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Samsung WEP460
by Vixstar
So regularly driving a 2 hour journey each way each week, as a minimum, I decided that a hands free would be useful as people seem to always phone while I'm driving and my timekeeping is rubbish so its also useful to be able to phone whilst I'm trying to progress my journey.
I bought this handsfree set to go with my new phone ... (Samsung Genoa ) which had decided to totally ignore my other (Nokia) hands free ear piece. I paid around £15 for it in a well known mobile phone retailer but I've fond it elsewhere for £12.50 (repeat to myself always shop around!). The handsfree earpiece proclaims Bluetooth 2.0 technology. It is one of the hook over the ear type of hands free devices, and with a bit of simple twiddling with the hook it is possible to make fit either your left or right ear.
A quick read of the instructions, a brief hold of the breath when introducing the earpiece to my fussy phone, and the linking oof the two devices was quickly and easily achieved. It was then connected to its wall charger. I do have a slight issue with the charger, a bit of a silly one but, it requires a totally different charger to my phone so now I need to lug around my phone charger and my hands free charger when I go away (not to mention the chagers for all my other electricals!).
The controls on the earpiece are simple a strip button on the front for on/off and answering the phone and a volume button on the side, which I have easily managed to find and use whilst driving and not able to see it. The device seems robust enough, its been shoved in bags, full pockets, glove boxes and my central console junk pot without any ill effects. Althought the hoook is fairly thin flexible plastic so it may not stand up to really rough handling.
The hook fits comfortably over my ear but you do need to push it firmly into your ear else the slightest nudge can knock it out of your ear. If it's in firmly then I have also managed to wear a pair of sunglasses with this earpiece with no snags. It fits my little ear ok but I have noticed that it starts to make my earhole ache a little after wearing it for 3 hours non-stop. You can angle the microphone bit of the earpiece as you desire to pick up your conversation.
I've used this with female and male callers, young and old and not had any problem hearing the conversation, in actual fact I've had to turn it down a little. I've been asking all callers how it is for them and on the whole they can hear me though it has been a little muffled briefly, although it was admitted it may have been picking up road noise. It proclaims a week of battery on standby and I'm happy to confirm this after leaving it switched on accidentally in my car for a week between journeys. Call time battery life is advertised as 8 hours, I haven't had long enough phone calls to e able to question this but then again I also haven't had it cut out during a journey yet.
All in all I'm pleased with this earpiece, it fits much better than I expected and is easy and effective in use. I'd recommend this to anyone (once they've shopped around!)
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Plantronics Backbeat 903
by noxiuniversitas
The Plantronics BackBeat 903 is an entry-level set of wireless Bluetooth headphones which also double as a hands-free kit for mobile phones. It is compatible with just about every audio device which has Bluetooth. For those of you with older-generation MP3 players or other devices without Bluetooth connectivity, you have two choices: ... either buy the BackBeat 906, which includes a Bluetooth transmitter, or find one on the cheap from eBay. Either way, you will then be on your way to enjoing your audio files wirelessly.
When I first bought these headsets, I was intending to buy and entry-level pair to give wireless headphones a chance. I am currently in the process of upgrading most of my electronics to minimise the cable clutter, and despite my love affair with my wired Shure SE550s, I did the research and decided to give these a go. I was not expecting brilliant sound quality - in fact, most reviews of wireless audio were lukewarm. However, I was pleasantly surprised with this pair. The volume is very loud - I have mine turned to the minimum possible level. Treble is good and sounds rich. The only complaint I have is that the bass is a little weak. The sound quality obviously cannot match wired headphones. However, the compromise is worth it if you find yourself cursing wires all the time.
The call quality is also very good. People on the other side of the line frequently do not realise that I am using a hands-free kit, and they report a clear call quality. My only major complaint is that during the winter, when my phone is in my pocket (and hence covered by 3 layers of clothing) some connection cut-outs of 3-5s each do occur.
I chose these because they were small - I am not a fan of big head phones. However, be warned, they are still quite big and fairly cumbersome to fit. They are not the most comfortable pair of headphones (I wear them for an hour or two at a time only). In addition, they come loose very easily and even in a low-impact activity like cycling will fall off. Do not think about using them for any sort of sport.
Battery life is excellent - 6 hours of talk-time was what I got, with 8hrs of pure listening time.
Overall - good entry-level set, although not comfortable. Small wireless headsets still have a way to go - if you can afford to, I would wait till bigger fish are available.
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Plantronics Voyager 520
by xx_nic_xx
We all love to talk don't we? However, it's impossible to talk all of the time (although some people certainly try), with driving being one of those places. Ok, so it's fine to talk to passengers, however, with strict restrictions in place, it's important to abide by the rules of not using your mobile while on the road or you could find ... yourself with a hefty fine on its way to you.
With that in mind, I purchased the Plantronics 520 Voyager Bluetooth headset and after experiences with a vast array of Bluetooth headsets - some good, some not so good, I can safely say that the Plantronics 520 Voyager is the best by a long way.
*** Availability ***
At the time of purchase around 18 months ago, this headset cost around £60 from Play.com, however, these days you can pick yourself up an absolute bargain at just £25.79 from Amazon with free delivery.
*** Aesthetics and Comfort ***
Not only is the Voyager a fully functional piece of kit, it also looks good too, doesn't it? With the eye-catching black, silver and blue the voyager really stands out in an overcrowded market of dull and dreary looking headsets. I've had trouble with numerous headsets previously, in terms of fit and comfort; a lot of them would fail to stay in place and even when they were in place, they would be extremely uncomfortable and I'd be wanting to take it off within 10 minutes. Some headsets can be very protruding as well and even with hair covering my ear the headset would still stick out and make me look like I've failed to straighten a rather sizeable chunk of it.
