A First Step Towards Bluetooth Stereo Headphones

Wires are the enemy — well, they're MY enemy. If Bluetooth can replace a cable between a phone and a headset, then why can't it replace the cable between an MP3 player and headphones? Well, the big problem, sadly, is that the big Bluetooth gods in the sky, who are mostly phone guys, didn't think anyone would want stereo output over Bluetooth. A company called Open Interface is working to change that, and they're working on a reliable system for sending stereo audio over the air using Bluetooth (there's another company called OpenBrain already offering Bluetooth headphones using something different). Their system is capable of broadcasting from a stereo receiver, or even a portable device, to headphones or speakers. In fact, Samsung is already using a similar system in one of their new home-theater-in-a-box packages.

Open Interface still has more to do before we actually see an iPod with Bluetooth. From the pictures, it looks like their hardware is still too big to fit in portable electronics (pictured at right, one of their Bluetooth modules), but that might just be for test purposes. And even if the hardware shrinks down, there's a good chance that portable audio players with Bluetooth in them might actually get bigger, if only to find space for a larger battery. If you think your digital jukebox has crappy battery life now, just imagine how bad it will be when it has to drive an MP3 player AND a Bluetooth radio. Oh, and then compounding all this will the fact that you'll have to recharge your headphones, too.