It is hard to imagine what’s life without a Bluetooth Speaker? I think the biggest chunk of time one spends talking on the phone nowadays is via Bluetooth paired ear buds, neckbands or headphones. The range of devices available is mind boggling. Really, what’s life without a Bluetooth Speaker?

A few years ago I had a Bluetooth headphone. I thought I’d listen to music on it during the morning and evening commute in the Delhi Metro. I tried it but found it was too heavy and had to turn the volume up to overcome the ambient noise.

Over a period of time lighter variants have come up. The noise cancellation feature enhances the listening experience by not allowing in the ambient noise. This is useful when travelling by a noisy mode because music does not have to compete with the ambient noise. I have tried this feature in a pair of headphones but it causes discomfort in the ears after some time (at least to me).

Another useful feature is Active Noise Cancellation in the microphones which can be useful in conference calls. This is supposed to prevent the distracting background noises from going through the microphone. I must say I have tried it in a few headphones without much success. Wonder if the more expensive models do a better job of this.

Over the years we have a collection of a few Bluetooth speakers, earbuds, headphones and a neckband in our household.

The Bluetooth version keeps changing and backward compatibility helps. I’ve not tried if all the laptops and mobiles are compatible with all of the audio devices.

Each family member has their own preference. If one is borrowing from another member of the family, it is best to unpair the device after use.