MP3 players with Bluetooth

Jasmine France, Senior Associate Editor March 13, 2008

No doubt about it: the newest trend in MP3 players is wireless. But there are variations in this functionality. Some players communicate wirelessly with each other (Zune), others stream music (Sansa Connect), some allow access to the Internet (iPod Touch, Archos 605 WiFi), and still more allow users to cut the cord between themselves and their music device. It is this last category that interests me the most at the moment, and that is simply because it affects the largest group of people. I mean, who hasn't been annoyed by the headphone wire in some way or another? My personal experience: working out at the gym, going crazy on some cardio machine, when my arms suddenly take on a mind of their own and flail about ridiculously. One of them inevitably comes down upon my headphone cable, either ripping the earbud straight out of my ear, or--if I have a really good fit in my ear--tearing my MP3 player right off of the machine and onto to the hard ground. At best, this experience is annoying; at worst, it actually damages the player. And while I've since learned that an armband is always the best option, I realize this is not always feasible. So I'm convinced that there is a significant and pressing argument for wireless headphone capability, and that is where Bluetooth comes in.

Unlike Wi-Fi, Bluetooth is not good for transmitting information over a great amount of space, and it's not the best way to transfer large amounts of data either. However, Bluetooth requires less power consumption and it's cheaper to operate, so it makes perfect sense for portable devices. Thanks to the proliferation of cell phones as music devices, there are plenty of decent stereo Bluetooth headphones on the market today, so if you despise wires, it's time to start considering an MP3 player with built-in Bluetooth. Check out the devices listed here for options in every style and price range.

More Resources

Wireless headphones,

Editors' top headphones,

Editors' top MP3 players,

MP3 Insider podcast