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Bluetooth stereo is one of those technologies that have been in need of improvement for some time. It's hard to believe that would be the case, considering the alternative of wired headsets that hasn't done anyone much good pretty much since their inception. But HTC's (News - Alert) new StereoClip may be just the thing to finally get the wires out from around audiophiles' necks for good.

While Bluetooth has given us a lot in the way of voice headset technology – all the mobile phone users with Bluetooth systems in their ears is enough to prove that much – it hasn't quite kept pace in playing music. This is mostly due to the method Bluetooth devices use for transmitting music wirelessly, in that they decompress the digital form and them recompress it with the SBC codec for the Bluetooth link, and all that shuffling around can be a bit of a problem for those who want the kind of audio quality they can have from their home theater systems.

And considering the growing numbers of Beats Audio headphones out there – a premium brand with a comparably premium price tag (News - Alert) – improved sound quality will be necessary.

This is where HTC and its portable Car StereoClip come in. The StereoClip is an aptX-compatible dongle that allows any car or home stereo to transmit its output without the need for compression over a Bluetooth connection. This in turn means the StereoClip will be able to send clean, uncompressed audio to a variety of headsets.

Considering that HTC is a major investor in Beats, this could bode well for the future of wireless music transmission. And since HTC is already putting the necessary aptX systems into its own line of phones – such as the recently-released HTC One – that looks even better, and much closer to hand.

Whether HTC's StereoClip will indeed represent a new era for Bluetooth wireless audio remains to be seen, but it's not out of line to suggest it's going to play a big part in things in the very near future, especially given the growing proliferation of mobile devices and their musical capabilities.