| Product: |
Motorola HS850 |
| Date: |
24/01/08 (58 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Discrete, Good sound quality, Funky 'boom' design
Disadvantages: Withstands drops but not as durable in other areas, Sound quality can vary
The Motorola HS850 is a Bluetooth headset that you use with your mobile phone (or other Bluetooth compatible device). I've had my one for over a year now and it works great, most of the time anyway. The idea is that with it, you'll be able to talk on your phone without touching your phone and it uses Bluetooth so there are no wires to tangle up.
The HS850 comes in metallic grey with blue, and in black. I have the black one. The predecessor (HS810) only came in silver but I prefer black as it is more discrete and matches my hair.
FUNCTIONS
You can wear it on your left or your right ear by taking off the hook and then attaching it back on the other way round. This is good since people have different preferences. It's also very small, which means it fits into my pocket easily and is very discrete when worn. Quite often, if someone is wearing one and talking on the phone, you don't know who they're talking to, especially if they're wearing the headset on the other side of the head that's out of your sight. Amazingly, the microphone situated at the end of the boom is very short and goes nowhere near my mouth. Despite this, it picks up my voice very well.
If your phone has a voice dial function, then the headset will pick this up. Just press the main button and say the name when you hear that the headset has picked up the Bluetooth signal. Great thing about this is the so long as voice dialing is set up for the person you want to ring, you can ring them without ever touching the phone. I think it's great to have especially while you're driving so you can make and receive phone calls.
The headset is simple and only has a total of three buttons. Even so, you can do things like switch call to phone, ignore call, redial, etc by using long and short button presses of the buttons depending on the situation. I've not actually leant all of the combinations but think it's very clever.
SOUND QUALITY
Sound quality seems to vary from time to time. Sometimes it's excellent for voice calls and great sound quality on my side but there have been many occasions where the sound was really broken up. On the other hand, quite a few people have had problems hearing me even though I could hear them properly. I believe this is due to the microphone being a bit rubbish. I've since given this headset to a friend and we've concluded that the sound of the wearer doesn't reach the microphone so it must not be sensitive enough. Holding your hands over your mouth to bounce the sound back into the microphone seems to make hearing the wearer better but this isn't practical and defeats the purpose of a handsfree kit. I do not know if this is a problem that has developed over time as or that it's a design fault as I don't know how people heard me before when I first got it. I've also tried pairing my iPAQ to the headset and then played MP3 music on the iPAQ while using the headset to listen but the sound breaks up really badly whenever there's any bass so I guess it's only good for voice.
COMFORT
This is important because let's face it, I have to wear it. The bit that hooks around the ear is rubbery. I do feel it on my ear but after a while, it becomes easier to forget about it so good enough. It does get a bit uncomfortable if worn for a very long time though.
My only quibble is that whenever I move my head quickly or move quickly (i.e. run), the HS850 does 'flap' and moves a bit. The headset doesn't feel like it'll fall off and does feel secure so it's nothing important.
DURABILITY
It seems quite robust. I've dropped it many times but it still works. I'm thinking this is due to the good light design. The rubbery hook may also have helped with its survival as it can neutralise the impact and give it a bit of bounce. The flappy rubbery bit that goes round the speaker tears off after a while but it's not important. I also find that I need to push the charger into the headset with a bit more force than I used to or it doesn't charge. Not a problem so long as it keeps working.
I have read that if you keep opening and closing the boom, that the joint will eventually wear out or something will happen to the circuit. This is a disadvantage but being able to fold it to make it more compact and less likely to break while in your pocket is also quite important. I've not had any problems with mine yet though.
BATTERY LIFE
Battery life is excellent. I can manage a whole week without recharging it but sound quality for whoever I talk to seems to deteriorate, which isn't very good.
The working range of the headset is also pretty good. I can leave my phone on a desk, walk a couple of metres away and still pick up the call. I've walked around the house and it even through walls, granted they aren't that thick. When the phone has no signal though, it makes this slightly annoying 'blipping' noise. Not very loud but I can do without it.
BUYING
It cost me around £50 from a phone website I can't remember the name of but you can find it for about £29 now, and probably a bit less if you search on eBay (but watch out for fakes).
VERDICT
It's a very good headset to begin with but there are newer ones from Motorola and many from different manufacturers out there that are probably more updated with the Bluetooth technology. I think I would prefer a simpler design nowadays as the novelty of the boom has worn off and I think other ones are more robust with fewer moving parts and more importantly, I find I have consistent sound quality with my newer headsets so I don't recommended the HS850 any more.
Thanks for reading!
Summary: HS850 Motorola Bluetooth Headset
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