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 Voyager Pro+ (plus)

Plantronics recently launched a wave of new bluetooth headsets, amongst them, is an update to the solid Voyager PRO headset dubbed as Voyager PRO+(plus).  I've always had a pair of the original Voyager PRO and have always thought of it as one of the best bluetooth headset, with the new "+" model, Plantronics added A2DP bluetooth audio as well as some of its advance audio features like GPS streaming or TXT capabilities using the new Vocalyse service.

The Voyager PRO+ (MSPR: $99) is still a rock solid performer.  While its considerably bigger and heavier than some of the other leading premium headsets, I love the way its hook distributes its bulk and sits comfortably/securely on my ear.  I can wear it for hours without any cramps.  The Voyager PRO+ is also very serious looking, with a long mic extension in stainless steel, it is meant for folks seriously depending on their headset and it backs its good looks up with a solid 6 hour talk time.  While I prefer some of the newer headsets mechanical power switch (instead of a button that requires one to hold it down for a few seconds), the headset is still quite manageable given its dedicated call/receive and volume (+/-) buttons.  One can easily tell the power status by looking at the battery meter displayed on the iPhone after an easy pairing process.

Calls are loud and clear with the new PRO+ (as was the original), Plantronics Audio IQ2 noise reduction is always hard at work.  One of the indicator that PRO+ is a serious performer is that it comes with an additional micro USB cable which is handy to be used with any USB based charger (think of the convenience of using any spare USB chargers you have around at home or for your car).  The headset will also speak most of its function or battery status to you which is a good improvement over the original.

As mentioned earlier, the original Voyager PRO was already a rock star, now that A2DP is available, Plantronics has perfected a solid design.  I highly enjoy the new Voyager PRO+.

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! 

Free Plantronics Car Charger for Voyager Pro Owners

If you purchased the latest bluetooth headset from Plantronics, the Voyager Pro, remember to register it at Plantronics.com to receive a free car charger. The unit I received comes in two pieces, a USB-Cigarette charger with an output of DC5V @ 180mA (which should power most of your devices capable of charging via USB) and another MicroUSB cable for charging the Voyager Pro.

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!

Giveaway: New Plantronics Premium Headset

[Update: 4/21/2009 - The submission will close at Midnight PST today. BTW, the cat is out of the bag as far as design goes... check it out here.]

Plantronics is set to reveal a brand new premium noise-cancellation headset on April 23, 2009. Very little is being told but this is what we know thus far:
* A lot of R&D has been poured into this new product
* Over 24 rounds of human testing ensuring comfort during extended wear
* Bluetooth ?
* Noise-Canceling, in-ear bud design
* Flagship, Premium headphone, likely to supersede its current top dog Discovery 925

To celebrate this new product launch, Plantronics has built a sneak peek website for a countdown to the release date. They encourage for the curious bunch to check back often for more product images as we get closer to the big day.

Here comes the fun part. theMobileExperience.com is going to to give away two units of this headset to be shipped right on the release date, simply:
1. Leave us a comment about Plantronics' sneak peek site and/or the early images of the headset
2. Send me an email with your valid email address to giveaway@themobileexperience.com

Rules:
* Please complete both steps by 4/21/2009 Midnight PST
* Must be 18 or older and live in the 50 States (USA)
* Winners will be randomly chosen by theMobileExperience.com on 4/22/2009
* Winners will be contacted via email and must respond within 72 hours, or another winner will be chosen by theMobileExperience.com
* Plantronics will ship the headsets directly to the eligible winners
* Your email address will be confidential and be tossed away after the giveaway is finished