Cell phones... I could rant all day about cell phone equipment, cell phone companies, cell phone etiquette, etc. For now, let me rant about people who use wireless headsets in public. First, that thing that wraps around your ear looks hideous. Until the earpieces are much smaller and/or more inconspicuous, I'm not using them. Second, it's bad enough that we're constantly being bombarded by various forms of natural and man-made electromagnetic waves. Can it be good to have one more wireless device so close to your head? Third, back in the day, people who walked around talking to no one in particular were thought to be crazy. Now, someone who's alone and moving their lips might actually be having a real conversation with a real person (or they might still be crazy).
Now that I've got that off my chest, let me say that wireless headsets aren't all bad. People with disabilities that prevent them from using their hands to use a cell phone may find a wireless headset to be a necessity. Also, I'd prefer that people use a wireless headset to talk on their cell phone while driving, instead of having to look down from the road to look at their phone. Hmm... distracted drivers... That's too easy of a rant :-)
1 comment:
Actually, if people having conversations want to be unobtrusive, those headsets will have to get BIGGER! Attempts to make them small have progressively moved the microphone away from the mouth. This drastically reduces the signal/noise ratio, because the microphone is not pointing at the mouth and it is (as mentioned) farther away. This in turn requires the speaker to speak louder to overcome not just the distance, but the background noise.
One of the reasons I do not yet have a bluetooth headset is because of the shortened boom. I like clear conversations without all the noise, and I do not like to have to yell at my phone.
Effective headsets for use in public should have long boom microphones that sit near and point at the mouth. They might not be quite as easy to carry around, but they will annoy others less.
By the way, bluetooth signals are very low power; you are exposed to significantly less EMR with a bluetooth headset than you would be holding your cell phone to your ear.
Post a Comment