[Rikshaw]

Which is the best Bluetooth Headset? I understand any make of headset will work with any phone. Is there much between them in sound quality / volume etc.? The only differences I can see are in battery life + different shapes for comfort.

[INchSHOrT]

not a Sony Erricsson, hbh-65,
Mine has just gone back to be replaced, and when they went to the cabinet to give me the display model, that too did not work!!!

[lurcher]

After researching a few I decided on the Jabra 250, comfortable to wear, good reception and battery life. Recomended.

[wiz]

I'll second that, Jabbra 250 is excellent!

[hornydragon]

I have the earlier Jabra BT200 very good....Depends a bit on the phone as far as functionality goes..... there is a very cheap on at mymemory see the special offers forum.......... £17.99 and includes a car charger...£20.94 delivered....not to bad a friend has ordered one so will see what its like!

[woody67]

I have a Skypower which was £21 from www.novatech.co.uk.

Its very light, small and comfortable and lasts a long time on a charge.

[INchSHOrT]

just gave a free replacement upgrade. I now havethe HBH-600 Akono. Initial reports look good......

[dealmaker]

Had a Sony ericsson HBH-35 - worked OK but suffered a total failure after about 3 months - SE replaced it with the new model HBH-300 - working perfectly at the moment - and well made.

Bought a Nokia HS-4W whilst I was waiting for the replacement SE unit - the Nokia is totally pants - VERY low volume, poor build quality and poor sound quality at both ends- AVOID -(gave mine to the wife).

As for the ultimate headset - well that accolade currently goes to the Bluespoon Digital Silver - fantastic sound quality (tried a mate's) - but a bit steep at £200.

The forthcoming Sony Ericsson Akono HBH 660 (as opposed to the current 600) is meant to be a cracking unit (with built in caller id screen) - as is the forthcoming JABRA BT800 - by all accounts.

Anyone aware of any other units to look at?

[Throttle]

Originally Posted by hornydragon

I have the earlier Jabra BT200 very good....Depends a bit on the phone as far as functionality goes..... there is a very cheap on at mymemory see the special offers forum.......... £17.99 and includes a car charger...£20.94 delivered....not to bad a friend has ordered one so will see what its like!

I bought that £18 headset thanks for the info its my first bluetooth headset and seems quite a good headset

[Cool-hand]

Do any of you where the Headsets whilst walking around town or shopping????

CH

[hornydragon]

Originally Posted by Throttle

I bought that £18 headset thanks for the info its my first bluetooth headset and seems quite a good headset

for £20 they are cracking My girlfriend bought a wired plantronics one for her mom £15 and a Wired JABRA for her dad £15...... If you have a bluetooth phone its well worth the extra £5 and with a car charger is superb......... I would buy one if i was doing a lot of mileage and just keep it in the glovebox (incase i lost broken or ran out of battery on the other one....... You know its gonna happen when you have to drive and are expecting an important call or need to call someone...And thats the day yopu will get fined.....

[Cool-hand]

Hey HD

will you stop answering straight after my posts
I just came out of another thread where you did that

CH

[Bernard Barnett]

Originally Posted by dealmaker

Bought a Nokia HS-4W whilst I was waiting for the replacement SE unit - the Nokia is totally pants - VERY low volume, poor build quality and poor sound quality at both ends- AVOID -(gave mine to the wife).

Second that. Extremely disappointing. Thanks for the advice on Bluespoon - I'm going to try one. Had the other Nokia one for a while, which was OK, but the earpieces kept breaking.

[dealmaker]

Bernard,

Let us know how you get on with the Bluespoon - thinking of getting one myself.

[Bernard Barnett]

Bluespoon appears to be stocked only by Expansys and Innovations. Expansys claimed online it was in stock so I ordered on Friday. When I came to track the order this morning I discovered it was "awaiting stock" so I cancelled and ordered from Innovations. It's due to be delivered on Weds or Thurs and I'll let you know how it performs. For that money it ought to be good!

