iPhone 3.0-ready with $24 stereo Bluetooth headset

Cut the cord between your iPhone and your head.

(Credit: Kensington)

Stereo Bluetooth is coming! Stereo Bluetooth is coming! Straight from the What-Took-You-So-Long Department, Apple announced plans to bring stereo Bluetooth (aka A2DP) support to iPhone OS 3.0. (It's coming to the iPod Touch, too.)

Translation: You'll be able to enjoy tunes, videos, games, and other aural delights over wireless headphones. And trust me: once you cut that cord, you'll never love a wire again.

Buy.com has a Kensington Bluetooth Stereo Headset for $23.49 shipped. That's pretty impressive, given the headset's $79.99 list price.

These are old-school, over-the-ear headphones, ideal for folks who don't like the feel of earbuds. They have play, pause, and skip controls that double as answer or ignore controls when a call comes in.

Kensington promises a wireless range of up to 66 feet and up to 23 hours of music or 19 hours of talk time from the rechargeable battery. The headset comes with a two-year warranty.

CNET hasn't reviewed this product, but there are two very favorable user reviews at Buy.com. Just one caveat: I can't guarantee that this will work with the iPhone and iPod Touch, as Bluetooth device compatibility can be hit-and-miss, but there's no reason I can think of that it shouldn't.

Personally, I'm even more excited about stereo Bluetooth than I am about the cut-and-paste functions. 'Bout time, Apple!

[emarido]

i thought the same exact thing when I saw A2DP. Some advice, Logitech Freepulse sucks, they work fine but they pinch your ears. Amazon has two pairs of bluetooths for 30 and 40 bucks each. Sony ship from tiger direct, they're like old school over the head. And Amazon has Motorolla DJ style that cover the ear (probally better for a train ride). Anyways, there's so many cool things you can do with these, skype from your laptop, work out at the gym and be the only person not putting earbuds back in their ear. I already use the freepulse by plugging in the transmitter to headphone jack on my ipod touch but getting rid of that dongle will be so much better.

Highly recommend.

[DetJMunch]

Are there any bluetooth headsets that are earbuds? I find that ones like this that are behind the head always fall off. If it was over the head I would be more tempted.

I know that earbuds would require a cord between the two buds and that kind of defeats the purpose but at least they don't fall out. I have never been able to jog five minutes without behind the head headphones falling off.

[kuzma77]

DetJMunch, try the Sennheiser PMX70 Sport Line Stereo Neckband Headphones. They are the best I've ever used at the gym and never fall off, or even move.

[elehman3]

I have an older set from Sony Ericsson that I use with my W580i. The model number is HBH-DS970. But I am looking at their site right now and they have a bunch of Stereo Bluetooth Headsets. Granted they are not cheap on their site, but I did pick mine up off eBay for less then half of what they go for on the Sony Ericsson site. I enjoy them a lot, I use them everywhere, in the gym, on the train, etc.

Just goto sonyericsson.com and then click on the products link, then the accessories, then music for the category, and stereo headset and it will give you all the ones they make. Again, I would shop around, you should be able to find a better price then what SE has on their site.

[bgijohn]

I'm a recent BB convert and was disappointed about the lack of A2DP support in the iPhone. Under my BB I used Plantronics Voyager 855 constantly and it worked beautifully.

I have been using the Sony dongle (model DRBT22IK) as a substitute,and it works pretty well. I would recommend it as an alternative before native A2DP, but I am hoping native A2DP will be better integrated and exploited by other iPhone apps, like Pandora (the dongle has a major preference for switching to the iPod app for any controls).

[yanchineseguy]

Umm.. the two favorable reviews on Buy.com look to be from the same user, or at least related somehow. They comments are basically the same, and both users are listed as "A Customer from Fresno, CA". I'm not saying that the reviews are bogus, but it doesn't say much.

@DetJMunch: The Motorola S9 are (kind of) earbud style with a behind-the-head style connection.

[robertorosco]

Zomg! That would be so kick ass if I could listen to my music and work at the same time without those wires getting in the way. I so want this!

[bab33face]

Picked one up! While I wait to see if this will work with 3.0 I'll use it on my PS3 and maybe my computer.

[renojoe]

Rick, does the iPhone enjoy such a great market share to justify it being the topic of so many of your posts? Or maybe it's just the culture there at cnet?? Even if I wasn't fearful of losing my job in this economy, I would be hard pressed to consider getting one of these gizmos if just for the monthly fees. I expect the majority of your daily readers would agree with me since they're more than likely the fiscally responsible type and - let's face it - the iPhone is an extravagance most can do without.

[bionicjim]

Although he mentions the iPhone, this particular device is great for a variety of devices including my Samsung Beat phone I got for free from T-Mobile (supporting stereo bluetooth). I've been waiting for a decent price on these headphones and am glad that Rick posted this.

[renojoe]

Thanks for noting its utility for other devices. I hadn't considered that and ended up buying one myself.

FYI: a full 1/3 of the current lead articles on cnet are iPhone, iPod, or iTunes topics. Call me cynical, but it seems they have some hidden agenda for pushing Apple products.

[rickbroida]

@renojoe: No hidden agenda here. The iPhone is obviously the big news story this week, so it stands to reason there's a higher volume of stories. I'm sure it'll settle down next week.

[billbourd]

I have a HP mini 2140 and checked with tech support re. A2DP profile this headset conforms to. HP says the 2140 will work with this. They also said if I should have any trouble setting it up to call them and they would talk me thru it. First time I had called HP and must say I was impressed. Was on hold no longer than a minute. I did order the headset from Buy.com.
Billbourd

[McAdams]

Went to buy.com--the lowest price was $49.95, not $24.95. Umm... that's double if my math is correct.

[rickbroida]

These deals are very often one-day-only. Sorry you didn't catch it in time!

[Alba-tross]

"Kensington promises a wireless range of up to 66 feet and up..." Really, bluetooth @ 66 ft.?

[want2]

You need to check price -BUY.com list as 59.99 not 23.49! Bait & switch- kickback?

[rickbroida]

Neither. Very often these deals barely last a full day. Unfortunately, I have no control over when a vendor decides to raise the price or runs out of stock.

[jderios]

The price is wrong I just went onto Buy.com and they are $53

[ehamilton1256]

Just went to the Buy.com site, the headset now lists for $53.18

[buffalo2001]

FYI this sale is back on!