If you're one of the increasing number of people who are using their mobile phone to play MP3s, you might be frustrated with the meagre choice of headsets that combine stereo listening with a microphone for those times when an incoming call stops the music. Perhaps you've been turning green with envy as everyone else walks down the street with a blinking blue light in their ear while you're stuck with your 20th-century wired earbuds.
Jabra has taken pity on you and released the BT8010 stereo Bluetooth headset. The core unit doesn't look vastly different from other Bluetooth headsets. However, the box includes a second headset that connects to the first by a short wire and voila, you have stereo. Plug it in when you want to listen to music; unplug it and use only the main unit if you're on the phone.
If your phone's Bluetooth profile will support it, the BT8010 will give you the standard functions you've
come to expect (answer/end a call, call waiting, redial, voice dialling, volume) plus controls to play, pause and skip songs. Audio quality won't be equal to top-of-the-line ear buds but, at 50 to 15,000Hz, it is good enough for our noisy streets. The rechargeable lithium polymer battery will provide up to six hours of music streaming or 10 hours of talk time. The Jabra BT8010 is available now in Hong Kong for about HK$850.