[dealmaker]

Originally Posted by Bernard Barnett

Bluespoon appears to be stocked only by Expansys and Innovations. Expansys claimed online it was in stock so I ordered on Friday. When I came to track the order this morning I discovered it was "awaiting stock" so I cancelled and ordered from Innovations. It's due to be delivered on Weds or Thurs and I'll let you know how it performs. For that money it ought to be good!

Yes you have to watch those guys at Expansys - their interpretation of "in stock" is a bit different to 99.99% of the rest of us!

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the Bluespoon as this might be my next move.

Hope it goes well.

[Bernard Barnett]

Bluespoon arrived this morning and I charged it up. First impressions not favourable. The buttons you press don't always respond as they should and you have to press very hard, which makes your ear ache. To end a call you have to press both at once and it's too easy to turn the thing off altogether. Very disappointing that it can't answer calls automatically, as both the Nokia headsets I've had can. Quality and volume of sound is satisfactory but not outstanding as you're led to expect. Quite good at cutting down ambient noise, but of course it's because the device goes right inside your ear - to call it "noise-reduction technology" is hype. I'll continue to play over the next few days but at present my inclination is to send it back. £200-worth? Absolutely not.

[waz2004]

Originally Posted by hornydragon

I have the earlier Jabra BT200 very good....Depends a bit on the phone as far as functionality goes..... there is a very cheap on at mymemory see the special offers forum.......... £17.99 and includes a car charger...£20.94 delivered....not to bad a friend has ordered one so will see what its like!

where is the special offer forum?

[dealmaker]

Originally Posted by Bernard Barnett

Bluespoon arrived this morning and I charged it up. First impressions not favourable. The buttons you press don't always respond as they should and you have to press very hard, which makes your ear ache. To end a call you have to press both at once and it's too easy to turn the thing off altogether. Very disappointing that it can't answer calls automatically, as both the Nokia headsets I've had can. Quality and volume of sound is satisfactory but not outstanding as you're led to expect. Quite good at cutting down ambient noise, but of course it's because the device goes right inside your ear - to call it "noise-reduction technology" is hype. I'll continue to play over the next few days but at present my inclination is to send it back. £200-worth? Absolutely not.

Bernard,

Does'nt sound good -= think I'd send it back and look at an alternative - perhaps the new Jabra BT800 when it arrives?

[Bernard Barnett]

I'll keep it for a while and report back when I've been using it for a few days.

[Bernard Barnett]

Well, I've sent it back and have returned to using the HS4 - not very satisfactory but at least it works. Bluespoon stopped working at all - buttons wouldn't respond even when pressed VERY hard, wouldn't stay connected, etc. A great shame as the theory is brilliant and fitting inside the ear is very convenient for me as I wear glasses.

[dealmaker]

Originally Posted by Bernard Barnett

Well, I've sent it back and have returned to using the HS4 - not very satisfactory but at least it works. Bluespoon stopped working at all - buttons wouldn't respond even when pressed VERY hard, wouldn't stay connected, etc. A great shame as the theory is brilliant and fitting inside the ear is very convenient for me as I wear glasses.

Bernard,

Sorry to hear that - and even sorrier to hear you are going to have to put up with the HS4W!

I guess our search for the ultimate Bluetooth Headset continues - I am intrigued by the new Jabra models and think I might order the BT800 when it arrives - I also heard on the grapevine that Bang & Olufsen are developing a unit - although knowing their equipment it will look like a million dollars and perform like a £5 market trader special!

[dealmaker]

Ordered a Jabra BT800 from L8Shop (Blue Unplugged) today - based on trade reports and pictures I've seen of the unit - looks impressive - guess I'll find out when it arrives - hopefully shipping in next couple of weeks.

[Bernard Barnett]

Thanks for info Dealmaker. Your turn to let us know how you get on!

[chips]

I've been using a Sony Ericsson HBH-300 for about a week now. It has much better range than the Jabra BT250 that I used previously; I can leave the phone on my desk and walk about the office whilst holding a conversation. Voice quality is excellent. My wife, who does not usually notice these things, commented on how clear it was. I was talking to her from the car and she was amazed that she could not hear any background noise, so the noise cancelling must work.

