ANTenna Blog -- Mobile

You know the joke, right?

What’s the first thing to do after getting in a car accident? Hang up the phone!

Driving while holding your cell phone to your ear has always been dangerous, but it’s about to become illegal in several more states. To avoid accidents and tickets, get yourself a Bluetooth headset for your mobile phone, and make sure to use it.

That hoary joke is the reasoning behind new laws set to take effect on July 1, when California and Washington State join Connecticut, New Jersey and New York in banning driving while talking on the phone, unless you use a hands-free device. Other states are considering similar legislation, so if you want to keep talking, it’s time to get a Bluetooth headset.

Fortunately, there are lots of great choices at a wide variety of prices. As I noted in an earlier post, I use a Plantronics Voyager 510 that I’m very happy with, but I recently picked up a backup Motorola H550 headset for an amazing $4.99 – after rebate, natch – at “Office Depot Max” or something. (Sorry, I have trouble telling those big office-supply stores apart). Heck, the other day LG gave away 1,000 headsets in Los Angeles as a promo!

So, what’s the best choice for you and your company’s employees?

Well, bMighty recently covered many of the top models in our popular slideshow, but as the deadline approaches, we’ve updated the list with a couple of new contenders. Check ‘em out right away, because there’s no grace period and those CHP officers in the mirrored sunglasses aren’t known for handing out warnings…

But don’t despair, you may be able to keep it to a single infraction. It seems online retailer < a href="http://www.headsets.com/feedback/handsfree.html">Headsets.com is promising to give away free Bluetooth headsets to anyone cited under the new laws. Just send them a copy of your ticket…

Finally, if the prospect of a traffic ticket isn’t enough to put a headset in your ear, maybe this will. According to video’s making the rounds on the Internet, put a few cell phones together and the signals are strong enough to pop popcorn!

OK, so the videos were faked by headset maker Cardo. But the company claims that they “illustrate” the fact that a Bluetooth headset can cut the power radiating into a cell phone user’s head.

No ticket and an uncooked noggin? Sounds good to me.