Even though many still think wearing a Bluetooth headset is a terrible fashion statement, they're often a necessary evil if you want a hands-free cell phone solution. Besides, many Bluetooth headsets are quite stylish and discreet these days. So if you want to get a new headset for your phone this holiday season, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
1. Sound quality: Before you start thinking about design and features, you should be looking for a headset with superior audio quality. This applies to both outgoing and incoming sound. After all, what's the point of a good-looking headset if it sounds terrible? Be sure to look for headsets with dual-microphone noise-canceling, and find out if it's possible to return a headset if it's not to your liking. Do note that you'll pay more for better quality. Some headsets, like the Plantronics Voyager Pro and the Plantronics Discovery 975, have wind-noise resistance that make them particularly helpful with wind noise, whereas the Motorola Endeavor HX1 is unique in that it blocks out extraneous sound altogether. If you want to get a stereo Bluetooth headset, music audio quality should also be a consideration.
2. Comfort: Equally important to quality is comfort. A headset must be comfortable to wear, especially if you plan on wearing it for hours a day or if you plan on keeping it on while driving. This is where design comes into play as well, as some people like wearing an ear hook for stability, but others prefer the freedom of not having one. You should make sure a headset comes with different-sized ear gels or ear buds so you can play around with the fit. Some headset manufacturers do provide additional ear buds if you ask.
3. Features: Headsets can do more than just make and answer calls these days. Some of the higher-end headsets have features that cheaper models don't. They include multipoint technology, which lets you connect up to two different devices simultaneously. This means that you can pair and connect to two phones, for example, and the headset will seamlessly switch from one to the other without having to disconnect and reconnect. This works especially well if you have to use one phone for work, and the other for personal use. If you're looking to use the headset for music as well, you need to get a headset that is compatible with A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile). All stereo Bluetooth headsets support this of course, but some mono headsets do as well, like the Jabra Stone">Jabra Stone for example.
4. Design: Though this is not quite as important as the other factors, sometimes looks do matter. For example, while we like the Plantronics Voyager Pro, it's quite a bulky headset that is reminiscent of something a telemarketer would wear. Some of our favorite stylish headsets include the Jabra Stone for its unique and discreet style, the Plantronics Discovery 975 for its one-of-a-kind pin design, and, of course, the Aliph Jawbone Prime with its luxury look and feel.
5. Price: Last but not least, price is an important consideration. Bluetooth headsets come in all different price ranges, from the very cheap to the terribly overpriced. You generally get a better headset if you pay more, but you can get decent Bluetooth headsets that are affordable as well. The Samsung WEP470, for example, is under $30, and makes for a good, basic headset. Most of the top headsets are over the $100 price range, however, but you do get what you pay for.
With these factors in mind, I've compiled a gallery of the top Bluetooth headsets of 2009 to help you make a decision if you're in the market for a headset. Take a look and feel free to agree or disagree in the comments. If you want more information, please check out our full Bluetooth headset buying guide feature.
Due out later this month, the Voyager Pro UC lists for $199.99.
(Credit: Planatronics)Plantronics trotted out a new Bluetooth headset on Monday, the Voyager Pro UC headset, which adds a plug-and-play Bluetooth USB adapter "to deliver richer wideband audio on softphones along with Voyager Pro's superior noise and wind cancellation on both mobile phones and softphones."
On the consumer front, the Voyager Pro UC is geared toward Skype users and has some firmware in the dongle that lets you answer Skype calls or swap between a cell and Skype call by simply pressing a button on the headset. Additionally, Plantronics says the dongle helps improve audio quality and range.
The Voyager Pro UC (the UC stands for "unified communications") is also compatible with enterprise softphone applications from Avaya, Cisco, IBM, and Microsoft, and works with Google Talk, though you'll have to use your PC's mouse to answer and end calls (in other words, there are no special features geared toward Google Talk users).
In case you're wondering, you cannot pair the original Voyager Pro headset with the dongle. It's also worth noting that this "UC" version is enhanced for PC communications but should sound the same as the identically styled Voyager Pro for cell calls.
The Voyager Pro UC will be available this month and carries a list price of $199.95. For a complete list of supported softphone applications, visit www.plantronics.com/personosuite.
Anybody want one? Should we do this as a Crave giveaway of the week?
An Apple patent design shows what would happen if its iPod Shuffle and Bluetooth headset mated.
(Credit: United States Patent Application)In a future where we're all walking around wondering how our iPod brain implants came to exist, historians can point back to this Apple patent application from 2008 and glimpse the missing link: an in-ear iPod.
