BT8010 Bluetooth® Mono/Stereo Headset with Attachable Speaker
See it at Amazon.com for $45.99Average Customer Rating
(3.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
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(5 out of 5)Works well w/Treo 700p & my laptop even when running!
I bought the Treo 700p to help eliminate a few gadgets so now I have my palm, MP3 and telephone all in one unit which is handy for my morning runs too. The only thing I didn't like was having the wired headset even though the cord was long enough I kept jerking the cord during my runs pulling the ear buds out. I needed a different solution and figured bluetooth headsets were they way but I did not want to lose stereo capabilities. Enter the BT8010.
First off, the BT8010 can be used as a one-ear mono headset like all the other BT headsets. This is great because I can still use the headset when driving. Unlike some of the other stereo headsets such as the Plantronics you can't wear them when driving.
Then, when I need stereo for running, I just plug in the left ear unit into the mono headset. So there is a wire but it is only behind my head connecting the left & right parts of the headset.
The headset grips the ear really well so even during a run the headset stays in place. This was what I was hoping would happen so I was very happy with the results. And the speaker that fits into the ear is comfortable (for my ear at least).
Pairing the headset to the 700p was not difficult. In order to get stereo out of the 700p one has to download the Softick Audio Gateway which supports A2DP streaming to BT headsets. That's just because the Treo 700p doesn't support A2DP over BT natively.
Paring the headset to my Thinkpad running Windows XP Professional was painless and quick. Now when I'm working I can stream music to my headset from the laptop and when a call comes in on the 700p it pauses the music and switches to the phone! When I hang up on the call the headset returns to the laptop, un-pauses the music and I'm back to listening to music. While I know most BT headsets can do this I was amazed the first time it happened.
The battery life seems to be very good for my usage (40+ minute run listening to stereo plus about an hour of talk time a day). The mono headset charges via the USB port which I connect directly to my laptop. Jabra supply a power brick for charging from a wall outlet but I don't see myself ever using it.
The stereo left ear piece doesn't need charging as it picks up electricity from the mono headset via the wire.
The mono headset also has volume control on it (the round silver thingy) which is nice, again for running, not having to mess with the phone to adjust the volume.
I haven't had any complaints about the sound of my voice when talking on the phone.
I tried to see out how far I could go from the devices and it was different for each one. With the Treo 700p I could only go about 5-10 feet and I could hear crackling. I could go about 20 feet from the laptop. I was hoping to be able to go further but I guess that is just the characteristics of low powered BT.
I've also tried the mono headset out in the Toyota and could hear clearly even with the noise around me. Now I am truly wireless in all possible ways.
(2 out of 5)Almost Not Quite
I have had many bluetooth "headsets" in my day. And I have to admit I'm the most dissapointed with this one. Though it is the highest rated stereo bluetooth headsets on most sites there has to be better than this available. I'm not upset I'm more dissapointed and frustrated. I will list the positives first since it won't take me as long to list.
Positives:
1. The very first thing I noticed about this set is that it played 3 - 4 times louder than any of my previous bluetooth headsets. I want to stress headsets here meaning: devices capable of outputting stereo sound via bluetooth via two earpieces.
Now that that is done let's go into the negatives.
1. As a bluetooth "music" enabled headset this thing is THE ONLY headset I've owned (out of 4) that didn't have some type of controlls on the device. Simple fast forward or MORE IMPORTANTLY in my oppinion rewind weren't available to my music device. Regardless of what the instructions say, I only get volume controll from my device. Not the fast forward. Why would you only have the ability to fast forward and not rewind... even if it did work?
2. The dual pair mode works... POORLY. I mean Very poorly. All the other headsets didn't really care where the bluetooth signal was comming from it would accept it once synced. This thing needs to be paired almost every time. I have the Crack.. I mean BlackBerry 8700 and 8800 and I tried to dual sync the 8010's to the both of them and it was a Nightmare. Even when paired to just the 8800 and my A2DP adapter for my Ipod was still an issue.
