Ok, let's face it. Judging from the current crop of plain vanilla headsets out there, manufacturers are suffering from a lack of imagination. So we thought we'd make a few suggestions. Here are the improvements we'd like to see in 2006.

1. Better Sound Quality

It should go without saying that a superior headset should have the same sound quality as the cell phone it’s being used with. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case. Even the top headsets suffer from a drop in sound quality and complaints of speaker-phone quality.

Why can’t headset makers get it right? If we can transmit perfect reproductions of CD quality music over the internet, we should be able to transmit near perfect reproductions of phone quality sound. Bluetooth 1.2 is a step in the right direction and promises to reduce that annoying static, but it can’t get here soon enough.

And put a foam windscreen in the microphone, out of sight. It works better than any of those sophisticated noise-cancellation gadgets and doesn’t eat up the battery life either.

2. Longer Battery Life

Eight hours of talk time is about as good as you can get today. But in the headsets of tomorrow, we’d really like to see hundreds of hours of talk time. For $100, I should be able to go without plugging my headset in for a week or two.

Also, “auto off” functionality should be required on every headset. It’s such a simple feature and greatly extend battery life, so why isn’t it standard? It’s obvious omissions like that which make us suspicious of the marketing behind these products.

3. Make Them Smaller!

Strangely enough, some of the most popular headsets today are absolutely gigantic – bigger than your ear, and bigger than most cellphones. This is not a desirable feature. Nobody wants to look like a borg (or do they?), and bigger headsets are more likely to break in transit. Shrink ‘em down, headset makers. Let’s shoot for the invisible headset.

4. How About a Headset That Doesn't Hurt?

After three generations of Bluetooth headsets, we’d expect manufacturers to get it right when it comes to comfort. But there are still basically only two options: Over-the-ear (stays put but hurts) and front-of-ear (comfortable, but flops around).

We’d really like to see some alternative designs. How about a super thin, bendable-wire headset? Or maybe a headset that stretches over the entire ear? Or how about headset-earrings (in stereo, of course)?

5. An End To Ugly Headsets

We’ve seen a mountain of headsets here at Gooroo and one thing is obvious: headsets are patently boring. In the race for high margins, most manufacturers use cheap-looking black and silver molded plastic. Headsets with programmable colored LEDs or replaceable plastic skins would be a welcome change. Or how about headsets that match your hair color?

6. And Now For Something Completely Different...

Finally, why don’t we push the envelope on other features? The most imaginative upgrade we’re seeing at this point is support for stereo sound (another Bluetooth 1.2 feature). While this makes for better sound quality with music, it isn’t that useful for anything else. A major improvement over this would be the ability to use two headsets simultaneously – true stereo, not a simulation. While this wouldn’t appeal to the casual buyer, gamers would welcome this with open arms.

Another obvious improvement: My toddler is fond of my headset and likes to crawl away with it when I'm not looking. It would be nice if I could press a button on my phone to page my headset (or vice-versa). Lost headsets would be a thing of the past.

Have a suggestion for a headset feature you’d like to see? Send it to headsets@goorooreviews.com.