Bluetooth headsets - Which Reports in assocation with Tiscali

WHICH? REVIEWS: Bluetooth headsets

Hands-free headsets allow you to talk on your mobile phone without actually holding it against your ear.

They can be very useful in the car, for example, because holding a phone in your hand while driving is illegal.

The law states that while driving, you can't make a call, receive a call, text or do anything with your phone while it's in your hand or held between your ear and shoulder - unless you're safely parked, you're in a traffic jam with your engine off or you have to call the emergency services and stopping is impossible.

Using a hands-free headset is safer than holding a phone in your hand but if you're chatting there's still an element of distraction from concentrating on the road.

To find which Bluetooth headsets we recommend, take out a free trial to www.which.co.uk. Below, we explain how they work.

The Bluetooth headset rests on one of your ears and has a microphone for your voice and an earpiece for listening.

Your phone has to be within range for it to work well: within five or six metres is ideal. Also, try to keep the phone on the same side as your headset for best results, with as few physical barriers as possible.

When someone calls you, the headset will 'ring' in your ear and you answer the call by pressing the headset's answer button. You then speak normally.

Your voice will be picked up by the microphone that sits near your mouth, and your caller's voice will come through the earpiece.

Headsets also have volume controls, and some other features that phones have, such as microphone mute and call holding.

To make a call, you use your handset to dial normally, or if your phone and headset support voice dialling (all our headsets do) you press the appropriate button on the headset, speak the name in the headset and the mobile will try to call, assuming you have previously set up voice dialling for that person on your phone.

Like mobile phones, virtually all Bluetooth headsets work with a small rechargeable battery.

When you buy your headset, you will need to 'pair', or connect it, with your phone. To do this, turn both devices on, turning on Bluetooth on your phone as well, then search for Bluetooth devices with your phone.

When the phone finds the headset, you can select the pair option.

All but one of the mobile phone Best Buys that you can find on www.which.co.uk have Bluetooth.

Bluetooth is a way for electronic devices to connect wirelessly.

As well as mobile phone headsets, you can use it to transfer photos, music and files from one Bluetooth phone to another.

Bluetooth printers let you print wirelessly from a phone or a Bluetooth-enabled computer. Most desktop PCs don't have Bluetooth as standard but you can buy an adaptor (or dongle) to give them the capability.

Harald Bluetooth was a 10th-century Danish king, who was famous for getting warring factions to talk to each other, so the inventor of Bluetooth thought the name was a fitting one.

Want to know more and find out which Bluetooth headsets we recommend as Best Buys? Read the full report, and hundreds of others, by signing up for a 30-day free trial to Which? Online.

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