Bluetooth on Windows XP is so frustrating – BT800 as a headset

So here I am in Baltimore. I was thinking of using Skype but it turns out I left my headset back home.

Fortunately I brought my Jabra BT800 headset! And my Toshiba M200 has Bluetooth!

I just pair them, and go… right?

Wrong. I pair them and it is registered as an audio device. And Windows XP stops at that. Some searching on the web finds this:

vitaero – Use your Bluetooth headset with Skype

Use your Bluetooth headset with Skype
Products | vitaero
vitaero is a software application that seamlessly connects a Bluetooth? headset to SkypeTM on your PC so that you can manage your calls with the headset buttons. The software works with all popular Bluetooth headsets.

Just like a mobile phone – vitaero maintains a low-power connection to the headset to preserve battery life while not on a call and then automatically senses the need to switch on the audio – so you are talking through Skype with the touch of a button.

No more wires! …now you don’t have to be tied to your PC when making Internet phone calls… vitaero makes Skype wireless.

Huh? I need a for-pay product to use my bt headset as a headset on my PC?

Some more searching finds this:

Rufan-Redi: Jabra BT800: whisper sweet nothings in my ear

The BT800 pairs like a charm to my Powerbook (running OSX 10.4) and I was able to use the headphone both with Skype flawlessly as well as listen to iTunes (admittedly in only one ear) as I wandered about.

Under WinXP on my Vaio it’s however a different matter. The WinXP SP2 Bluetooth drivers while nice and stable are not exactly feature rich. They let you connect a to a cellphone to use it as a modem but don’t seem to support any audio/headset profiles. I can only hope that will be improved before Vista rolls around.

ARRGHHH.

I certainly do hope that this is fixed in Vista!

As Omar pointed out, Apple had the bluetooth experience nailed like 3 years ago!