Review: Plantronics BackBeat 903+ (Bluetooth Stereo)

Chances are, if you are an iPhone or iPod touting urban warrior, you have a set of stereo headphones or earbuds that you traverse the city with.  They are handy, low-maintenance and easy to carry.  There is one thing that drives me nuts is the cords; they simply get in the way and a simple body or arm gesture can yank one or both of your ear buds right out of your ears not to mention how they tangle up each time.

This is where a nice set of bluetooth stereo headset such as the new Plantronics BackBeat 903+ comes in to play.  Design wise, the BackBeat 903+ isn't anything crazy, it reminds me of two Plantronics Voyager Pro+ strung together as a stereo headset.  Control wise, the headset offers all the essential buttons that can be found in a bluetooth ear piece: Power/Pair button, Volume+ and Volume- and a button on the right ear bud for music Play/Pause while the left ear bud has the Talk/End button.

The headset is pretty light weight despite its looks, although it looks bulky, it is pretty comfortable to wear over time.  The music quality is decent but doesn't offer enough BASS for my taste, much like the Plantronics BackBeat 216 I reviewed.  The voice talk function is nice although the position of the mic is actually part of the right ear-bud so you must talk fairly loud to ensure your recipient to hear you clearly.  The noise level in a phone call is comparable to any other premium headset I've tested, what is surprising is having both ear buds in doesn't muffle my own voice to the point where I feel like I need to shout inorder to here myself.

The nicest thing about having a stereo bluetooth headset is no more cords to deal with.  The freedom of turning your head and moving your arms around is great.  Since both ear buds clamps on your ear lobe, you might even be able to wear this headset for some light exercise although I wouldn't recommended if you sweat a lot.  Note that using while bluetooth headsets are very cool, it does drain your device's battery considerably faster; BackBeat 903+ itself can last about 7 hours of playback so what I prefer to do is sync'ing up with my iPad which also has decent battery life to watch videos or stream internet radio.

The BackBeat 903+ goes for $99 MSRP and is available at Plantronics website.

Review: Plantronics Savor M1100 Bluetooth Headset

Plantronics just launched two new premium bluetooth headset to its line-up.  1). The Savor M1100 and 2). Voyager PRO+, an update to the popular Voyager PRO.  I've arranged review units for both and will cover the Savor M1100 today.

The Savor M1100 bluetooth headset is a lightweight in terms of its, well..., weight; its probably one of the lightest headset I've ever encountered which is a good thing.  But make no mistake, it packs big features.  Pairing the headset is really easy on an iPhone, I was up and running within 30 seconds.  Once connected, you'll notice the battery meter appearing on the iPhone which is a really cool feature in advance headsets these days.  On a quick glance, the M1100 headset has a very minimalist appearance and it seems like there are not buttons or switches, upon close inspection, you'll find four, yes 4, buttons on the device which makes it really friendly to use for any "headless" device.  There is a button to answer/drop calls, button for voice command and access it's Vocalyst feature (for voice text message features, twitting, etc...), button for volume control and a real on/off switch which is something I really enjoy/must have on any blue-tooth headset (a physical switch that is on or off).  The only complaint I have is the fact that due to all the button arrangements, it becomes difficult for me to get a good grip to push the headphone in without depressing the buttons (most notably, the answer/end button).  After some practice, I learn the best way is to hold the two sides using my thumb and middle finger while pushing one of the corners with my index finger.  This won't accidentally disconnect a call when I try to wear the headset while someone is calling. 

This bluetooth headset supports A2DP stereo streaming and that is the first thing I tested.  This is actually the first time I've ever tried streaming MP3 or Movie audio via a Bluetooth headset.  The quality is decent but I wouldn't toss away my VMODA headset just yet.  I placed several test calls and the first impression is that the volume is very clear and very loud.  It appears that the Plantronics Audio Engineers are not messing around with the SAVOR M1100, they want you to hear the conversations loud and clear!  There are a handful of quick keys and short cuts for the headphone like redial, voice recognition (works surprisingly well!), reconnect, etc...  The Get Started guide is very handy to get you up to speed.

The SAVOR M1100 (MSRP: $99) is a worthy premium bluetooth headset in a very competitive marketplace.  It is one of the lightest headset I've ever encountered with amazing 4hr talk time and 7 Day Standby (no tradeoff  here!).  Plantronics's noise filtering technology (AudioIQ3 and DSP) and Triple-Mic technology does ample job keeping the calls nice and clear.  I think this is one of the best Bluetooth headset on the market today.  Plantronics is offering 1 year free Basic Subscription of it's Vocalyst service for free, go get 'em! 

Review: Jawbone ICON Bluetooth Headset

(Update: 7/29/2010 - After using these headphones for a couple of weeks, I have really gotten to love them.  Jawbone ICON has really done a great job understanding the bluetooth headset frustrations and designed a great headset that is convenient to use with three notable features: 1.The physical on/off switch is really good, no more holding a button down and guess if its on or off.  2.The battery guage on the iPhone is really awesome, no more guessing if the headset needs a charge. 3. Option of not needing the ear loop so I can wear the headset without interfering with wearing glasses or sunglasses, well done Aliph!)

