In the early 1990s, the market for mobile phones was exploding—particularly in Europe,

which (unlike the U.S.) was unburdened by multiple, competing cellular standards. If you’re

an American who has never been to Europe, it’s difficult to envision how pervasive mobile

telephony is in that region. As an example, while just 26% of Americans had cellular phones

in 1998 (according to Merrill Lynch), 48% of Swedes and 58% of Finns were talking via

cellular—and many of them were completely replacing their traditional landline phones with

cellular services.

When everybody and their neighbor has a cell phone, the market for mobile phone accessories

also becomes quite significant. Of these accessories, particularly popular is the portable

headset, a convenient accessory that makes it easier to carry on long conversations without

having to hold a phone to your head for extended periods of time.

The problem with using a headset with a mobile phone, however, is the connection—in order

to work, the headset has to be plugged into the handset. That means that a thin cable has to

run from your head to your phone, which is awkward and annoying and a relatively serious

impediment to increased headphone use. In addition, that darned wire rules out making your

conversation totally hands-free; you still have to hold the phone in your hand while you talk

on the headset.