All those problems disappeared immediately when I bought the Voyager. First off it's the most comfortable headset I've bought, with it's silicone casing fitting perfectly around my ear to keep it in place for hours on end. Plantronics obviously believe in the 'size doesn't matter' motto, as it's fully adjustable to fit everyone's ears - if Dumbo was made in the 21st Century it's a safe bet that you would have seen him wearing one. Apart from the outer shell that fixes around your ear, there's also the actual in ear part in which the sound emerges from. A rubberised shell fixes easily into your ear, without becoming too tight, whilst giving you the confidence that it's in place and that's where it's staying. The Voyager is also happy to stay in the background, without attempting to hog the limelight like previous headsets and doesn't protrude through your hair.
*** Connectivity ***
This is where a lot of people seem to run into major issues. There are of course the usual list of compatible phones, however, I've never run into any issues using, not one, but two phones that aren't included on the list. The phone pairs just as well with a 5 year old Nokia, as it does with an up to date iPhone, however, starting the journey isn't quite as easy as it should be. To pair with your phone you need to turn the device on by holding down the main button, which acts as the power and volume controls, if held down for around 3 seconds the light above it will flash red and blue, this indicates that the headset is ready to connect. Then it's all down to your phone, going through your settings menu to Bluetooth, before searching for Bluetooth enabled devices within 10 metres of your phone. If the phone successfully picks up the headset it will appear under the name of Plantronics 520 Voyager, a bit of a mouthful, but this is easily altered. Upon clicking on the device it will attempt to connect, if a connection is made you'll be asked to enter a 4 digit password, which will be 0000, once this has been entered successfully everything will be sorted and you'll be free to use your headset in conjunction with your mobile phone.
However, it's not always that simple, you see more often than not the phone you're using will fail to recognise the headset and it could take numerous attempts at turning the device on and off and holding it in different positions before any connection is made. If you're planning on using the headset with just one phone then this is only a minor issue as the connection only has to be made once, however, if you'd like to utilise two different phones this connection process can become extremely tedious, but it's also something that you'll figure out how to do more successfully the more often you do it. There's a definite technique there. When connection is successful the light will stop flashing from red to blue and will only flash blue. Once you've established a connection, turning the headset and phone off at anytime will not ruin the connection as, as soon as both devices are switched on again, they will pair once again. It will ask you to confirm this on your phone, but that's the only effort you have to go to.
The phone boasts the capabilities of being able to pair with two different phones - this is on separate occasions I hasten to add. This is true, although, as aforementioned it does create a bit of a hassle in terms of pairing them both, however, once paired, it's luck of the draw whether you have to pair them again. For example, I could be using my Nokia during the day in conjunction with the headset, however, in the evening I may wish I switch to my iPhone. 50% of the time the device will recognise my iPhone and pair automatically, however, the other 50% you'll be forced to manually pair. This is not only a pain, it can also be very time consuming if you've yet to master the correct technique.
*** Sound Quality ***
With the headset now connected, you're going to want to use it aren't you? Fortunately, in terms of usability this headphone can only impress you. The headset incorporates noise cancelling technology, which means you could be on a noisy building site, however, the person on the other end of the phone will be none the wiser. Ok, so it may not be that effective, because if a building site is enough to ruin your peace and quiet, it's bound to ruin your phone call, but the noise cancelling really does work. I've been on both sides of the counter, so to speak, both using the headset and speaking to someone whilst they were using it and the sound quality is utterly flawless both ways. The background noise is apparent in both situations, but it is just that, background noise and in no way does it detract from the phone call at hand. With crisp, clear calling quality the headset comes up trumps. The volume settings are extremely handy, there are around 10 different volume settings and they're all adjusted using the multifunctional silver button in the middle of the device. Simply tilt it one way to turn the volume up and the opposite to lower it. The volume options do cover a vast array of sound and if you're in a situation where you're having trouble hearing someone, turning the volume up even by a few stages really does make all the difference and it makes the clarity that extra bit special.
Answering a call is extremely simple and it's done using the, yep you guessed it, the all-singing, all-dancing multifunctional button in the middle. It doesn't matter which way you tilt the button, if the phone is ringing the movement will answer the call and it's the exact same method to turn it off. When the phone rings, you won't only hear the ringtone emanating from your phone, you will also hear it through the ear bud that's in your ear, which is a handy feature, if you just so happen to be on said building site. If you're not on a building site though, you may find the volume a little too loud, not deafeningly loud, but uncomfortably loud and while the phone is ringing, the only option you have to turn this down is to use the phone volume keys, as using the volume keys on the device will answer the call.
*** Battery ***
The battery life with this headset is incredibly impressive. The stated 8 hours battery time really is the battery time you get, infact, if you're an iPhone user, it's likely that your iPhone will run out of battery before this genius piece of kit will. There's of course a charger contained in the box which sits neatly on a surface and you simply slip the device vertically in to charge. The charging port has around a metre of cable so you're not likely to run out and the device will take approximately 5 hours to charge completely, although it's possible to take it off after only an hour or so and get a good few hours of use from it. Whilst in charge the light will illuminate red and once fully charged it will revert to green.
*** Overview ***
If you're looking for a relatively cheap, yet functional Bluetooth headset then this definitely deserves a look in. With its outstanding calling clarity and its admirable battery life it overshadows the not so admirable set up process, but with a device this good you'd expect it to have a flaw wouldn't you?
Recommended.
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