iPhone: The Missing Manual, 3rd Edition

Bluetooth Stereo Headphones

Bluetooth wireless stereo is a wicked-cool new feature that snuck onto the marketplace a few years ago, but practically nobody noticed. That's probably (a) because you had to buy both a special set of headphones or speakers capable of receiving Bluetooth stereo signals and a Bluetooth transmitter to snap onto your music player, and (b) because the real name for this feature is Bluetooth A2DP profile. Yuck.

With the iPhone 3.0 software, there's one less thing to buy. You still have to buy some wireless headphones, but at least you don't have to buy the transmitter; it's built right into the iPhone 3G and 3GS. (The original iPhone, unfortunately, gets left behind on this one; it does not do Bluetooth stereo.)

Shop for your headphones carefully. You want to make sure the box specifically says "A2DP." (There are lots of Bluetooth headsets, used for making office phone calls and so on, that do not play music over Bluetooth.) Motorola, Altec Lansing, and Plantronics sell several A2DP headphones, for example. There are also Bluetooth A2DP stereo speakers that broadcast your iPhone's music from as far as 20 or 30 feet away.

Once you've bought your 'phones, you have to introduce them to the iPhone—a process called pairing.

From the Home screen, tap Settings→General→Bluetooth. Turn Bluetooth on; you see the Searching animation as the iPhone wirelessly hunts for your ...