Bluetooth Gets a Makeover

As more states push “hands-free” rules on drivers, ridiculous-looking wireless headsets only get more common. But two firms, Aliph and Plantronics, are attempting to address that. While the Wall Street Journal’s Walter Mossberg finds the “jewelry-esque” makeover of both models pleasing, it’s the functionality of Aliph’s Jawbone that most impresses him.

The Jawbone has a feature, dramatically called “noise assassin,” that identifies your voice through vibrations in your skull, allowing the microphone to cancel out extraneous sound. The technology allows for clear calls while standing next to a vacuum cleaner or loud trucks. Lacking any such feature, Plantronics’ Discovery is useless in loud environments. (More Bluetooth stories.)