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Bluetooth headset recommendations?

A

Antidoll

macrumors regular
Original poster
Hey, so I just got myself an iPhone and I wanted to buy a new bluetooth headset but don't want to spend too much on it (I lost many in the past lol)

can someone recommend good quality ones that I can buy on ebay or online? thanks 🙂
 
I recently bought a Motorola HX550 from Amazon that I'm pretty happy with.

I've only had it a few days so no long term impressions, but I'm happy so far. Key points I like:
  • Easy to turn on / off
  • Physical volume up/down rocker (doubles as mute)
  • Bluetooth 3.0 gives a lot of range
  • A2DP - listen to podcasts / game sounds+music
  • Headset battery status on iphone screen

I also looked at the Jawbone Icon series, which a lot of people seem to like. I opted for the HX550 though due to the volume and on/off controls. I tend to only wear/use a BT headset when I actually am using it vs. walking around with it all the time. So any headset needs to be easy to turn on; the flip thingy on the moto is simple any easy vs. a small slide switch.

The Bluetooth 3.0 part is interesting in that in limited testing so far I can walk anywhere in the house and almost to the mailbox keeping a solid connection -- while the phone sits on my desk.
 
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I got the jawbone icon from amazon for $36.

I've been happy with it, no one has complained about me using it. I'm not a power user, I tend to only use it in the car if I remember, and at home if I'm going to be on the phone awhile.

It's small, the various ear pieces make it fit my smallish ears, easy to use.

I only wished it spoke the caller ID name instead of the number!
 
I just got the Jawbone Era and have no complaints. My main requirement when looking was a physical on/off switch and good noise reduction with a small form factor.
 
zman98 said:
I just got the Jawbone Era and have no complaints. My main requirement when looking was a physical on/off switch and good noise reduction with a small form factor.
Click to expand...

I just ordered this one and have a couple of questions (it hasn't arrived yet).

1) Is it possible to manually turn the volume up or down? The bluetooth I have now has no volume control on it, which mostly works (it adjusts volume based on the noise levels around me), but sometimes I want to stream music and I'd like to be able to turn it up a bit louder (volume on phone is up already).

2) The noise reduction on the Era...is it an "on/off" thing or is it always on? I think I might have to push a button to turn the higher noise reduction on (or off) but didn't see anything specifically about it when I looked for the manual.

Thanks.
 
deeddawg said:
I recently bought a Motorola HX550 from Amazon that I'm pretty happy with.

I've only had it a few days so no long term impressions, but I'm happy so far. Key points I like:
  • Easy to turn on / off
  • Physical volume up/down rocker (doubles as mute)
  • Bluetooth 3.0 gives a lot of range
  • A2DP - listen to podcasts / game sounds+music
  • Headset battery status on iphone screen

I also looked at the Jawbone Icon series, which a lot of people seem to like. I opted for the HX550 though due to the volume and on/off controls. I tend to only wear/use a BT headset when I actually am using it vs. walking around with it all the time. So any headset needs to be easy to turn on; the flip thingy on the moto is simple any easy vs. a small slide switch.

The Bluetooth 3.0 part is interesting in that in limited testing so far I can walk anywhere in the house and almost to the mailbox keeping a solid connection -- while the phone sits on my desk.
Click to expand...

I just ordered this headset, and I'm waiting for it to be delivered. Looking at the pictures, I like the form factor, the easy on/off feature and the ability to wear it in 3 ways. It's good to hear these features, and others (battery indicator on the iPhone!) from someone who actually has it. I can't wait to get mine. Thanks for sharing.
 
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deeddawg:

When using the headset to mute, is there a really annoying beep and if so, how often does it beep?

Past headsets have beeped when engaging the mute on the headset itself and if it's more than one beep per minute (or more) it's a worthless feature to me.

Thanks.
 
deeddawg said:
Additional note about this for clarification -- the headset battery indicator just shows up when the headset is on, it is something in iOS, not any add-on. I think some others do it also, such as the Jawbone Icon.

