7017 Best New Headset

INCISOR Video enabled

TM

for the short range connectivity environment

Issue 121

May 2008

IDENTITY CHANGE FOR ULP BLUTOOTH THIS ISSUE

ADDING VERSATILITY TO AUTOMOTIVE WIRELESS A TOUCH OF WI-FI GENIUS NEW BEST HEADSET sponsored by

8

www.incisor.tv

new products Plantronics steals headset crown As you can probably imagine, a lot of Bluetooth headsets pass through the Incisor office. They vary in size, form factor and – crucially – how well they do the job they are supposed to do. On this last point, although truly awful Bluetooth headsets are few and far between these days, it is still the case that only a few stand out. These tend to be the ones that we adopt as ‘our own’. The ones you catch us wearing. The original Jabra BT800 may have been a huge clumsy lump, but it was one of the first to incorporate a DSP and you could actually hear what the people on a call were saying, and – praise the Lord – they could hear you too. Things looked up when Jabra launched the JX-10. This was also DSP-based, but was tiny, and light, and heck – it verged on being stylish! But … It was so tiny we put it down one day and then were never able to find it again. The desk charger sits forlornly across the room, never again to spoon with its former mate. Then came the Jawbone. It looks controversial, and you wouldn’t really give it to your girlfriend to wear (unless you were both in the army), but does it ever work well? Yes it does. And the packaging probably costs more to make than the headset. However, it drags you back to the world of wearing a big, heavy, conspicuous headset. We

understand that a new design might be in the making, but until then… Now, though, there is a new contender for the coveted Incisor ‘house headset’ title. This is the Plantronics Discovery 925. To look at, it is relatively unremarkable, which is not intended as an insult. It isn’t setting out to make an ‘in your face’ (Ed: On your face?) style statement like the Jawbone. No, it is relatively discrete, with a slim black boom and uses what Plantronics calls self-stabilising eartips to maintain its purchase on the pink audio device on the side of your head. People either get on with this style of headset, or they don’t. In this instance, the three different sizes of eartip that are supplied have allowed everyone who has tried it to be comfortable. The 925 is light enough so that you don’t know it is there, and what is more, it stays on your ear rather than falling out or needing constant re-seating. Although our sample is finished in manly black, Plantronics has thought about the ladies and also sells pink or gold versions. Under the hood the 925 has Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR technology and supports the Heasdset and Hands-free profiles. Plantronics calls its noise cancelling system AudioIQ and it certainly seems to work. This is a headset that you and your call partners will like. Standby and talk times are good, and are quoted as 5 hours talktime or 7 days on standby.

Perhaps the bit that sets the 925 aside though is the carrying case that is supplied. It’s not the first headset to be supplied with a carrying case, but as far as we know it is the first to have a case that will re-charge the headset when you are not wearing it. Yup, charge the case up via a mains adapter or a USB connection to your computer and the case holds enough juice to fully re-charge the headset once. The case itself is compact and leather-covered, so it looks OK amongst the rest of the road warrior’s trinkets. Quite how Plantronics’ US customers will cope with the fact that the case doesn’t include a clip to attach it to their belts, we’re not sure. This isn’t an entry level headset – the US list price is $149.95 after all - but it is very good. We like the fact that it works well, it looks good, it is comfortable enough to wear for long periods of time and the ability to re-charge it from the case is really cool. The biggest problem we have is that we have just one, and the fights to use it are getting unseemly. The Head Headset throne has a new occupant.

18

www.incisor.tv

events

DATE

EVENT

LOCATION

NOTES

LINK

May 13 - 15 2008

EURO ID 2008

EXPO XXI, Cologne, Germany

Application options for RFID and barcode systems

http://www.euro-id-messe.de

May 25 - 27 2008

International CES Hometech

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

-

http://www.messefrankfurtme.com/ hometech/site/index.php

May 28 - 30 2008

BREW 2008 Conference

Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego, California, USA

“From rich media http://brew.qualcomm.com/brew/ to location-based brew_2008/ services to social networking, wireless is rapidly evolving”

June 9 - 13 2008

Bluetooth SIG UnPlug Fest 30

Bangkok, Thailand

July 10 - 13 2008

International SinoCES

Qingdao, China

-

www.sinoces.com/en/index.aspx

Jan 8 - 11 2009

International Consumer Electronics Show

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

-

www.cesweb.org

Feb 16 - 19 2009

Mobile World Congress

Fira de Barcelona, Spain

-

www.mobileworldcongress.com

April 1 - 3 2009

CTIA Wireless 2009

Las Vegas Convention Centre, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

-

www.ctiawireless.com

October 7 - 9 2009

CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2009

San Diego Convention Centre, San Diego, California, USA

www.bluetooth.org

2009

www.ctiawireless.com

Subscribe free of charge to Incisor, and access other products and services from Click I.T. Ltd at

www.incisor.tv

INCISOR

TM

for the short range connectivity environment

wpan distilled

PRODUCED / DISTRIBUTED BY: Click I.T. Ltd Hampshire Gate Langley, Rake, Hampshire GU33 7JR, England Telephone: +44 (0)1730 895614 Incisor provides commercial and promotional opportunities in the short range wireless sector. Contact: Martin Clarke Email: [email protected] Tel +44 (0)1730 895614 Incisor is a trademark of Click I.T. Limited. ©Copyright Click I.T. Ltd. 1998 - 2008

www.incisor.tv