MP3 players with Bluetooth

Jasmine France, Senior Associate Editor August 25, 2009

There is little doubt that the hottest trend in MP3 players is wireless, but how it is implemented varies from device to device. Some players, like the Zune HD and the Sony X-Series Walkman, offer integrated Wi-Fi that allows for Web browsing and music streaming capabilities (among other things). Others go about things a bit differently, giving people the option to add wireless headphones to their devices via Bluetooth.

Unlike Wi-Fi, Bluetooth is not good for transmitting information over a great amount of space, and it's not the best way to transfer large amounts of data either. However, Bluetooth requires less power consumption and it's cheaper to operate, so it makes perfect sense for portable devices. Thanks to the proliferation of cell phones as music devices, there are plenty of decent stereo Bluetooth headphones on the market today, so if you despise wires, it's time to start considering an MP3 player with built-in Bluetooth. They're getting rarer these days, but we managed to scrounge up a handful that are worth your hard-earned dollars.

Note: the iPod Touch requires an OS upgrade in order to activate the Bluetooth functionality.

More Resources

Editors' top Bluetooth headphones,

Wireless headphones,

Editors' top MP3 players,

MP3 Insider podcast