Issue Date: September 21, 2008
"Hands-free" style
New Bluetooth headsets offer drivers more bells and whistles.
The Jawbone 2 separates speech from background noise.
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No talking behind the wheel -- not on a handheld cellphone, anyway. Since 2001, at least six states, including New York and California, have enacted laws prohibiting cellphone use by drivers, unless both hands are free. Another 22 states have considered similar bills in 2008.
Thus the beauty of wireless Bluetooth headsets. If you never want to fumble with weird button sequences again, consider the BlueAnt V1 (myblueant.com, $119.99). Not only is it controlled by voice commands, but it also talks back to you. Just say "Call home" or "Check battery" and it obeys.
For drivers with cluttered cars, Motorola's H620 headset (motorola.com, $59) has a dashboard holder so your headset's always handy. The H620, expected to be out later this month, automatically amplifies volume to counter road noise.
But the Bluetooth headset gold standard, experts and bloggers say, is Aliph's newly updated Jawbone 2 (us.jawbone.com, $129.99). With a swank design that may resemble your daughter's hair barrette, the Jawbone 2 separates speech from background sounds, virtually eliminating the interference of traffic noise. Anything that can make the honking of big-city taxis disappear is more like a miracle than a headset.
-- Lisa Gartner
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