| Feature Comment |
| Cost | Recommended US retail $59.99, and Motorola have a 'buy one, get the second at half price' deal on their website (ie $90 for two, or $45 each when buying two at the same time). Available at Amazon for about $30, and available elsewhere online too. |
|
Ergonomics |
| Easy to put on and take off | Yes, could be easily/quickly done with one hand. It was, of course, easy to take off. |
| Easy to use the control buttons | There are three buttons on the unit. There are two small buttons for volume up and volume down, and a larger button opposite the earpiece. The layout is such that it is easy to reach and press these buttons. |
| Comfortable to wear | This is not quite as comfortable as the Jabra BT125, and flops a bit on the ear when one turns one's head from side to side. It seems to be securely on one's head, however, and has never fallen off. |
| Can you use with glasses | Yes. |
| Can use with either ear | Yes. And the two volume buttons can be reconfigured so the one on top means 'louder' and the one on the bottom means 'quieter' no matter which side (and therefore, which way up) you wear the phone. |
| Securely mounted on ear | It seems to be secure inasmuch as it doesn't fall off, but it can move around a bit and feels a bit floppy. On the other hand, this loose fit also makes it unobtrusive and comfortable to wear. |
| How to carry | There's no obvious way of carrying this, no protective carry pouch, and no lanyard loop. I guess you just chuck it in your pocket? |
| Weight | At 0.6 oz it is reasonably light but not as light as the Jabra BT125's 0.4 oz. |
|
Ease of Use |
| Commands intuitive and easy to remember | Another unit that requires you to memorize things like short and long button pushes and to understand the meaning of different tones and light flash combinations. When will the headset industry finally get the simple truth that we want simple easy to use units, not stupidly hard to use ones? We're many years into Bluetooth headset technology now and the user/command interface remains one of the Achilles Heel's of all BT headsets. Wake up, manufacturers and designers! |
| Volume adjustable | Yes, with two buttons, one to increase and the other to decrease volume. |
| How fast does it turn on | Quite quick. It takes about six seconds to turn on and synch up with a Blackberry, but closer to ten seconds to synch with a Motorola Razr phone. |
| Manual | Helpful and in good English. |
| Support | Via Motorola's website and (800) number (7 days/83 hrs a week). |
| Pairing password printed on device | No (it is 0000 so in an emergency you have a good chance of guessing what it is!) |
|
Features |
| Battery life | Up to 10 hours of talk or 200 hours of standby time claimed by Motorola, Amazon says 8 hours or 150 hours. Either is better than average compared to other units on sale in October 2006. |
| Low battery indicator/signal | The unit beeps five times every minute to indicate the battery is almost discharged. Only the person wearing the headset hears the beeping, not the person you're speaking to. |
| Battery type | Not disclosed |
| Replaceable battery? | No. As with other headsets, the chances are by the time the battery has died, you'll probably have bought a new headset. |
| Battery charging method/time | The battery charging issue was the reason that encouraged me to buy this headset. It uses exactly the same power supply as does a Razr or Blackberry phone, and so I can use the same charger for both phone and headset. It also can be charged through a USB cable from a computer (with a mini-USB connector at the headset end) making it as convenient as possible to charge. Charging time is about 2 hours. A blue light goes on while charging, and off when charged. |
| Multi-voltage charger | Yes. |
| Charger weight/size | A small brick sized wall charger ending in a standard mini USB plug to go into the unit. Weighs about 2.3 oz. |
| Other charging methods | You can use a car adapter, any USB cable with a mini USB connector to plug into the headset, or one of our emergency rechargers (with the extra Razr/Blackberry USB adapter). |
| How many pairings can be stored | Unknown. |
| Headset and hands-free profiles? | Both profiles are supported. |
| Audio profile for computers | Apparently not. |
| Bluetooth compatibility | Version 1.2 |
| Power/range | The Motorola website claims it to be a Class 2 device with a 30' range. But it is Class 3 devices that have this range (Class 2 are more powerful with longer range, and headsets neither need the extra range nor can provide the extra power), and that is probably what it truly is. |
| Effective range | Range is similar to other Bluetooth headsets and is perfectly satisfactory for normal use, where the phone and headset are reasonably close to each other. |
| Warranty | The warranty is either 90 days (if it is considered as a two way radio accessory) or one year (if considered as most other things). |
| Free return | Retailer policies will vary. |
| Noise cancelling/DSP | This was not tested because we viewed the unit as failing the basic simple sound quality test (see below). |
| Sound quality | Sound quality was surprisingly and dismayingly poor. So as to give the unit every possible chance to succeed, I conducted four different sound tests - two with my Blackberry and two with a Motorola V3, and with each test being respectively with another person using a landline phone and/or another cellphone (on the same network). The results were sadly consistent and conclusive. The sound was just plain bad. The other person each time commented about echo on the line, and another said I sounded quieter using the headset. Both also felt the sound quality was poorer. The sound quality of the person at the other end of the call was also noticeably worse for me, with more background noise and static. This poor showing, in our opinion, disqualifies the unit from consideration. |
|
Capabilities |
| Turning on and off | Turning on and off is bothersome - why can't they simply have an on/off button on the unit? There's plenty of space to add one. To turn it on you have to hold the main button down long enough until the unit flashes rapidly three or so times. Don't hold it down any more or else it will switch into pairing mode. To turn the unit off, you again have to hold the main button down long enough (not too long and not too short) until the unit flashes rapidly three or so times. |
| Auto connect | Yes. |
| Voice tag support | Supported. Make a short press of the main command button, then say the name you've previously recorded. |
| Last number redial | Yes. Make a long press on the main command button. |
| Transfer call to/from phone | To transfer a call to the headset, simply turn the headset on. If the headset is already on, then a short press of the button on the headset, same as if you were answering a call, will transfer it. Turning the unit off will transfer a call back to the phone. |
| Call waiting/Three way calling | A long press on the button will place your first call on hold and answer the incoming second call. Further normal duration presses swap between the two calls. To join both callers to make a three way call, press both volume buttons simultaneously. |
| Call reject | A long press of the button rejects a call. |
| Call answer/end | Yes. Generally you will have your headset off rather than on. So, to answer a call, simply turn it on. If the unit is already on, a short press of the button will answer an incoming call. To end a call, a short press of the button is again needed. |
| Mute | Pressing both volume buttons simultaneously switches mute on or off. You can also place calls on hold by pressing the main button and waiting until hearing a beep - similar to switching between two calls. Repeating this takes the call off hold. |
|
Subjective |
| Attractive design | Yes - it mimics some elements of the V3 Razr design (hence its name). It is available either in silver or black. |
| Flashing indicators on standby | Yes. |
| Size | Average/normal. |
|
Summary |
| This is a fully featured unit at a good price that is easy to operate and has a good battery life, but which suffers from poor sound quality, and so for that reason, is not recommended. |
