Callers consistently reported that my voice did not sound too far away, nor did they pick up on any word distortion. In fact, one party was on a cell phone in a busy toy store, which had all kinds of noise and background music going on, and she noted that she could hear me loud and clear. Only one caller complained about a slight robotic effect to my voice. And callers noticed background noise--music, freeway traffic, children's shrieks, and the wind (when I had the windows rolled down)--at varying levels.

For $80 or less, you might feel drawn to the BlueAnt S3 since it recognizes the different varieties of English--and since it offers two other language settings, to boot. On the plus side, this portable speakerphone offers reliable call quality. But its overall design remains a concern: The lack of actual buttons that I could feel turned out to be inconvenient for me while driving. Perhaps that won't be as much of an issue for you.

For more advice on selecting the right Bluetooth product for you, see "."