{"id":145110,"date":"2010-01-06T11:40:08","date_gmt":"2010-01-06T16:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bbgeeks.com\/?p=4247"},"modified":"2010-01-06T11:40:08","modified_gmt":"2010-01-06T16:40:08","slug":"our-favorite-blackberry-bluetooth-headsets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/145110","title":{"rendered":"Our favorite BlackBerry Bluetooth headsets"},"content":{"rendered":"

You won’t catch me wearing a Bluetooth headset. No sir, not me. My girlfriend got me one a few years ago to use while driving, and while I did that reluctantly, I immediately ditched the thing when I moved to the city and sold my car. Call me old fashioned, but I like holding the receiver to my ear. Plus, any time I see someone with a Bluetooth headset I can’t help but think of this clip<\/a> (which contains profanity). But there are many benefits to using a Bluetooth headset, and there are many people who benefit from using them — especially car drivers. So, with the help of everyone on the BBGeeks staff, we’ve compiled a list of our favorite Bluetooth headsets. Clearly we’re not going to cover them all, so let us know if we missed one that you particularly like.<\/p>\n

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Note: If any of these headsets are available in our store, we’ll link there. You might be able to find a better deal elsewhere, though.<\/i><\/p>\n

Jawbone Prime<\/h4>\n

People love their Jawbone Bluetooth headsets. Aliph made a huge splash with the original, and has pumped out two follow-ups, the Jawbone 2 and now the Jawbone Prime. It’s even more stylish this time around, coming in seven different colors. That’s good news for Jawbone users. Design seems to be the most cited reason for using the Jawbone — as one BBGeeks staffer admitted. <\/p>\n

Jawbone prides itself on not only design, but on its noise cancellation feature. This works better than ever with the Prime, keeping external noises blocked so you can hear the other party. True, other headsets offer better overall call quality, but the noise cancellation feature helps compensate. For some reason, you’re allowed to turn of the cancellation. Go ahead, try it. We dare you.<\/p>\n

When you slip the Jawbone over your ear — and with the Prime you don’t need<\/i> to use the ear hook, though if you have ears shaped anything like mine you’ll need it — it hardly feels like you’re wearing anything. It’s lightweight and small, measuring just 2.1 inches long and 0.5 inches wide. The smooth surface means you can easily feel for the buttons.<\/p>\n

One thing I liked about it — and remember, I don’t like much about headsets — is that there is only one volume button. Some people complain about this, but when you’re blindly feeling for a button you want the easiest possible interface. Two buttons means more fumbling. One button, even if it only toggles among various volume setting, makes life easier.<\/p>\n

You can get the Jawbone Prime Bluetooth headset<\/a> for $109.95. It comes in Black, Platinum, Purple, Yellow, Red, Green, and Brown.<\/p>\n

Platronics Voyager Pro<\/h4>\n

While the stylish will prefer the Jawbone, Platronics has a reputation for providing the best in call quality. The latest in its line of heavy duty Bluetooth headsets is the Voyager Pro. It clearly sacrifices aesthetic pleasure for functionality, a trade-off I’m usually willing to make. But even a functional hound like me might be turned off by the Voyager Pro. It’s, uh, a bit big.<\/p>\n

Two parts of the headset stand out. First, the back piece. This hides behind your ear, but it’s a bit bigger than other Bluetooth headsets. That’s going to be a personal call, though. Some people won’t mind the bulky back piece, some will. The part that will cause the most hangups, though, is the mouthpiece. It’s a straight headset microphone, long enough to reach pretty close to your mouth. It’s adjustable, on a swivel, so it need not always be near your yapper. <\/p>\n

If we can say one positive thing about the design, it’s that anyone who wears it clearly means business. I don’t know if you’re calling home to mom or you’re negotiating Derek Jeter’s next contract, but if you’re wearing a Voyager Pro I’m probably going to guess the latter. <\/p>\n

When it comes to functionality, the Voyager Pro goes unsurpassed. Even in high noise conditions you can bank on the other party hearing you, and you hearing the other party. That’s the most important thing, right? The buttons are also easy to find. The volume button, which goes both up and down, sits atop the headset, with both the power and call buttons sitting behind the earpiece.<\/p>\n

