Ears-on with the Sennheiser MM 200 Bluetooth earphones

Today, 21 August, marks the 15th year since NASA sadly lost contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft. 15 years on and the Martian atmosphere is still being penetrated by Earthicans, and the current lander -- Phoenix -- is successfully transmitting data back to Earth, not just to NASA computers, but also via Twitter.

Inter-planetary communication has come a long way in 15 years, but we've still got some neat wireless stuff going on here on Earth, some of which is coming from Sennheiser.

We first wrote about Sennheiser's new MM 200 Bluetooth headset just a few days ago, but we thought it was about time to give it the trusty ears-on treatment. So we have.

These Bluetooth earphones are quite simply CX 400s with a Bluetooth module attached to the end, making the 7.9-rated earphones compatible with headphone socketless music phones, Bluetooth-enabled MP3 players and even the PlayStation Triple.

As you might have expected after reading our review of the CX 400s, the sound-isolating MM 200s sound pretty good, and pairing with devices is a piece of cake. If you thought being a journalist for the London Lite was easy, wait 'til you try pairing these 'phones with your Walkman.

The battery module hangs around your neck, which sort of rules out any gym-based use. But they do have a clip on the back for attachment to shirt pockets, ties or jackets, and it's extremely lightweight.

They charge off USB, either by plugging them into a computer or by using the USB plug-boasting AC adaptor supplied in the box.

And of course you can answer calls with the buttons fixed on the front of the battery module, making the MM 200s not only pretty decent Bluetooth earphones, but a good stereo mobile phone headset.

They're on sale now for around £100, which is a little pricey considering a pair of CX 400s can be picked up for under £30. They're much less silly-looking than the terrific-sounding ety8s from Etymotic, though, and they still go for over £100. -Nate Lanxon