marksreviews

Here in California, it is illegal to drive and talk on a cell phone unless you're using an approved hands-free device. For most cell phones, that means a Bluetooth wireless interface. Those generally come in two forms: wireless headsets, and in-car devices.

I started out using a Bluetooth wireless headset, and I did a lot of research before choosing. I went with the Cardo Scala 700, and it really is fantastic. See the 700 and the full Cardo lineup here: Cardo Wireless Headsets
The advantages of the Cardo Scala 700 are best explained by comparing it to the most popular Bluetooth headset, the Aliph Jawbone. I bought an Aliph Jawbone for my wife to use with her Palm Centro, and one of my good friends owns one. I can never understand much that either of them says when they're talking to me on their Jawbone headsets. Even then, I bought a Jawbone for myself, since they were supposed to be so good. Right out of the box, I plugged the Jawbone into the charger cord, then unplugged the charger cord, and the entire back of the Jawbone came off with the charger cord, exposing a circuit board inside the Jawbone. !! I contacted Aliph support, and they said I'd need to return it for a replacement. They required a special serial number from a sticker on the device, and mine did not have a sticker. They knew that some don't have stickers, so I needed to fax them a copy of my invoice from when I purchased it. In the meantime I tossed the Jawbone and the invoice in my computer bag, so I could send the fax from work. At work I discovered that from just toting around in my computer bag, the plastic around the ear-section of the Jawbone completely broke away from the rest of the Jawbone, leaving the earpiece dangling from the Jawbone with thin wires. !! That same day my wife complained to me that the ear cushion from her Jawbone fell off and was lost. I gave her one of the cushions that came with my broken and useless Jawbone. Upon reflection, this is the best sales pitch I could write for the Cardo Scala 700. People can hear me clear as day on it, and there's no protruding parts to snap off, and no snap on cushions to lose. The gentle rounded curves of the Cardo Scala 700 fit snuggly in your ear, leaving nothing to break. The Cardo Scala 700 also costs less than $30, while the Jawbone runs around $80 and the new Jawbone 2 commands about $120.

But ultimately I didn't like wearing a headpiece while driving. I like to enjoy my expensive car stereo when I drive, and having a headset jammed into my ear was ruining my fidelity. Also, I felt like a dork walking around with an earpiece in my ear, as if I'd been assimilated by the Borg. I'd take the headset to work to charge it at my desk with the USB charger cable, then forget to bring it when I'd drive home. I began to wonder if there wasn't just some Bluetooth hands-free device that I could clip to my sun visor. Well go figure, there is.

I'd like to give my ultimate recommendation to the BlueAnt Supertooth 3. See it here: BlueAnt Supertooth 3

This little masterpiece lasts for 800 hours of standby between charges, and operates for 15 hours of talk time on one charge. (So I figure half those numbers for the real world.) It comes with both a car and home charger, comes with two magnetic visor clips, and syncs with up to 8 different cell phones. I charge it from the lighter socket charger when my car is parked in the garage, then unplug it when I drive. It has text-to-speach and tells you when it is connected, or powering down. I just leave it on full time, get into my car with my cell phone, and it pairs up. It has excellent audio quality and noise reduction. People can hear me just fine on it, and I no longer have to worry about leaving my headset in my office, or feeling as though I've been assimilated. It does not auto-mute the car stereo, but neither did my headset device, and you know what? I can turn off the car stereo to take a call! No big deal! I love this thing. In reading reviews, some people reported difficulty configuring it for voice-dialing. I don't use voice dialing since I can dial nearly anyone on my cell phone with the push of two buttons.

It cost abour $140 with tax in a local store, and runs about $90 on Amazon.com.