Of course, others may see this as simply a Bluetooth headset with integrated memory and audio playback capabilities (music, voice mails). The Orwellian in me, though, is fairly certain this gadget will mark Apple's slow crawl into our skulls. Read the patent's abstract to judge for yourself:
Additional functionality in a wireless headset allows it to be used during times that the external device with which it is wirelessly coupled is not being used, but when the headset is nevertheless being worn. This is accomplished by integrating a media player into the wireless headset. The media player may be an audio player, capable, e.g., of playing audio files such as MPEG-3 ("MP3") files. Optionally, the media player may include a recording function as well, so that a user can record voice notes. In addition, if the external device is a telephone (mobile or landline), the availability of a recording function could make it possible for the user to record all or part of a conversation. Similarly, voicemail messages received on the user's telephone could be uploaded into the headset for later off-line playback. Media files recorded by the headset also could be downloaded to the external device.
(Via Electronista)
Motorola H17
(Credit: Motorola)Motorola has recently launched the Motorola H17 Bluetooth headset.
It's a tiny little thing and has a small flip boom mic similar in style to the Motorola H15's. It promises CrystalTalk noise-cancellation, voice prompts, several ear bud options, multipoint technology, up to five hours of talk time, and the capability to toggle the power by flipping the boom. No word on pricing yet, but it'll probably be available soon.
The comfy, folding Jabra Halo headset isn't 100 percent compatible with the iPhone, but it's still a worthwhile investment.
(Credit: Jabra)Cords suck. That's why people who switch to Bluetooth headsets have a hard time going back to the wired kind. And once you've tried a stereo headset, well, you're spoiled for life.
Consider me spoiled. The new Jabra Halo headset cuts the cord in style, giving music and movie fans a terrific wireless listening experience while allowing chatterboxes to keep conversing.
Alas, it's not quite perfect, owing to one design flaw and one technical glitch that's actually Apple's fault.
Smart features are everywhere. For starters, the Halo has no on/off button. Rather, these folding, over-the-ear headphones turn on when unfolded and off again when you fold them. Love that!
LEDs embedded in the headband show power, pairing, and battery status. I had an easy time pairing the Halo with an iPhone 3G and a second-gen iPod Touch.
In fact, I was able to keep both paired thanks to the headset's MultiUse technology, which supports connections to two Bluetooth devices. (A more real-world application would be pairing to your iPhone and your laptop.) Very handy.
The Halo has just two physical controls. The first is a slightly indented button in the outer face of the right earpiece; it's used to play/pause music and answer/end phone calls.
The second is a disastrously bad touch slider for controlling volume and skipping tracks (the latter done by double-tapping the top or bottom of the controller--a nearly impossible task given that you can't see where you're tapping). It's my one and only complaint with the Halo; a simple rocker control would have been vastly superior.
I have a second complaint, but it's with Apple's implementation of Bluetooth. Because there's no support (yet) for Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP), the Halo's controls are rendered partially inoperative. You can raise and lower volume, but I couldn't get play/pause or track skip to work.
These aren't deal-breakers (as noted above, these controls suck anyway), but they're definitely annoyances. For what it's worth, everything worked fine with my AVRCP-rocking Palm Pre.
On the unequivocal plus side, music sounds terrific, at least to my ears, and callers reported that I sounded just as swell. That surprised me given the Halo's lack of a visible microphone, but the headset actually has two of them--one of which cancels background noise.
Other perks include a patch cord for using the Halo with non-Bluetooth MP3 players; AC and USB charging cables (the Halo relies on a microUSB connector); and a Neoprene carrying case.
All this can be yours for $129.99, which is a pretty steep price for a headset. Shopping around, I managed to find it for $99, but even that's not an impulse-buy price.
On the other hand, if you routinely use your iPhone on a treadmill, at the gym, or even while lounging around the house, a headset like this is a very worthwhile luxury. We just need Apple to roll out some much-needed Bluetooth updates (add printer support while you're at it!) and the Jabra Halo will rank among the top products in its class (for iPhone users, that is).
Sound ID 400
(Credit: Sound ID)We've been fans of Sound ID headsets in the past, and so have many of you, so we're pleased to see the company come out with its latest and greatest headset, the Sound ID 400.
Taking the form factor of the Sound ID 300 but combining it with the high-end technology of the Sound ID SM100, the Sound ID 400 is quite possibly the company's best headset yet. It has a rather slim and nondescript appearance, but underneath that are quite a few features. They include up to three "Personal Sound" listening modes that promise to improve speech clarity without volume, and "Environmental Mode" so you don't have to take the headset off to hear sounds around you.
Last but not least, the Sound ID 400 is compatible with an optional Sound ID CompanionLink Remote Microphone. This yet-to-be-released CompanionLink device can be clipped on to a sound source--say another person--so you can hear it better. It essentially acts as a single focus hearing aid, which seems especially useful in noisy environments.
