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Bluetooth Headset Roundup
An anonymous reader writes "Here is an interesting comparison of four of today's best Bluetooth headsets. These devices are becoming increasing popular, both as a gadget and accessory, but despite how stylish they get, performance and comfort are still serious issues. Joe Selim takes a look at four very different products, two from Jabra and two from Plantronics, in order to make some sense of things."
Commercial PIN pads used in EFTPOS transactions use Bluetooth too. While trying to get one certified recently I came up against a lot of anti-Bluetooth sentiment from the Security folk. Why does BT have such a bad name re security?
Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
Of all the things to come to pass from the original Star Trek, I never in my wildest dreams figured we'd all look like Lt. Uhura with these things hanging out of our ears. Note to the general public- you look stupid with those things hanging out of your ears. Cel Phone conversations in public shall be considered an invitation to slap you upside the head.
It appears to be down. Here's the coral cache:
h p?option=content&task=view&id=642
http://www.xyzcomputing.com.nyud.net:8090/index.p
A bunch of guys were wearing these in public a couple month ago, but not so much anymore it seems. I guess people are still not ready for something that makes you sound like a spaced out homeless man talking to himself.
http://www.med.harvard.edu/publications/On_The_Bra in/Volume3/Number4/Cochlear.html
Upgrades tend to be painfull.
I looked at all of these models and my Motorola was more comfortable in addition to having better clarity. I would love to see some of the higher-end Motorola offerings thrown into the mix for comparison.
Keep the faith, share the code
Good to know the best of the mono headsets, but how come these stereo wraparound headsets+microphones aren't more popular?
Motorola Stereo Bluetooth headset
Generic Bluetooth Headset : Headphone MP3 Player FM Stereo Radio
Why doesn't someone review these headsets/earpieces while wearing glasses?
Could they do something about the "crazy person" headset wearing phenomenon? I can't count how many times I've walked down a city street thinking I was being followed by a schizophrenic talking to himself when it was actually a business executive wearing a headset talking to payroll, for instance. I know this isn't a fair portrait of schizophrenics, who are usually non-violent, but it's still creepy to have someone follow you who appears to have an imaginary friend.
I understand the hands-free necessity in cars - but is it necessary to wear a headset all the time? Are we getting too lazy to hold a phone up to our ears while walking? It may be uncomfortable and inconvenient, but it certainly clearly labels anyone talking on a phone as talking on a phone.
Too many companies go with in-the-ear type styles... these won't work with most hearing aids, thereby limiting their potential audience. Only one of the headsets shown has even the remotest potential of being useful to that demographic group, and I'm still not convinced.
I own a Treo 650 and even though it is a great phone there are very few BT headsets that work well with this phone. I have used both Jabra Headsets. The Jabra JX10 is the only one in which all features worked with my phone. Leightweight, Stylish, Great sound and clarity make this BT headset the best I have tried. At Best Buy it retails for 175 $. for a MUCH MUCH lowerprice check out treonauts.com. BTW Jabra has great customer service. The detachable earpiece for my headset broke. I emailed customer service and asked where I could buy more and they shipped me replacements free of charge. You can't beat that. GET THE JABRA JX10 You will not be dissapointed. P.S. Check out the tv show "24" all the bad guys use this one !!!
Something that continually impresses me is the prevalance of these devices among drivers and deliverers in New York. It's kind of amazing to see these near-future quasi-cybernetic earpieces worn by all sorts of very different people.
I think it's an excellent example of the fact that functionality and sheer usefulness will make or break any technology, and furthermore, that even the most "far-out" technology can and will be embraced by all walks of life if it fills a genuinely useful function. Some might see these devices and assume only the geeks or early adopters would give them any attention, but all over Queens and Brooklyn I see car service drivers with them, bicycling delivery guys, etc..
Limina.Log
for anyone who drives a lot the UK with headsets - I can heartily recommend that you don't get the ones with the pulsing blue LED's. At night, whilst at a rather brisk pace on the motorway, the LED flashes blue which will every now and then reflect off the (right hand in the UK) drivers window which will look not unlike the blue flashing lights of a police car in your wingmirror. nearly crapped myself the first time this happened. rd
Hi,
I have used a couple of Southwing's headsets, the best one being the SH305, and I can tell you it's the most comfortable one I have tried. Besides, it's the one that supports most handset models, as they follow the Flash-based firmware model, meaning their software is V2.4, each revision adding fixes and support for new phone models. Firmware cannot be updated by the user however. Most manufacturers burn a ROM mask onto the Bluetooth chip with their firmware, but this means that making changes is anti-economical (around $100k for a new mask!).
