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Bluetooth sets sell out in wake of new law
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Jim Miller/Las Vegas Review-Journal
A sparse display of Bluetooth accessories is shown at Wireless Toyz store at 2801 W. Washington Ave. at Rancho Drive on Friday. Since the law prohibiting use of hand-held cell phones while driving went into effect Oct. 1, sales of wireless Bluetooth headsets have skyrocketed. » Buy this photo
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Las Vegas is a city of procrastinators, it seems.
Since the law prohibiting use of hand-held cellphones while driving went into effect Oct. 1, sales of wireless Bluetooth headsets have skyrocketed. Edgar Barrera, store manager of the Wireless Toyz at 2801 W. Washington Ave., said his store has been picked clean.
"We actually ran out of every single Bluetooth we had," Barrera said. "It's amazing how everybody is buying them right now."
Under the new law, motorists can yak or text all they want as long as they're not holding the phone. Communicating from behind the wheel using any hands-free technology is allowed.
Barerra said the run on Bluetooths began Sept. 30 -- the last-possible shopping day before the law went into effect. On Oct. 5 he was completely sold out. On Friday, he received a shipment of about 100 of the devices -- about a one-week supply.
At Wireless Toyz, the cost of a Bluetooth headset ranges from $29.99 to $129. Hands-free devices equipped with earbuds and wires that link to a microphone start at $19.
Barrera said people are also buying the wire-based hands-free devices, but not as much as the Bluetooth. He thinks it's because customers just don't want wires bogging them down.
Southern Highlands resident Jennifer Betancourt, though, said she prefers the wires.
"I don't want something sticking out of my head like a robot," Betancourt said, referring to the Bluetooth's hang-on-the-ear design.
Betancourt ordered her device online for $6, from hdaccessory.com. It arrived in about five days. Even though she's complying with the law, Betancourt said the device may be hurting more than helping.
"I'm so worried about my hands-free device, I'm not as focused as I was before the law went into effect," she said. "I feel like Hands-Free Harriet."
Word on the street is that retailers Walmart, Target and Best Buy stores around Las Vegas have also run out of the devices, though corporate public relations for those stores didn't respond to requests for information. The AT&T store at 710 E. Flamingo Road, though, had a full range of Bluetooth headsets in stock Friday, ranging in price from $32 to $129.
Ronny Adler owns the three Fones Gone Wild locations in Las Vegas, where Bluetooth sales have risen about 25 percent this week. He sells five models, ranging from $25 to more than $100. The more you pay, the better the sound quality and noise-reduction capability, Adler said.
Nevada is the ninth state to outlaw drivers from using hand-held cellphones and the 34th to prohibit texting while driving.
Police will issue warnings until the end of December for those who ignore the law. On Jan. 1, penalties will be issued: $50 for the first offense, $100 for the second and $250 for the third and subsequent offenses.
Contact reporter Laura Emerson at lemerson@lvbusinesspress.com or 702-380-4588.
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Just order from Amazon and save money on the device and then save again by paying no annoying State Sales Tax. There, you're on the way to being your own corporation.
Noone is being (forced) to buy these gadgets, come on you dont all have to make calls while driving they all cant be emergency calls, its just marketing. wait till you get to your destination.
marley: The place that sold them isn't in China, the trucks that trucked them aren't in China, the fuel that was purchased by the trucks wasn't purchased in China, the cargo handlers who unloaded them weren't in China. Think about what you posted my friend.
Beentheredonethat,
Those are china jobs your talking about. Think about what u posted!
If you can't "see the lost jobs" how do you KNOW there were any lost jobs? Why is it so hard to admit, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that jobs CAN be created as a result of government regulations? In this case, the evidence is clear that jobs have been created as a result of government regulation, and there is NO evidence that ANY jobs are/will be lost as a result.
The problem with these government stimulus, regulation, or fake jobs programs are that while you can see the jobs that are created, it's the lost jobs which you don't see and which will always outnumber the "created" jobs. How about the poor shopkeeper who was hoping to make that $60 to keep his business going, but now his customer can't afford his product anymore because he was forced to buy something else with his money?
Again, why not go break people's windows and force them to buy new ones. Won't that create jobs, too?
george tell me how much of the money people are spending on these devices, would have gone unspent? When you do that, then you will know how much this regulation ADDED to the total spending, and from there you can figure out how many jobs were created as a result.
At what expense are we "creating jobs"? The money these people are being forced to spend for these items could have gone elsewhere to things they actually wanted. You don't create wealth by destroying it. Why not go around and break everyone's windows and make them buy new ones?
Is this yet another example of regulations creating jobs? I believe it is.
Don't want the ear piece hanging from your ear? Get a device that clipes onto your sun visor. After all... most people only want a hands-free device while driving. I got mine at Staples - $60.00 and it works great.