You're listening to music and someone starts to talk to you. You have to pause the music and rip the earbuds from your ears to hear what the other person is saying.

Not any more.

Altec Lansing's behind-the-head BackBeat 906 ($129.95) and 903 ($99.95) earbuds have two mics. When you hit pause on the right earbud during music play, the second mic is activated and you can hear someone is talking to you without dislodging the bud from your ear canal first.

Both buds are Bluetooth stereo 2.0. The 906 comes with a 3.5mm Bluetooth stereo dongle to use with non-Bluetooth stereo devices, such as an iPhone or iPod or PMP, your TV, or whatever. The earpieces telescope down for a better fit, and the connecting cable connecting the two buds isn't rigid or heavy, it just keeps you from losing one of the buds.

They'll be available in March.