I have used many bluetooth headsets over the years; Motorola, Samsung, Plantronics to name a few. None of them have qualified as truly tech-worthy. They either did not fit my ear, the connection quality was poor, or operating the device was painful. One was actually so bad I had to decline finishing a review because I didn’t have a single positive comment. All that being said, I have finally found bluetooth headset Zen. Apple has hit the sweet-spot once again with the iPhone bluetooth headset. It is lightweight, comfortable, well constructed, easy to use, and very stylish to say the least.
Apple’s Bluetooth Headset easily paired with all the bluetooth enabled cellphones I have tried it on; Motorola Razr, Treo 680, and Blackberry 8800. The headset has a single function button that controls pairing, connect/disconnect of phone calls, and on/off of the headset itself. The sound quality is the best of any device I have ever used. Its in-the-ear design does a great job of blocking out ambient noise, making the calls much easier to hear. As the pictures show, the device is small, black, made of aluminum, and definitely precision engineered. The headset does not have built-in volume control, you control its volume via the cellphone, Blackberry, or smartphone. Some find this to be an issue, but I rarely change the volume and it is one less thing that might go wrong. According to Apple, the headsets built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery lasts 5.5 hours of talk time and up to 72 hours of standby time.
The Apple Bluetooth Headset comes with a Dual Dock which enables the iPhone and iPhone Bluetooth Headset to sync and charge. I do not have an iPhone but do have an iPod Touch that I use daily. Since the Touch is not the exact shape and size as the iPhone, I had to slightly modify (i.e., Macgyver) the Dual Dock with a dremel so that the Touch fit into the dock allowing it to sync/charge.
The Apple Bluetooth Headset also comes with the iPhone Bluetooth Travel Cable which enables you to charge/sync any iPod (except the Shuffle) and the headset by plugging the cable into your computers USB port or Apple’s USB Power Adapter. The travel cable has a connection point at the back of the iPod connector that the headset slips into and is held in place magnetically similar in technology to the Macbook MagSafe power adapter.
The Apple Bluetooth Headset is extremely stylish. I have been approached many times while out and about by folks asking who makes the earpiece and how I like it. As I stated at the beginning of this review, I really like this bluetooth earpiece and highly recommend it. Before I purchased it, I did check the reviews and found a very mediocre reaction to the headset. All I can say is that if you want a stylish, well made, easy to use bluetooth earpiece; you should at least try this one to see if it’s for you.
The iPhone Bluetooth Headset package (earpiece, Dual Dock, and travel cable) is not cheap (a shame Apple does not sell the headset separately). At $129, it’s more expensive (more than double) than the average bluetooth headset these days. Its price compares to the Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth Headset which obviously does not include added accessories for the iPhone or other iPods, but compares in terms of call/sound and construction quality.
Product Information
| Price: | 129.0 |
| Manufacturer: | Apple |
| Requirements: |
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I also love the build/style of the Apple iPhone Bluetooth headset. And I agree, the tone of the incoming audio sounds rich and full (not tinny).
However, I found the noise floor too high. There’s a constant hiss in the background in the earpiece when connected. And, I found the range to be pretty poor compared to my other headsets; turn your head the wrong way, and I could hear the audio breaking up.
I did try this with very different phones: the Nokia 6230b, the Samsung SGH-A717 and the Blackberry 8820 all with similar results.
Too bad really; I LOVE how the headset looks and feels!
For me at least, this was one of the few headsets that did not hiss and had little audio break up. I regularly try other headsets but continue to comeback to my Apple BT earpiece.
Did you get a chance to test it in high noise areas like the car? I’m curious how it did filtering out the background noise.
Ed
Ed,
I use it in my truck almost daily. Conversations are quite hear-able. The real test is while walking in downtown Seattle or thru an airport with all the ambient traffic/people noise. The earpiece does a pretty good job there as well. Hope this helps.
Dave
I’m going to try Apple’s iPhone Bluetooth headset.
However, I love my Aliph Jawbone – particularly after I customized it. I turned the Jawbone into an in-the-ear-canal headset to block out 20 db of background noise so I can hear callers well even with high background noise levels.
The Jawbone now has the best sound – as well as having such good noise suppression that the person calling me believes I am on a landline.
I don’t know if Apple’s headset can match the customized Jawbone’s capabilities – given it’s on the ear design. It isn’t designed to block out noise since it doesn’t go into the ear canal.
I had one of these for a while, until it fell out of my ear unnoticed and was never seen again. It’s a beautiful piece of work, both visually and in how it pairs with your iPhone, but around our office, they have been inconsistent. Several folks have gotten them and returned them because of poor pairing, poor sound quality, or the earpiece cutting out during conversations. (We have about 30 iPhone users in our company of 40 people. Many, myself included, used their rebate from initial purchases for buying these.) While I didn’t have the sound problems, my issue was the same as with the Apple earbuds: they just do not fit into my ears well. I am never comfortable with any of them. I have a pair of Koss buds that I have used for years, and I’m looking strongly at the V-Moda Vibe Duos. Since there is some cushioning on the earpieces, they are easier to fit into different ear sizes, and stay in place better than the Apple stock ones. Maybe I can find a wireless piece one of these days, too.
Shaped like a skinny black stick, the iPhone Bluetooth headset measures close to 2 inches long, 0.5 inch wide, and about 0.6 inch thick if you count the earpiece (It’s about 0.125 inch thick without the earpiece). The headset is also remarkably light at less than an ounce, and we admit that we quite like its metal construction, glossy finish, and smooth, clean lines. Certainly, it looks more like art than a simple headset.
The iPhone Bluetooth headset is simple in design as well as features. You get the regular abilities to answer and end calls, but don’t bet on anything like last-number redial or call mute. You can also switch calls back and forth from the iphone headphones to the iPhone and vice versa. Also, we should note that you can indeed use the iPhone Bluetooth headset with other phones, but the pairing process won’t be as smooth.
The iPhone Bluetooth headset has a rated battery life of 5 hours and 29 minutes of talk time and 3 days of standby time. I hope it can be more longer…
i wish somebody would make a usb adaptor so that i could plug in my headset directly into the usb on the side of my macbook, and charge it that way. maybe even a bigger version that lets me charge my iphone & usb that way. i would even settle for the cable it comes with but with a 1 inch cord
I would like to know where can I buy the iPhone earpiece accessories such as the dock and the cord because mine stop working