What do you guys think of the Jabra BT250? I like the fact is goes behind the ear making it no so obvious, I always think it looks stupid to have a huge headset covering one ear.

Are there any other 'behind the ear' headsets like the Jabra BT250?

Thanks

I'd be glad to know more about likes and dislikes about the Nokia HS-4 BT headset.

At present, I'm hugely frustrated with the whole BT headset business. My old (less than 18 months!) Nokia 3650 worked 100% with my now battered Jabra BT200. Paired and connected with only rare problems, sound good, auto answer. I found the BT200 light and comfortable - often wore it all day and sometimes couldn't be sure whether I had it on or not. Had to feel for it to check! Occasionally a bit uncomfortable, but mostly excellent. Relatively unobtrusive and I could even use it while riding a motorbike with helmet on!

Sadly the 3650 failed (prematurely to my way of thinking, but outside warranty). Now I can't replicate my old setup. Tried the Orange SPV C500 but it wouldn't auto answer with either BT200 or a BT250 in a phone shop. It also wouldn't use my own .wav ringtone. Nor would it do PC sync using Bluetooth, only clumsy old wire. So sent the whole thing back.

Now I've just got a brand new Nokia 6600 and brand new Jabra BT250. But they don't work 100% because the phone won't auto-answer. (The dealer said it would work hands free if I pressed the button on the headset!!!) The 6600 is supposed to be a direct successor to the 3650, but won't fully work with the BT200/250. Nokia say they won't even talk about supporting any non-Nokia device - what is the point of standards if people insist on brands rather than standards? The 6600 is quite nice - the display and keypad are better than the 3650. But in other ways it seems to be going backwards. The sound seemed poorer than I remember of the 3650, and the Bluetooth sync to PC is dropping out far more often than the 3650 did.

If I'm to be stuck with having no choice other than Nokia for BT headset, the HS-4 looks nearer to the Jabra BT style than others. How does it compare if anyone has tried both? What is good/bad about it?

Best regards, Martin

[dealmaker]

Martin,

I have not tried the particular Jabra headset (I am waiting for the new BT800), however I have tried the Nokia HS-4W.

My experience with this headset was not favourable - the quality is poor and I struggled with the volume. This is now a well acknowledged problem with this headset and it is virtually unuseable in a noisy environment or in the car.

I would recommend looking at an alternative to that headset.

[dealmaker]

Had the Jabra BT800 for about a week now (thanks to L8Shop - Blue Unplugged - who seemed to get it it before anyone else).

Thoughts so far:

Very feature rich - lots of "nice to haves" - including caller ID on a minature LCD(vital when you leave your phone in your pocket!), vibrate feature, selectable ring tones etc..

Sound quality - very good on both transmit and receive - nice and loud and seems to adapt well to changing environments - people on the other end have noticed a lack of "duplex" on/off switching - they hear "everything" which most people seem to prefer.

Comfort - OK but not great - no doubt this is dependant on the shape of your ear - for me it's more comfortable than say a Nokia HS4W but not as comfortable as the Sony Ericsson HBH range (albeit that I struggle to get the HBH range into my ear correctly - so volume is normally a problem).

Build quality - better than Motorola and Nokia, not as good as SE.

Downside - the only slight concern I have at this stage (other than comfort during extended wear periods) is the battery charging - what's good is that Jabra provide a mains charger AND a USB charge adapter so you can charge from a PC/Laptop (take not Nokia!) - what's bad is that on a couple of occassions I've inadvertently plugged the charger into the headset upside down - it's easy to do and seems to result in the battery being DRAINED - once you've done it a couple of times it's easy to figure out a way around it - but for me the fact that you can plug it in backwards effectivley, is a design flaw. Not a major problem but worth noting.

So far so good.

[Bernard Barnett]

Interesting review D-M, thanks for that. Sounds very promising. Does it support automatic answering? (I can never remember whether that's a phone function or a headset one.)