I've had the pleasure of playing with my new iPhone 4 with a new Jawbone ICON bluetooth headset which is dubbed as "The World's First Intelligent Headset". The Jawbone ICON headset, in short, is a very easy to use bluetooth headset, in fact, probably the easiest and most convenient bluetooth headset I've ever used.

Design:  The ICON is best described as petite in size; the unit is measured just a tad longer than an inch and extremely lightweight.  The original Jawbone was famous for its industrial design and you can still see traces of that DNA in this headset.  There are minimal buttons to the headset but the two available are well thought out.  First, the power switch, I love the toggle switch (actually moving it back and forth) to switch the power on or off... 99% of bluetooth headsets uses a button instead which creates a lot of frustration for me.  Second, the talk/receive/end button which is located on the back of the headset.  Its very large and easy to find while wearing; its positioned properly such that while pushing on it, it won't pull the headset off of ear.  I would have liked to have a dedicated volume buttons but the iPhone's volume knobs make it easy enough to deal with.

Comfort: As mentioned easlier, the ICON is very lightweight and it offers two different ways to be worn.  1). Ear Buds - package comes with 3 different size ear buds with a unique flap that works great to reinforce the headset by creating a unique tension to keep the headset wedged onto your ear, this is my preferred method and it fits me perfectly.  2). Ear Loop - package also comes with an Ear Loop and smaller ear buds for those who wants extra stability.  The ICON headset is very comfortable to wear, while I was testing it, I almost forgot I had it on over an extended period of time of wearing.

Ease of use: This bluetooth headset is by far, the easiest one to use that I've come across.  Pairing was a breeze, atleast for my iPhone 4, I simply turn on bluetooth on my phone and switch the headset on and within seconds it paired (instruction said to enter "0000" as pairing code but that wasn't even necessary for me).  Once paired on the iPhone, everything just ties together very nicely, for instance, I love the visual display of battery guage on the iPhone (reminds me of my Sony PS3 Bluetooth headset, review here), alternately, one can also push the talk/receive button once while no a call to hear a voice telling you "Approximately 3 hours of talk time left". That same voice will also tell you the number that is calling you (voice caller ID) which is great for when you are driving.  An LED ring indicator tells you various status (pairing mode, charging status, etc.).

The Jawbone ICON (MSRP $99) is the latest and greatest from Aliph, featuring 4.5 hours of talk time, 10 days of standby time, NoiseAssassin technology version 2.5 and software updates (visit mytalk.jawbone.com) to enhance its features down the road.  Being a micro-USB device, charging it will be simple as more devices moves on to micro-USB standard. Its easily one of the best headsets and works very nicely with the iPhone.

Jawbone Icon Bluetooth Headset is out, Not Feeling it...

I remembered when Aliph introduced its original Jawbone bluetooth headsets with killer industrial design as well as performance that blew away most of the competitions. Along the way, Aliph introduced a couple of updates (Jawbone II, Jawbone Prime) but the bluetooth headset market has gotten extremely fierce thus making it hard to stand out like the original.

Yesterday, I received news on the new Aliph Jawbone Icon headset. This tiny jewel is supposed to have packed with all sorts of nice amenities including iPhone battery meter and some sort of app tie-in with their My-Talk website service.

Several things looks disappointing from my early gatherings: 1). They did not include a set of dedicated volume buttons figuring their auto adjust sensor would do the trick and 2). The design is a little too fashionable, to the point where it reminds me a set of fancy cuff links hanging off the side of your face. In all fairness, I've not tried this headset yet. But until I can get a review unit for a final verdict, I'm more looking forward to the new Spracht Aura BT headset that is coming soon.

Spracht Aura EQ Bluetooth Headset Looks Great

Spracht has been making quality bluetooth accessories for a while now, I've even covered a couple of reviews myself here and here. What they have announced today at CES is probably their hottest design to date: the Aura EQ Bluetooth Headset. It has already received so much buzz amongst the tech blog sites instantly. From "futuristic", "looks like a stealth bomber", to "alien symbiote", this hot little headset is sure to take the crown as the next hottest bluetooth headset.

Some noteworthy features: it amplifies receiving voice to account for exterior noises or bad connection and it has no buttons to mess with using a capacitive touch so you can adjust volume simply by sliding your finger on the unit itself (not sure how it holds up by accidental touch).

Plantronics Voyager Pro Pictures Now Out

According to Engadget and thanks to Best Buy as well as a couple of fellas finding this over the weekend, the long awaited Plantronics headset Voyager Pro is finally uncovered. For weeks, Plantronics has been trying to use a sneak preview website as part of its viral strategy (hey, if you didn't know, we are doing a giveaway for two of these bad boys, hurry!). They were only revealing pieces of the pictures until 4/23/2009 launch date. It looks like the cat is out of the bag now. Looks pretty good. Now try to win one of the two from my blog by going here!

Amazon GoldBox Deal: Plantronic 925 BT Headset

From what I have gathered, this Discovery 925 headset ranks up there with the best of the best (ie. Jawbone I/II, SmartTalk, etc.). Amazon has it today for the BlackFriday-like price of $49 shipped. If you are in the market for a BT headset, this is a pretty good deal. Enjoy!