As for security, the reason it has a bad name is that it has been very poorly implemented by some vendors (some very first-rate) and caused a lot of hubbub. Yes, it was possible to snarf the phonebook off a Nokia 6310i, but Nokia learned the lesson - security is much tighter nowadays...you can't cure (L)user stupidity however. If they say 'yes' when they receive some unknown file over OBEX or FTP, and install it...well.
Cheers,
Mother
The Bluespoon headsets have been the masters of battery life and sound quality for years, but have been really expensive. Their budget headsets (first the AX and now the AX2) however are great as well. It has a USB charging socket. That means that while at home I plug it in to the wall charger that came with it and on the road I just pack a USB cable. I love that for travel. It has a replaceable watch-battery sized LiIon battery. Replaceable is good. Finally, it can be pared with up to 8 devices. Whatever device it talked to last will be the one it talks to when you hit the button. So I can have a nice Skype call on my Mac with it and then if I originate a phone call from my phone the headset is then pointed at the phone.
I'm not saying that now this is the only headset with these features, but that feature set combined with the Bluespoon rep and the $70 price tag has made me a happy camper. So if you're comparing I suggest you take a look.
"Where quality is like a dead stinking rat - you just can't miss it."
Unless you need Bluetooth specifically (as in, you want to use it with a mobile phone in addition to the base station) then I'd tend to recommend forgetting about Bluetooth and using a traditional encrypted digital wireless headset. They generally have longer range, better battery life, and aren't susceptible to Bluetooth's security issues (as mentioned in the early comments to this story). They also usually have handset lifters, as you mentioned.
For example, the Plantronics CS-50
Don't buy it directly from Plantronics, though. It's far less expensive to get it from a separate store, like Buy.com or somewhere.
(Strangely enough, at the moment at buy.com, buying the CS50 + the handset lifter separately is $10 less than the two bundled together.)
I haven't used the PSTN version or handset lifter, but I've had a CS50 USB, the USB-connection version of this same model, for about a year now and been very happy with it for VOIP.
Plantronics certainly isn't the only manufacturer for headsets like this, though, so you may want to Google around for a bit and see what looks good.
So four devices from two manufacturers constitues a roundup now? Motorola isn't even represented despite being a major player in the market. The devices also cost 2-3x more than the bluetooth headsets everyone I know has.
If you're looking for a bluetooth headset, don't use this roundup at all, since there are plenty of great headsets which cost less than half the ones reviewed.
I hate these things. Of all the obnoxious, pretentious accessories to one of the most obnoxious pretentious pieces of technology ever invented, bluetooth headsets are the worst. I was therefore a little shocked when Amazon.com recommended that I might like one. Luckily, Amazon has this nifty little feature that lets you see why they made a recommendation, and lets you edit the triggers to refine future suggestions.
.
To set this up, earlier in the day I was reading a Fazed article about Amazon's new "personal care products" lines. One of the items they had under "personal care" was the Doc Johnson fist-shaped dildo. Hardy-har... Amazon's selling fisting aids.
Later in the day, I went back to Amazon to do some Christmas shopping, and there's this recommendation to purchase a Motorola HS805 Bluetooth headset. I've never bought anything related to a cel phone on Amazon so I couldn't figure out why it would make this suggestion. I clicked on the "Why was I recommended this?" link, and up pops this window http://www.juric.org/images/who_buys_borgsets.JPG
To this day, I can't look at anyone wearing one of those things without bursting out laughing.
Has anyone taken a good look at the iMuffs?
http://www.wi-gear.com/products/imuffs/
I love the idea, and they'd work perfectly with my iPod.
Neutiquam erro
My biggest problem with Bluetooth isn't the appearance factor. It is that the claimed 10 meter range is severely reduced when I wear my tin-foil hat with the headset...
Whenever Mrs. Fitch breaks wind, we beat the dog.