OK, so I'm back in California, and it's July, and I've updated my cellphone apparatus to be hands-free compliant...
...and now what?
Has anyone thought through the logistics of this thing, for those of us who don't wander around all day with Borg implants stuck in our ears, but who need to have a cellphone along just in case someone calls?
Here's the deal: the headset has a tiny internal battery, which needs charging every so often. (I don't know how long it'll run between charges, and if there's any way to check the state of charge, it's not convenient.) So, it needs to be left on a charger when not in use. Fine.
The charger is at home. Now, if I were of the Borg, I'd just take the headset off the charger on my way out the door in the morning, stick it in my ear, and leave it there all day.
- I'm not Borg.
- I'm likely to need that ear for listening to actual live in-person people.
So, I only want to wear the dratted thing while I'm actually driving. For this, it would make sense to keep it stuck on a charger in the car, with the charger serving as a storage spot, kind of like a bedpost for chewing gum. Oops! Won't work, even if the car charger were built that way: the cigarette-lighter (sorry, auxiliary-power) socket isn't turned on unless the ignition is turned at least to ACCESSORY. So the charger has to be at home, where there's power during the time I'm not wearing the headset.
Thus: put on headset when leaving home; remove when exiting car, and store... where? Well, maybe the ledge in front of the Multi-Function Display thingie, or perhaps the not-an-ashtray if that weren't already full of quarters. Then remember it when getting back into the car. Arriving home, take it in and plug it into the charger.
Oh, and remember to turn it on and off at the appropriate times.
I wonder how many accidents will be caused by people trying to put on, and turn on, their new Bluetooth headsets while the phone is ringing? (Not that the headset is likely to wake up and establish a connection in time to answer, anyway.)
Well, there is the speakerphone option, though the answering process requires use of a hand (apparently the new law only applies to using a hand for talking, or is only being enforced that way... hey, would a shoulder cradle be acceptable?), but trying to use a speakerphone in a noisy car sounds unpromising.
Another reason to ponder leaving this loony state....
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