phone with a color display ). The last one I bought was the Jawbone II which is nice but they all suffer from the same problems:

1. You need to take them with you in addition to the phone.
2. You need to charge them as well (at least ones a day).
3. Voice quality is never good (no matter how much it improved over the years).

I ended up going back to the regular headphone that comes to the BlackBerry when I’m on a conference call (instead of holding the BlackBerry for an hour…) and pretty much gave up on using a headset while driving (it’s still legal in NC).

I know that cars came with Bluetooth connection for a few years now, but I never thought it’s worth investing in it. The Acura TSX I got comes (by default) with the Bluetooth HandsFreeLink which allows you to make and receive calls keeping your hands on the wheel (or even using voice commands).

Before I left the dealer’s lot, the sales manager paired my BlackBerry as part of the “training session” he gave me and I never really thought about it again. The nice thing about this is that as soon as I get into the car, the BlackBerry connects with the system automatically – You don’t need to take a headset out of your pocket, turn it on, wear it etc. The first time I received a call was a little strange. All of a sudden, the XM radio (comes free for first 90 days) muted and for a second I didn’t understand what’s wrong – and then I heard the ring . You can see right in the display of the car who’s calling you and then either accept or ignore the call without taking the BlackBerry out of the holster. I must say that the voice quality is great. Both sides hear perfectly and it doesn’t sound like you are on a Bluetooth headset at all. Now all that is left for Acura to do is embed the email functionality in the messages system they have. Just like the car reads to me the messages received from the Acura satellite with tips and service reminders it would be great if it would read to me the incoming emails .