Other features include NoiseNavigation, which is the company's noise-canceling and DSP technology, and multi-point technology that lets you connect up to two devices at once. Both the Sound ID 400 and the Sound ID CompanionLink Remote Microphone will be available later this year for $129.99 and $79.99 each.
The Jabra Halo stereo Bluetooth headset, open and folded.
(Credit: Jabra)I was quite impressed with the Jabra Halo stereo Bluetooth headset when I first saw it at CTIA 2009 in Las Vegas. It looked thin and lightweight, and promised to be the first wireless stereo headset with dual-microphone noise cancellation. Indeed, it was our cream of the crop nominee for best accessory at the show.
Now Jabra has made the Halo official, announcing that it'll be available for sale in Best Buy retail stores next week. Other features of the headset include multipoint technology, eight hours of talk or music time, Zirene Power Bass, and a 3.5mm cord option in case you can't or don't want to use Bluetooth. It also folds down to a more compact shape. The suggested retail price is $129, which may seem a bit costly, but if the HALO delivers on its promise, it would be well worth it.
Plantronics Discovery 975, in and out of its charging case.
(Credit: Plantronics)Plantronics on Thursday announced the Plantronics Discovery 975, which it touts as a luxury fashion-forward Bluetooth headset built with premium performance. It's the successor to the Plantronics Discovery 925, and it shows--the Discovery 975 inherited that skinny hairpin-like design, right down to the square diamond base.
However, the Discovery 975 carries the brains of the Plantronics Voyager Pro, with its AudioIQ2 noise canceling and WindSmart wind-noise reduction technologies.
We had the opportunity to put the Discovery 975 through its paces the past few days, and we have to say we're very impressed with it overall. Even though not everyone will appreciate the skinny pin design and the tiny controls leave much to be desired, the sound quality is really very good. Indeed, it matches the Voyager Pro in outgoing sound quality. We even tested it in windy conditions, and our callers managed to hear us loudly and clearly. They said our voice sounded natural and not at all robotic or machine-like, and the wind noise that they did hear sounded more like rain on the roof.
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Samsung WEP870, Samsung WEP850, and the Samsung WEP470
(Credit: Samsung)Samsung has announced three new Bluetooth headsets: the WEP870, the WEP850, and the WEP470. The WEP870 is a mono headset that is able to stream music thanks to A2DP compatibility. It has an LCD screen that displays battery level and connection status, and it comes with a stereo earbud lanyard. Of course it also has dual microphones and features noise and echo cancellation. It's available for $89.99 retail.
The WEP850 is another headset with a decent minimalist design and features multipoint connectivity plus noise cancellation as well. It's available for $69.99. On the lower end is the WEP470, which still has that same noise cancellation, but is much cheaper at $39.99.
Darrell Huff, a 51-year-old automotive technician from Centreville, Md., wanted his quadriplegic son, Joshua, to be able to make calls on a cell phone. Unfortunately, all cell phones require button pushes, so Huff quickly thought of Bluetooth headsets as a solution.
Darrell Huff modified a BlueAnt V1 so it can be activated with a magnet.
(Credit: BlueAnt)He was especially intrigued by the BlueAnt V1, which has a unique voice-control interface that lets you make and answer calls with voice alone--there's even a voice-guided tutorial if you need some guidance. (The V1 is the predecessor to BlueAnt's more recent BlueAnt Q1).
But even the BlueAnt V1 wasn't 100 percent hands-free; you still needed to press the button to activate it. So Huff set out to find a way to activate the switch without the need for hands.
"I tried different things," Huff said. "It occurred to me a mercury switch might work, but my research soon showed that mercury is all but banned in the U.S. and I also began to worry about the user's perception... I tried using a roller ball-type tilt switch, but it is difficult to find one small enough and my experiments showed the connection with this type of switch was erratic."
After a lot of trial and error, Huff finally decided to use a magnetic switch.
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Darrell's son Joshua demonstrates the modified BlueAnt V1 with the flexible rod magnet.
(Credit: Darrell Huff)"I opened the headset and replaced the push button switch with a magnetically controlled switch," Huff explained. "The modified version of the headset has a switch that is closed when in the presence of a magnetic field. So when the headset is not near a magnet, the switch is open...If you move the headset near a magnet, then the switch closes--this is like pushing the button."
In case you need to push and hold the button, you would just keep the headset near the magnet for a few more seconds. Huff is careful to note that the switch itself is not magnetized; it just responds to a magnetic field.
Now all Huff had to do was mount a magnet so his son could move his head conveniently to activate the headset. He created one that is on the end of a 29-inch long and flexible rod that can be mounted to a wheelchair. At last, Huff had created a genuinely "hands-free" Bluetooth headset.
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