Samsung puts a microphone in your ear

NEWS Samsung is set to unveil an ear-based microphone at the CeBIT trade show next week. The device, according to Samsung, is the first earbud headset to contain both a transmitter and a microphone. It picks up the sound of speaking directly via the user's head, filtering out some 90 per cent of the background noise. The Korea-based manufacturer explained - in promotional material released ahead of the world's largest ICT show - that "when we speak, our heads act as natural resonance chambers. That's why, for example, singers use earplugs: so they can hear their own voice better when on stage." The ear bud will be available later this year, in both a wired and a Bluetooth version. The latter option could be well-suited to mobile phone users on the move, allowing them to conduct a call without having to hold either the handset or another microphone to their mouths. Currently, most wired handsfree headsets are made up of a transmitter that fits in the ear and a microphone that is built into the cord that connects to the phone, while Bluetooth headsets tend to sit in the user's ear but have a microphone near their mouth. Graeme Wearden writes for ZDNet UK