With the Freedom (which I have since March '05), you have a choice what to start off with. I believe most people choose the BTE over the BWP. Unlike somebody indicated, there is no difference between either one in terms of power per se when it comes to how well you "hear" with either one. The reason that is the case, you are hearing with electrical impulses not acousically which is a big difference between a CI and HA. If you go by putting in more "power" you might fry you cochlear (auditory) nerve. Don't worry, the audis make sure everything is safely set up...
The main difference between them from a performance viewpoint is how they are powered batterywise. The BWP uses a AAA or AA (I can't remember which) and it can be be rechargable or nonrechargeable. The BTE uses 675 type batteries (they need to be high performance though...use could use the normal HA types in a pinch). I have heard that Cochlear is working on a rechargable battery for the BTE. The other obvious difference is how you wear it. The BTE is just like a HA and the BWP clips on your belt, pocket or whatever you choose.
Another advantage is that you can see the settings at a glance. With the BTE, one would have to take it off your ear and look at it. I found a nifty way around the different programs (four of them) is simply by listening to the beeps when switching between them (the beeps correspond to the four different programs [i.e. one beep for pgm 1 and so on...]). That saves me from having to look at the settings when I forget which I'm on. This is because once I get the volume and sensitivity the way I want it (after a new mapping)...I never really change them again where I do change programs for the appropriate environmental situation.
