Who says crime doesn't pay?

Aliph, makers of the ultra-cool noise-reducing Jawbone Bluetooth headset, have come up with a great marketing scheme. If you live in California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York, or Washington -- all states with laws requiring hands-free use of mobile phones -- and receive a ticket for yapping with your iPhone plastered to your ear, Jawbone will deduct $20 off the purchase price of one of their headsets.

You can't get a discount on the Silver Tongue model, but the prices for the Goldy Lips and Blah Blah Black versions end up at $129.99 and $109.99 respectively. All you need to do is go to the Jawbone website, look for the Hands Free Ticket Processor, and enter your state and ticket number. $20 is taken off the original purchase price, and you're ready to go.

This is one case where I wish I did live in a nanny state that was forcing me to use a hands-free kit!

Those unstoppable cats over at iLounge (whom I am convinced are using genetically modified oompa loompas) have gone and reviewed themselves an Apple Bluetooth Headset. For $129, you get a pretty darn sleek headset that one-ups the competition by including only a single button for control (or perhaps that's 'one-downing' the competition...), a Dual Dock for charging both the iPhone and headset and a travel charger that can handle the same job. iLounge's verdict? Well, it's a mixed bag. The headset doesn't blaze any trails in the places it matters, such as audio quality or battery life, nor is it as functional as many would expect from a typical bluetooth headset (it doesn't even have on-board volume buttons; that's controlled from the iPhone). However, the headset's performance does rank in at around average, and the included accessories are certainly a leap beyond the rest. The headset also features some unique integration with the iPhone in that charging both via the dock or cable will display the headset's battery level right alongside the iPhone's. Also, to some people's surprise, the headset (just like most bluetooth headsets) can be paired with a Mac for audio chats with the likes of iChat and Skype.

All that said, it seems like Apple's Bluetooth Headset will be a good buy for the general customer who can make use of the rich set of extras that come with it. Personally, I'm counting my pennies for one of those Jawbone headsets with the crazy noise cancellation technology. In my opinion, every bluetooth headset on the market sucks. Period. I've tested a very hefty portion of them from the bottom of the barrel to the premium $100+ models (return policies are a beautiful thing), and they're all terrible because both the caller and myself sound horrible to each other, especially when there's anything louder than a pin dropping in the background. Given Apple's tendency to try and solve some of the major problems plaguing a particular technology or industry (i.e. - Visual Voicemail), I'm surprised they didn't at least try for something like the Jawbone with the Bluetooth Headset.

But I digress - if you're on the Apple Bluetooth Headset fence, iLounge's review might be able to help you out with the decision. Check it out.

One of our Weblogs, Inc. designers sent a Twitter the other day bragging that his new Aliph Jawbone had appeared on his doorstep. After a quick Google search, I realized he wasn't talking about a new part of his anatomy, but rather a hot little Bluetooth headset. They don't get slicker than this-- not only does it look like it taps right into your face, but apparently the science works, too, if the demo is any indication. At $120, it ain't the cheapest headset you'll find, but according to our designer, it's completely worth it.

And so I wasn't that surprised to see, according to Macworld, that Apple is going to be selling these babies in their stores, right alongside the iPhone. Apparently a quality (and expensive) phone calls for a quality (and expensive) Bluetooth headset, and we're sure Aliph is thrilled to get shelf space next to what is already set to be one of the hottest products of the year. There's no word if the Jawbone is in Apple stores yet, but Aliph says if you want one, they'll be sitting right there in 157 Apple stores across the country next Friday.