You can get the Platronics Voyager Pro Bluetooth headset<\/a> for $84.95.<\/p>\n

BlueTrek UFO<\/h4>\n

Now this<\/i> is my kind of Bluetooth headset. One reason I don’t like them is that they’re so conspicuous. Even the Jawbone, which is said to be fashionable, is a bit too much for me. But the BlueTrek UFO is just so\u2026small. Just a bit larger than a quarter and weighing something around 0.2 ounces, sometimes you can forget it’s even there. If there were ever a headset to convert me, this would be it.<\/p>\n

My first question upon seeing this little bugger was whether the call quality was even remotely good. Incoming voices I assume would be decent, though having the headset sit outside the ear, rather than having an earpiece, made me skeptical. The real question I had related to my own voice. Could other callers hear me, even though the microphone is essentially at my ear? Turns out, it’s no issue at all. No, the quality isn’t as good as the Voyager Pro, from either end, but it’s perfectly adequate. <\/p>\n

To ensure that the quarter-sized device fits well on your ear, BlueTrek includes four different hooks, two metal and two rubber. You’re bound to find one that fits your ear perfectly. It also packs five buttons onto the device, and that might be one of the only drawbacks. There are the standard answer\/end call, power, and volume buttons, which would have sufficed. But there are also buttons for your two favorite numbers — not useful on most headsets, especially one this small.<\/p>\n

If you’re looking for the most inconspicuous headset, you can get the BlueTrek UFO Bluetooth headset<\/a> for $79.95.<\/p>\n

Jabra BT530<\/h4>\n

There was some thought around the office that the Jabra JX20<\/a> should get the nod here, but I stood my ground. If the guy who doesn’t like Bluetooth headsets prefers a certain model over another, I argued, then that should carry some weight. While the JX20 is small and has a good call quality, like the other headsets on this list it’s pretty expensive. Why not go for the better value headset? <\/p>\n

Jabra features a number of headsets that run even cheaper than the BT530, but I think — and finally got the staff to agree — that this model provides the most punch for the price. It measures just under 2 inches long, and weighs just 10 grams. So it’s not quite as small as the UFO, but it certainly gets the job done. <\/p>\n

The main feature of this headset is noise cancellation, a feature all headset manufacturers should strive to include. The noise-canceling microphone sits inside the chrome strip that runs down the middle of the device, so it’s not just there for show. The top of the device features the device’s primary buttons: the call button, plus two volume ones. Accessibility to these buttons is crucial for a headset. <\/p>\n

The only knock on them, if there is any, is that the call button sits between the volume buttons. Some might find that to be a positive, though, since the end buttons control the volume, rather than an end and a middle button. The power button is also conveniently located on the left side of the device.<\/p>\n

As for the noise cancellation itself, it works just fine — in many ways, just as well as its more expensive counterparts. So if you want a high quality voice experience for a lower price than the above-featured models (each of which has its own selling point), the JabraBT530 could work for you. You can get the Jabra BT530 Bluetooth headset<\/a> for $59.99.<\/p>\n

Coming soon: MoGo Talk<\/h4>\n

Coming soon in 2010 is the MoGo Talk. What makes this headset stand out is not its call quality, nor its slimness. In fact, we couldn’t even test the MoGo Talk because it hasn’t yet been released, at least for the BlackBerry. MoGo has a novel concept, though: attaching the Bluetooth to the back of your device. That not only gives you a place to stow the headset while not using it, but it also allows you to charge the headset while you charge your handset. In other words, where other devices are about design, call quality, inconspicuousness, or value, the MoGo Talk is about convenience. <\/p>\n

To make this work, MoGo sends you a replacement battery cover, which acts as the device holster. This performs two functions. It allows the charging feature to work, and it reduces bulk. You could slap a headset holster on the back of your BlackBerry right now, but it might be a bit too bulky for a case or even your pocket. WIth MoGo, your BlackBerry will still fit into most holsters. Though I doubt it would work with something like, say, OtterBox<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Again, the device is not available for BlackBerry right now, but it’s coming soon for the Curve 8330 and the Bold 9700. It will cost $129. You can check out the MoGo product page here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This post originated at BBGeeks.com – home to all things Blackberry<\/a>! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Our favorite BlackBerry Bluetooth headsets<\/a><\/p>\n

This post originated at BBGeeks.com – home to all things Blackberry<\/a>! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Our favorite BlackBerry Bluetooth headsets<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n<\/img><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You won’t catch me wearing a Bluetooth headset. No sir, not me. My girlfriend got me one a few years ago to use while driving, and while I did that reluctantly, I immediately ditched the thing when I moved to the city and sold my car. Call me old fashioned, but I like holding the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":687,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-145110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/687"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145110\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}