My old H700 didn't have it, so I thought it was a cool "new" feature. 🙂
Click to expand...
My old Motorola headsets didn't have this feature either, so it's new to me. 😀
 
Last edited:
@French: the HX550 headset says "Mute On" and emits a low beep every ten seconds. I don't find it annoying but YMMV. I don't believe it can be disabled.
 
Last edited:
French said:
I just ordered this one and have a couple of questions (it hasn't arrived yet).

1) Is it possible to manually turn the volume up or down? The bluetooth I have now has no volume control on it, which mostly works (it adjusts volume based on the noise levels around me), but sometimes I want to stream music and I'd like to be able to turn it up a bit louder (volume on phone is up already).

2) The noise reduction on the Era...is it an "on/off" thing or is it always on? I think I might have to push a button to turn the higher noise reduction on (or off) but didn't see anything specifically about it when I looked for the manual.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

1) Nothing on the headset to control volume. It automatically adjusts it.

2) You can configure the noise reduction to go on/off with three taps to the headset. You have to go into the software and sync it before it will work.

One question I have in general - when I use the Era headset with Siri I can't ask multiple things. For example - I hold down the talk button and it goes into "Siri" mode. I ask what the temperature is and she tells me. There is no way for me to ask another question without physically interacting with the phone. If I hold the talk button down again it won't interact with Siri. Is that common with other headsets?
 
zman98 said:
One question I have in general - when I use the Era headset with Siri I can't ask multiple things. For example - I hold down the talk button and it goes into "Siri" mode. I ask what the temperature is and she tells me. There is no way for me to ask another question without physically interacting with the phone. If I hold the talk button down again it won't interact with Siri. Is that common with other headsets?
Click to expand...

Well with my current Motorola headset, I just press the answer/hang-up button again. That's how Siri is activated with my headset. (Holding the button redials the last contact I called.) So it may vary with different headsets.
 
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Don't buy Jawbone Era. Piece of junk. They may claim it has to most advanced technology, but who ever designed doesn't have brain in right place.
 
I got a motorola h720 from amazon for $35.
I didn't want to constantly wear it, so I avoided any of the in ear models. The h720 sits like an over the ear headphone. It's easy to put it on when one gets a call. It is off when you close it and powers on when you open it. I prefer this to finding some obscure spot to press on another headset I tried.
If you switch from the default right ear to left, the volume rockers don't automatically switch. Because I wear glasses, the ear hook isn't as comfortable as it should be. However, like I said before, I don't wear this 24/7.
 
MJedi said:
Well with my current Motorola headset, I just press the answer/hang-up button again. That's how Siri is activated with my headset. (Holding the button redials the last contact I called.) So it may vary with difference headsets.
Click to expand...

I'll try hanging up on Siri to see if that works.

Thanks.
 
French said:
I just ordered this one and have a couple of questions (it hasn't arrived yet).

1) Is it possible to manually turn the volume up or down? The bluetooth I have now has no volume control on it, which mostly works (it adjusts volume based on the noise levels around me), but sometimes I want to stream music and I'd like to be able to turn it up a bit louder (volume on phone is up already).

2) The noise reduction on the Era...is it an "on/off" thing or is it always on? I think I might have to push a button to turn the higher noise reduction on (or off) but didn't see anything specifically about it when I looked for the manual.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

1) Yes it IS possible to manually control the volume. During a call, press down the button for an extended time. The volume control cycles ONE way only - Up, and then wraps down to minimum volume. Saying that, the only time I've really needed to control the volume is in very noisy environments - the automatic volume works well.


ERA Manual page 20, point 3.6.


2) Not sure, but there is an option of having Voice Assassin turning on manually. Never tried it as it disables another useful command.
 
Jawbone Era has been my choice for several months. I have had great success with the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4...and now the iPhone 4S!

Great headset! Great Noise Cancelation!

Works with Siri!
 
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