Feature Comment |
Cost | RecommendedUS retail $100 Street pricesdown as low as $65. |
Ergonomics
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Easy to puton and take off | Onlymoderatelyeasy to put on, and I found I was usually usingboth hands to do this, which is not practical ifyou're holding your phone with one hand andtrying to quickly put your headset on with theother hand. It was, of course,easy to take off. |
Easy to usethe control buttons | There arethree buttons on the unit. There are twosmall buttons for volume up and volume down, anda larger button opposite the earpiece. The layout is such that it is easy to reach andpress these buttons. |
Comfortableto wear | This is oneof the more comfortable units available, with nothingsticking uncomfortably in one's ear. |
Can you usewith glasses | Yes. |
Can use witheither ear | Yes. Aclever feature is the ability to swap thetwo volume buttons so that the top one is forvolume up and the bottom one for volume down, nomatter if the unit is in your left or right ear. |
Securelymounted on ear | It seems tobe secure inasmuch as it doesn't fall off, butit can move around a bit and feels a bit floppy. On the other hand, this loose fit also makes itunobtrusive and comfortable to wear. |
How to carry | The goodnews - there is a loop on the unit to which youcan affix an around the neck lanyard. The bad news - Motorola don't provide a lanyard;you have to go out and buy one extra. Here's an online store that sells them for about $2 each. Compatible with Nectarretractable andnecklace style headset holders. |
Weight | Reasonably light - 0.6oz |
Ease of Use
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Commandsintuitive and easy to remember | Muchsimpler commands than many other units. Most commands are initiated by a short press onthe one button, a few others by a long press (3seconds or longer). |
Volumeadjustable | This isreasonably intuitive, with two dedicatedbuttons, one each for volume up and volume down. |
How fastdoes it turn on | It takesabout five seconds to turn on and synch up witha phone. |
Manual | Well writtenin perfect English, 30 pages in length. Also in other languages. |
Support | Viawebsiteand (800) number (7 days/83 hrs a week). |
Pairingpassword printed on device | No (it is0000 so in an emergency you have a good chanceof guessing what it is!) |
Features
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Battery life | Up to 8hours talk or 200 hours standby claimed. This is better than average battery life (as ofFeb 06). |
Low batteryindicator/signal | The unitbeeps five times every 20 seconds to indicatethe battery is almost discharged. Only the person wearing the headset hears thebeeping, not the person you're speaking to. |
Battery type | Notdisclosed |
Replaceablebattery? | No. As with other headsets, the chances are by the time the battery has died,you'll probably have bought a new headset. |
Batterycharging method/time | The unituses the same type of charger as do all V60-600series phones. This is convenient - if you have an existingcharger for these types of phones, you can useit with the headset, too, and save yourself theneed to carry two chargers with you. Italso opens the door to other charging methodsyou might already have (see below). Charging time is about 2 hours. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact. Luminous Landscape will use the information you provide on this form to be in touch with you and to provide updates and marketing.By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Luminous-Landscape.com, 1060 North Capitol Ave., Suite C-375, Indianapolis, IN, 46204 United States, You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. |
Multi-voltage charger | Yes. |
Chargerweight/size | 2.4 oz. A small sizecharger, with plug pins that fold into the'brick' to make it more compact for carrying. |
Othercharging methods | You can usea Motorola car adapter, or one of ouremergency rechargers (with theextra Motorola V60/600 series adapter). |
How manypairings can be stored | The unit canstore up to either seven or eight pairings(Motorola's website says seven, the manual sayseight). |
Headset andhands-free profiles? | Bothprofiles are supported. |
Audioprofile for computers | Apparentlynot. |
Bluetoothcompatibility | Version 1.2 |
Power/range | Power classisn't specified, but it is claimed to have a 30'range, which would suggest a Class 3 typedevice. |
Effectiverange | It receivessignals (from the person you are talking to) forup to one floor away before the static levelstarts to become objectionable. In ahorizontal distance, it goes close to 30', asclaimed. Walls or other obstructions severely reduce itsrange. This performance is as claimed and perfectly adequate for normalBluetooth type connections. |
Warranty | There is nosign of a warranty policy anywhere but it isbelieved to be, from Motorola's website, amiserly 90 days. |
Free return | Retailerpolicies will vary. |
Noisecancelling/DSP | Motoroladon't claim any special noise cancelling or DSPcapabilities for the headset. Here's a532kB .WAV file that allows you tohearthe difference between the HS850 and theRazr V3 phone handset in a noisy environment. The headset does surprisingly well and is nottangibly worse than the handset. |
Soundquality | When talkingto other people, they said my voice sounded normaland very much the same on the headset as on thehandset. The sound quality of the person at the other endof the call seemed fine in the headset. |
Capabilities
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Turning onand off | Turning onand off is brilliantly intuitive. Open theboom microphone and you turn the unit on. Close it and you turn the unit off. Assimple as that. It takesabout five seconds from when you open the boomto when the headset is on, operational, andpaired to the phone. |
Auto connect | Yes. |
Voice tagsupport | Supported. Make a short press of the main command button,then say the name you've previouslyrecorded. |
Last numberredial | Yes. Make a long press on the main command button. |
Transfercall to/from phone | To transfera call to the headset, simply turn the headseton. If theheadset is already on, then a short press of thebutton on the headset, same as if you wereanswering a call, will transfer it. Transferringa call from the headset back to the phone isdone by turning the headset off and thenaccepting the call back on the phone. Thesefunctions are intuitive and reasonably simple. |
Callwaiting/Three way calling | A long presson the button will place your first call on holdand answer the incoming second call. Further longpresses swap between the two calls. To joinboth callers to make a three way call, pressboth volume buttons simultaneously. |
Call reject | A long pressof the button rejects a call. |
Callanswer/end | Yes. Generally you will have your headset off ratherthan on. So, to answer a call, simply turnit on. If theunit is already on, a short press of the buttonwill answer an incoming call. To end a call, a short press of the button isagain needed. |
Mute | A long pressof the button puts the call on hold, sort of thesame as mute. |
Subjective
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Attractivedesign | I don't likeit as much as some of the other headsets, butthis is a personal quibble. It isinoffensive and not ugly. |
Flashingindicators on standby | Yes,although this is really not needed, becausethere is a much more obvious visual indicator -if the boom is extended, you know the unit ison, and if it is folded shut, you know the unitis off. |
Size | Average/normal. |
Summary
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This is a fully featuredunit at a good price that is easy to operate andhas a good battery life. |