The crazy man I saw walking down the street talking to himself was actually not nuts after all. He was wearing one of those Bluetooth wireless headsets and conversing with an office colleague. The headset made it possible for him not to have to carry the phone or deal with dangling wires, which was convenient because he was talking with his hands as well as his mouth.

While Bluetooth headsets are probably the most popular application for the slow-to-grow wireless technology so far, their adoption has been limited since only a small portion of the cellular phones sold in the U.S. come with Bluetooth built in. That is changing as more carriers offer Bluetooth-enabled handsets.

Bluetooth is found most often on phones that use GSM networks such as AT&T, Cingular, and T-Mobile. That's because GSM is the dominant network in Europe and Asia, where Bluetooth has achieved mass-market popularity. So it was easy and cheap for GSM-based U.S. carriers to take the lead in offering Bluetooth phones.

Alas, I am a Sprint customer, and its CDMA-network phones do not support Bluetooth. So I was thrilled to learn that I could still join the ranks of crazy people who walk down the street talking into a wireless headset. San Jose, California-based Step Communications offers its $129 Step 1150 Bluetooth Wireless Headset with an optional BTA-1 adapter for mobile phones that are not Bluetooth enabled. (I prefer to describe them as Chipped Tooth phones.)

I tried out the headset with my Sanyo phone; the company says the adapter will work with almost all cell phones that have standard 2.5mm headphone jacks. (The adapter is not available separately; it must be purchased with the Step 1150.)

Suppressing Traffic Noise

The Step 1150 headset is one of those pliable wraparound affairs that are comfortable even for people like me who distain earbud-style headphones. Step uses what it calls "Acoustic Bubble" technology to cut out noise from wind and surrounding traffic. To the person you are chatting with, you sound as if you were speaking into a microphone located in front of your mouth (it's actually in the earpiece).

The downside of using the BTA-1 adapter for my non-Bluetooth phone is having to lug it around, because the dongle hangs off my phone. I'm not complaining about the added weight: It is as light as a feather, so that's not an issue. And it is small--about the size of a flattened golf ball. It's just another thing I have to carry around. Still, that's a small tradeoff for being able to free up my hands to talk.

I also tested the headset without the adapter on a Bluetooth phone (the new Blackberry 7100t from T-Mobile) and was pleased by how easy and quick it was to pair up the two.

With or without the adapter, the Step 1150 proved to be a winner.

Competition From Logitech

I can't say the same for a similar product from Logitech. The company's $100 Mobile Cordless Headset is an analog wireless headset that comfortably slips over your ear and connects wirelessly to a receiver that goes into your telephone's headphone jack. Its reception was not very good--and that was when I could make a connection in the first place. Much better was Logitech's dedicated Mobile Bluetooth Headset, also $100--but now you're back to needing a Bluetooth phone.

What distinguishes all Logitech headsets is the ease with which you can just slip them over your ear and the way they cup your ear. They're more like headphones than ear buds.

Still, the versatility of the Step 1150 with the BTA-1 adapter ultimately won me over. Now I can have Bluetooth's benefits without having a Bluetooth-enabled phone--and if I do move over to an actual Bluetooth-enabled phone, I will still have a compatible headset. Is that like having my cake and eating it too?

Got a question or comment? Write to Michael Lasky.