Holding a cell phone to your ear while driving may prove to be as dangerous as drinking and driving. I have no actual data to back that up, but I've almost been hit a few times by drivers who were locked to their cell phones in hand.

The issue has come up again as Ontario introduces a new cell phone ban in the province starting on October 26. Ontario drivers caught with one of their hands firmly planted on a cell phone will be given a warning to educate them, but on February 1, 2010, police will issue tickets of up to $500 to those they catch. And this isn't just for voice calls - tickets will be issued when you're caught texting, emailing or dialing as well. If there is a saving grace here, it's that demerit points won't be lost if you're caught, like they would with speeding tickets.

Cell phone bans are already in place in Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia, while Manitoba has introduced legislation for it. And residents in those provinces lose demerit points when caught by police.

With all that in mind, it's expected that there will be an increased demand for hands-free devices for the car. I took the liberty of testing out many over the course of the last few weeks, and I've got some insight into them for you.

First, we'll start out with the Bluetooth headsets, which are user-friendly and require little maintenance.

Those looking for both performance and a sense of style might really like the Aliph Jawbone Prime headset. Aesthetically, it looks nicely contoured and comes in seven different colours. In terms of performance, it uses a sensor that touches your jaw for better retention of your voice, and includes wind reduction technology that keeps conversations as clear as possible. You do pay a premium for this though, as it retails for $139.95.

Motorola's latest headset, the H790, is a sleek headset that does a nice job of easing you into the experience. Voiced instructions will help you set up and also inform you of battery life and connection status. It also utilizes CrystalTalk noise-reduction to keep wind away from muffling your voice. Priced competitively at $89.95.

A bit more durable in its design, Nokia's BH-904 headset doesn't pack in too many bells and whistles, but it does try to keep away background noise. It also sports a U-shaped hook design that may seem awkward at first, but is actually pretty comfortable. This headset is as low as $69.99 after a mail-in rebate.

If you want something that's a little less noticeable, BlueAnt's V1 headset is more diminutive, so it won't stick out as much when placed on your ear. It features its own voice-isolation technology to keep background noise at bay, but it also has Voice User Interface to allow you to issue commands using your voice. You can now find this at certain retail outlets for under $99.99.

For those on a tighter budget, Sony Ericsson offers the VH310 headset for $39.99. It's a basic unit, so don't expect a great deal of features or any unique technology here, but it's affordable and should be able to do a decent job when in the confines of a car.

A Canadian Tire-exclusive, the Yada headset is another budgetary option now that it's available for $49.99 as of this writing. It's nothing special aesthetically, but it is lightweight and has a durable quality to it.

Though I didn't get to try any out for this article, two other companies that have been known to make good headsets are Plantronics and Jabra, so you may want to look into those two as well.

Now, having said all that, some of you may not like the idea of a headset in the car, so here are a few options to consider if you want a Bluetooth speaker instead.

I had reviewed the BlueAnt Supertooth 3 in the Yahoo! Tech Guide, and found it to be a pretty nifty unit.

Motorola hasn't released it just yet, but the T325 in-car speakerphone has been pretty impressive for me so far. I like that it will turn on once I enter the car with my phone, and then turn off once I close the door and leave. Look for this unit online or in stores with a price of $89.99.

A cool gadget in this space is the Scosche solCHAT, a solar-powered speakerphone for the car. Mount it on the windshield and the solar panel will charge the battery continuously. Caller ID is also voice announced, so you know who it is without even touching your phone. Availability in Canada is a bit tight, but you can buy it online for $99.99 U.S.

Another neat gadget that BlackBerry users will love is the Canadian-made iLane, and that's largely because it manages both voice calls and email. The best part? You can respond to email by your own voice as well. The setup is tedious but it's definitely a Bluetooth device with some upside. There’s a hefty initial price tag of $399.99 with a free six-month subscription to get on-demand news, sports, weather and software upgrades. If you want the service after that, you will have to pay a $7.99 monthly fee.

And last but not least, Yada offers a rear-view mirror speakerphone that literally attaches onto your existing one. It not only acts as a speakerphone, but the mirror also displays the name or number of whomever is calling. It can handle up to 25 hours of talk time on a single battery charge (up to 650 hours on standby), so you won't need to charge this very often. It's available exclusively at Canadian Tire for $149.99.