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chmod
Premium Member
join:2000-12-12
Lockport, IL

chmod

Premium Member

What mono bluetooth headset?

I enjoy listening to the stern show or various podcasts while at work. I can not however do full stereo or both left and right whatever you want to call it. So I can still hear the surroundings. My problem is I'm using a standard 3.5mm headphone jack set of in ear wired buds and I move around a lot and they tug on the cord. So I'm looking for a cheap mono bluetooth earpiece I can stream "music". I'm not very concerned about making/receiving call's as I average about 200min a month talk time.

jvmorris
I Am The Man Who Was Not There.
MVM
join:2001-04-03
Reston, VA

jvmorris

MVM

There are so many monophonic bluetooth headsets out there, I can't see you'd have much difficulty in finding a decent one and nowadays at very reasonable prices. I think there are three major manufacturers (including Motorola and two others that I can't recall at the moment). New models seem to be appearing almost monthly.

Unfortunately, I can't make a recommendation for you since I long ago went to a Motorola stereo headset (S305 for me).

You'll need to decide whether you want a small in-ear or a larger on-ear configuration. I personally would look for a rechargeable headset (using a small USB connector) to keep the weight down.

I'd also recommend you get one that supports telephony and will pick up your voice when on a phone call.

For music, on/off, pause/resume, volume controls and next/last track controls are also handy.

Lone Wolf
Retired
Premium Member
join:2001-12-30
USA

Lone Wolf to chmod

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There are many good ones out there and you can't go wrong with Plantronics, Jawbone, BlueAnt, Jabra, etc. if you want to go cheap.

I use a BlueAnt and it cost me around $35 at Radio Shack a few years ago and still works fine. I think there are now cheaper bluetooth headsets available.

Alpha Phoenix
Premium Member
join:2001-06-15
Brooklyn, NY

Alpha Phoenix to chmod

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to chmod
Jawbone FTW!

Vchat20
Landing is the REAL challenge
Premium Member
join:2003-09-16
Columbus, OH

Vchat20 to chmod

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The problem you are going to find with any 'mono' headset is they are all designed for phone calls and use a reduced audio codec so the quality is reduced. You'll probably also find that Android will not pipe 'media' audio through a telephony headset. At least this has been my experience.

My advice is find a workaround for existing stereo headsets that works for you since it is likely to be the only option for what you want to do. Favorite option of mine is loosely draping the second 'bud around my neck. Or you could probably get real cheapo wired earbuds (if wired is still an option?) and just chop off one side?

chmod
Premium Member
join:2000-12-12
Lockport, IL

chmod

Premium Member

I found an app to deal with the problem of not being able to stream media via mono headset.

»www.appbrain.com/app/btm ··· g.BTmono

Alpha Phoenix
Premium Member
join:2001-06-15
Brooklyn, NY

Alpha Phoenix to Vchat20

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I can hear my audio just fine through my Jawbone Era headset. It's only in one ear, and the volume of the audio while playing games, listening to music, and watching videos is sometimes so loud that I actually have to turn it down, and that's even while on the subway in NYC during rush hour! No workarounds needed. And the call volume is pretty loud as well.

lordpuffer
Legalize It Joe!
Premium Member
join:2004-09-19
Old Town, ME

lordpuffer to chmod

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In case you decide to still go the Bluetooth route, another vote for BlueAnt.
GaryP
join:2001-01-07
Cedar Rapids, IA

GaryP to chmod

Member

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Typically your Bluetooth device needs to support A2DP in order to be able to use it for much other than a phone call (streaming audio, for example). This is what Vchat20 noted above. What I’ve discovered is that some (most?) of the small devices that fit in one ear with a mic on them may not be A2DP compliant. The BTmono app chmod noted may sometimes work okay in routing streaming audio from an non-compliant device - it works for my older Plantronics device. There are other apps that do this as well.

I’m interested in learning what devices have buttons to control pause/play, forward/backwards, etc. in apps such as BeyondPod (which has provisions for using buttons). I listen to podcasts with the phone in my pocket and would like to be able to at least be able to pause and resume what I’m listening to. Ideally I’d like a mono device that does this, but I’d consider stereo if necessary. Ideally Bluetooth but I’d even setting for wired (so long as the button was there and really worked).