3. The darn thing is just uncomfortable. I either find myself constantly adjusting it or feeling like it's about to fall off at any given moment. Or just plain hurting my ear after wearing it for 20 or more minutes.
4. The speakers from the headset are HUGE! There is no logical way to rest these things in your ear and it set properly. You would have to have a gapping hole in the side of your head for the speaker portion of the headset to securely stay in place.
5. When in music mode lows are almost unrecognizable. Lyrics and speech are very clear. Say you wanted to listen to just an instrumental or something, you will not be able to catch 1/2 of the instrumental/background music. You want bass... you need to move onto the next headset. Granted they did try to stick a equalizer adjuster within the headset but I didn't find that it really made that much of a difference in sound quality vs overall volume.
6. The thing is HUGE! The main headpiece is rather large compared to other bluetooth headsets. Granted you are sacrificing size for the earpiece display. I think something got lost in translation with this idea though. B/c quite technically you have take the earpiece off to see what it's doing! What's the point of having an earpiece if you have to take it on and off. Quite technically you still have to be within certain range of the phone/bluetooth device right...? Why do I need a display on the earpiece again? That becomes very annoying very quickly. You may as well just pick up your phone or device and tell it what to do rather than going through the hassle of pulling this thing off *ouch* and putting it back on *ouch*. It's good for letting other people know what you are doing... and what phone # your talking to. Talking to the mistress while with the wife... well now she knows! Maybe you don't feel like telling someone who your on the phone with so you just move right next to them place your ear close to their eyes so they can read the display?
7. This may just be picky on my part but... the display of the headpiece/Call list lists numbers. So here it is, I don't know all my friends cell phone numbers... that's why I have a phone... that can store... you know NAMES? Hell, I'm looking at the call list on the earpiece like... "Ok and whose number was this one again? Ohhhhhhh!! That's the wife!"
8. Vibrating earpiece.... why? I mean... b/c the thing is attached to the side of my head... directly on my ear... yet... I need it to vibrate? Scared the bajeebas out of me the first time it happened. Should have taken the vibrating parts out and added some controlls for the music devices.
I am really considering shipping this thing back. When you turn the device on it says on the display "Release Your Jabra". Yea... I'm thinking of realeasing it allright. Jabra is close with this one... but still a ways to go.
(5 out of 5)A better device you will not find!
First I'll start with the list of other wireless headphones I started with.
- Radio shack 2.4GHz Wireless Stereo Headphones
(Uncomfortable heavy kill your ears)
- Creative's SE2300 Bluetooth Wireless Headphones
(oh my aching ears...ouch!)
- Logitech FreePulse Wireless Headphones with Bluetooth 2.0 EDR
(very nice! 99.9% there, but, they must be worn upside down and without the ear hug. Although very soft the position of the ear piece digs in your ear and need constant adjustment.)
...and finally,
- Motorola HT820 Bluetooth Stereo Headset
(another big ouchy, and bulky)
So after that exhaustive search and test in my private hell of R&D, I looked into this brand called "Jabra". These people have it together with all the comfort and usability in mind. It's possible that it's just me. I've read some of the other reviews and in reading them I heard things like (uncomfortable, dual BT Devices working poorly, must have gaping hole in side of head to accommodate speakers). Let me just say that first of all out of the 4 I've tested and tried to use, these where the most adjustable comfort accommodating feature rich ear pieces I've ever used.
Three cheers for Jabra!
(1 out of 5)Incorrect Product
The Jabra BT8010 Bluetooth Mono/Stereo Headset with attachable speaker did not ship, but instead, a Motorola Rocker BT50 cell phone battery was shipped. Ambient Weather has sent a return label and I have returned the battery for a refund. The product desciption is incorrect for this page and the picture of the battery is what is for sale. I don't know why Amazon has not corrected this error. I have wasted a week getting the wrong product and had to buy the BT8010 from someone else.
(4 out of 5)Good Deal
Earsets were comfortable and the sound was fine. Controls rapid and simple. Really good value for the price. Could not recommend more highly. The only reason for not giving 5 stars is that there must be even better ones out there, but certainly not for the price.