Bluetooth Headphones: which ones can hold an iPhone’s jock?

Here’s a question for you all:  what model of Bluetooth headphones do you think can honestly hang with the design sophistication and street cred of an iPhone?  When A2DP support is released for the iPhone later this year, what models will get the bump in sales?  Here are the ones (from Amazon’s list of category bestsellers) that I think are the most attractive…

Kensington Bluetooth Stereo Headphones with Microphone

Plantronics Voyager 855

Motorola S805 Bluetooth D.J. Style Stereo Headset

Sony Ericsson HBHDS980 Stereo Bluetooth Headset

Even though each model’s execution is pretty good, there are still a number of issues in the lot.

• Bulk.  The competition are wrappable earbuds that don’t need batteries.  The primary design issue for any wireless headphones is where to put the battery. For the on-the-go experience, an especially tough constraint.
• Oddness.  Lapel clip designs (which Sony’s is the highest quality example) are strange, and still have many wires.  The chief tangle issues are still present.
• Lack of mass appeal form factors.  Circum-aural and super-aural designs are not the mainstream, so the actual design execution will need to bring the benefits that their size provide.  Comfort is one.  Audio quality is the other.  Sadly BT is the limiting factor on quality.
• Comfort.  This is not an issue that is wireless specific.  But so many have done so poorly here in the BT space… largely because they aren’t typically headphone experts (motorola’s MOTOROKR and early logitech models come to mind).  Everyone is getting better, and one design does not fit all.  Still I look to Sennheiser, Shure, and Sony to be the experts here.

My gut feeling is that none of the models out right now (the above included) have the “right stuff.”  They are still too dorky and the burden of keeping them charged and stowed on your person are overwhelming.  Headphones are the real fashion statement when listening to music in public.  People do take these matters rationally or casually.

The wireless headphone designer who can focus on the real benefits that having wireless headphones give a user, and nail an attractive minimalist design will address may of the existing models’ shortcomings.

The product that results… that will be your best seller.