Background :
My experience with Bluetooth headsets is zero. Does this make me a good reviewer? I think so. I will come at this without prejudice and without knowing what this kind of device ought to be able to deliver. I am running an iPhone 6S as the mobile I wanted to use this with.
Pre
This is a small in ear mono device (as it must be in a single ear don’t go looking for stereo in-ear devices). It is for hearing audio and also picking up your voice. The functions that are needed to facilitate turning on and off hanging up etc..It’s a Bluetooth headset – but it’s somewhat removed from something the size of an over head set so perhaps it deserves to sit in its own category. It charges from USB is able to connect to 2 phones at the same time (I am assuming this means be paired to) and can play back music or other audio from an iphone. This can be handy for me as my car only allows phone to playback through my car so podcasts cant be listened to which is pretty annoying BMW. Now I can pick up on my amateur hour as I drive.
I would love to get this working for my in game chats for my xbox.
Review
Very importantly I am someone who has those ears that headphones and other in ear devices seem to fall out of. The minority that designers seem to give up on.
Initial unboxing thoughts : I don’t love the look nor hate it (I have a background in product design so I am picky) but it is small enough and I would accept the design is neutral which means not offensive. The box is big for the product. Two different ear bud rubbers are provided along with the medium sized default so you stand a good chance of this not falling out.
Pairing : Pairing went really easy I had to hold the only button 3 times of different length to get the pairing mode - it’s a red and blue flashing. It showed up immediately and paired very quickly. The power of the device shows in my iPhone home screen and was on a good level from purchase.
Ok of course the first thing I actually did was see if it fit in my ear ! I already knew I was in luck as I had some headphones with the same rubbers that worked. The rubbers are of the kind that penetrates the canal enough to provide a home fit. Walkman headphones have always been a problem forcing me to go for over ear solutions apart from the aforementioned ones that fitted well even while jogging. I am happy to report these felt secure. Nothing worse than feeling the device is about to fall out apart from dengue fever.
A stand out thing
Say I have my phone charging in another room and my headset is in – just double tapping the button will call my last number. This allows me a cool option indeed. I have yet to see if this is the last number I dialled. Check the comments bellow (on Style Review where the full review lives with full comments) as always I come back with long term review feedback.
How is it ?
Within 5 minutes I was into a call with my girlfriend my first ‘headset’ call. I asked her how my voice was and she said it was clear ! That’s great as this device doesn’t reach around to be in front of my lips. Technology is getting better she even picked up my daughter playing beautiful katamari on the xbox 10 ft away. I ended the call using the main button on the headset. I tried it a bit later with a double tap and it rang her straight back.
What wasn’t so great ?
Well this is a minor issue I had and it didn’t affect me as the default volume (controlled via your phone) was ample. But I tried to push the volume and the distortion was evident. I could still perfectly understand what was said but it wasn’t as crisp. Over a longer conversation that can be annoying like trying to have a hands free on the A1 in the UK for a different reason (signal in and out).
I am waiting for a design that is purposefully there not trying to hide. So its more like an earing ? This one is quite discrete which is actually a positive. People are going to think I really AM TALKING TO MYSELF.