As technology continues its inevitable march onward, stereo Bluetooth phones with support for the A2DP profile are growing increasingly proliferant; is it time to go on a spending spree yet?
In the wonderful world of acronyms, A2DP is one of those precious few worth remembering.. Short for Advanced Audio Distribution Profile, it signifies the ability to transfer audio in stereo over Bluetooth, as opposed to the mono-only Headset and Handsfree profiles. As of this writing, support for A2DP is slowly but steadily trickling into phones to be found on store shelves - which means it's time to answer the question of whether you should buy now or save your pennies for later.
Lose the wires, gain a charger
Purchase an A2DP-enabled phone and similarly capable headset, and the first item on your checklist is to say bye-bye to the tangled mess of wires in your pocket and hello to care-free wireless connectivity within a range up to five times longer than the cord of your wired headphones. Be mindful, though; you lose the wires, but gain another charger and battery level to keep track of - not a problem if you return to the lion's den on a regular basis, but a potential hassle if you're a busy road warrior.
Provided A2DP support has been properly implemented, you can also bid adieu to the mid-music call obstacle course of having to pause the music you're listening to; rip out your headphones; locate the phone; and answer it before the voicemail kicks in. A proper phone should automatically pause music and alert you of an incoming call, letting you pick up with the press of a single button - or ignore the call and have music resume automagically.
If you're even more fortunate, your phone and headset of choice both support the Audio Video Remote Control Profile, or AVRCP for short. As seen in the Jabra BT620s, this enables basic navigation such as playing, pausing or stopping media; fast forwarding and rewinding; and skipping back and forth between tracks, which means no more fondling for remotes or indistinguishable on-phone music controls.
Caveat emptor
So far, so good - but there is still one crucial issue to consider, which is audio quality. As of this writing, Bluetooth stereo headsets do not offer the same level of quality as wired headphones from manufacturers, some of which have been in the game for as long as half a century. In all fairness, non-audiophiles will be hard pressed to find too many faults with the aforementioned BT620s from Jabra - but the only music phone worth pairing (at least on paper - we have yet to test it) up with is the SGH-i300x from Samsung, which means you'll be wise to save your hard earned cash a few more months before splurging.
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