Short of being wireless and very low power draw (meaning that a set of Bluetooth earphones can last for hours upon hours), the greatest thing about any Bluetooth device is in without a shadow of a doubt its universal compatibility. Bluetooth and its various technologies are overseen by the BSIG (Bluetooth Special Interest Group), which is a privately held trade association made up of telecommunications, computing, networking, and consumer electronics companies and is used by everyone, having become the standard in short range wireless communication. This means that Bluetooth earphones will be compatible with more than just a few devices, and as is the nature of the technology, could be set up by a monkey.

To understand how a pair of Bluetooth earphones really works almost requires a degree in electronic engineering, for the consumer however, that kind of depth isn't necessary. How many people know every tiny in and out of how their motor vehicle works? Bluetooth is the name given to a collection of frequency-hopping spread spectrum short-range radio frequency 2.4ghz bandwidth protocols, and I promise that's as technical as I'm going to get. In short, Bluetooth technology allows one device to connect to several others, overcoming compatibility problems other devices and such are often plagued by. A pair of Bluetooth earphones will thus be compatible with many different devices. However, its functionality may be limited depending on what ?stack?, or group of protocols the intended device has.

In order to properly utilise a pair of Bluetooth earphones, the device your using it with will most importantly need A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile), in order to transfer quality mono OR stereo sound to your headset. Many Bluetooth earphones will also support AVRCP (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile) AVRCP is designed to provide a standard interface for controlling various electronic devices. If your device also supports this profile it means that you will be able to control various functions (such as skip tracks forwards and backwards, play, pause and device volume), from your earphones.

Some Bluetooth earphones, made specifically to cater for the now fast growing media player combination phone and even personal organiser market, will also incorporate HSP (HeadSet Profile) and/or HFP (Hands Free Profile). This means that if you want to, you can also use a pair of Bluetooth earphones to make and receive phone calls, on the same device, or another. In fact, if you have a compatible headset and you're listening to music when your phone rings, your device will ring, and then switch to the phone call when u answer it!

The future is electronic, digital, paperless, wireless, automatic and easy.......or so we keep getting told. Bluetooth earphones are a technology that contributes towards achieving this fantasy destination. Unless you've been living under a rock in a cave on a deserted island in the middle of a sparsely travelled ocean on a distant planet in a galaxy far far away in another dimension and time; chances are Bluetooth technology is a part of your life, whether you know it or not. If you own a mobile phone (which you could use Bluetooth earphones with), you have at least one Bluetooth device in your life, and the technology is now being utilised across any industry that has a reliance on technology. That is to say, almost all of them.