THE PRODUCT

The Gennum nXZEN noise-reduction Bluetooth headset

THE CLAIM

Two microphones inside the headset zero in on the speaker’s voice while canceling out background noise.

THE TEST

I left myself a voicemail from Grand Central Station during rush hour.

THE REAL DEAL

Although I could hear some background noise, it was minimal, making it easy to hear the "Get to work!" message I’d left.

BUY IT?

Think of these pretty portable players as the lovechildren of TiVo, satellite radio and the iPod. They allow you to record your favorite crystal-clear satellite programming TiVo-style and then listen to it later on, wherever you are. Although these wearable units are not themselves satellite receivers—they have to be docked to receive and record content—the XM Samsung neXus and Sirius S50 have two key advantages over their antenna-outfitted relatives: They’re half the size, and you can upload your MP3 and WMA files and mix them into your satellite-radio playlists.

I’ve just stepped onto the factory floor at Segway world headquarters in Bedford, New Hampshire, when two engineers sporting matching jeans (tapered), shirts (plaid) and hairlines (receding) glide by and shoot me matching expressions (grins). “Doesn’t anyone walk around here?” I ask, as the distinctive, almost melodic hum of the Human Transporter (HT) trails off. Segway development engineer David Robinson responds with a different expression, this one more quizzical than the one on his colleagues’ faces. “Would you?” he asks.