I just wanted to throw my two cents in on the bluetooth headset that Gadget Madness hated and IGN liked.
First off, just to be CAG'y, I scored mine the week MGS4 came out and picked it up for $40 at Best Buy during their midnight release.
Now--having gotten that out of the way, when I got home, I immediately plugged it in for the recommended eight hours of intial charging. Once that was completed, I initially called my voicemail to test it out. I have an LG-CU500 fliphone from AT+T, with an interesting handicap-- I dunked the lower half accidentally in a glass some months back, so now it has a lot of interesting "quirks", like buzz when the phone rings, but the actual phone communications work just as well as ever. Connection problems do occur using it's bluetooth capability with my computer, but nothing I'd call aggravating.
So, back to the call-- this was simply to test the audible part, as to how it sounds to the user. The voicemail came through just as clear as if I had been using the phone-- no discernable distortion or muting.
Then I made a call to someone with a land-based phone line across the country, while in my car in fairly busy L.A. freeway traffic. I did not inform them I was using a headset, and they had no problem whatsoever hearing what I was saying to them. We carried on a 10 minute conversation like normal, and when the call ended, nothing had been questioned about the audio quality.
I then called someone's cell phone from inside a building , and again not informing them of the use of the device. Again, every word I said was just as clear as using the phone to them, and only at the end of the call did I ask how the audio of my call sounded to them-- to which they responded that it was just fine-- no buzz, no distortion, nothing hindering the call.
Finally, I used it with my Metal Gear Online account, and everyone who also had mic capability heard every word I said. I carried on conversations and team shout-outs during battle, with no one complaining or asking to repeat myself.
The device is incredibly light, to the point you can forget it's on while using it. While made of plastic for the device, it doesn't feel cheap, and has a solid feel to it. The earpiece is flexible and soft, yet firm when attached around the ear, offering plenty of give but remains in place. Turning it on usually requires a good 3-5 seconds of holding down, but once on, stays on until you repeat the process.
The volume buttons take a bit of pressure to activate, but having the volume UP on the bottom was a good choice, allowing you to use your thumb to brace the device while another finger presses it. There is a noticeable beep that does temporarily mute your call in progress, but is unheard by the other parties.
Linking it to your devices is incredibly simple-- simply hold the button down longer until the LED alternately flashes blue and red, and then use the linking device you want it to go to (phone, computer, game system) to hook up, typing in a simple (0000) registration code. The device did drop off once while playing Metal Gear Solid 4 and occasionally disconnects while my phone is in standby mode, but in the case of the phone it simply searches again, re-linking immediately. Thus far it has not dropped any calls. Calls can be received or disconnected like any other bluetooth by simply pressing the power button briefly.
While I'm sure Gadget Madness knew what they were doing, calling Skype to test the call by leaving a message and then playing it back in MP3 format leaves a plethora of unanswered questions. Who knows what level of quality their MP3 was set at? Also by putting it through a daisy chain to play back the results-- using a cell phone to call a software-based phone system played back in MP3 form-- just dilutes the call with each succeeding step.
Overall, I like the device's audio quality, light yet sturdy build, and ease of use. Comfort is also great, and looks sharp to boot with it's slender angular look, compared to other awkward-looking models on the market.
In conclusion:
Ease of use: A-
Incoming audio: A+
Outgoing audio (from other parties comments): A+
Comfort: A
Design: A
First off, just to be CAG'y, I scored mine the week MGS4 came out and picked it up for $40 at Best Buy during their midnight release.
Now--having gotten that out of the way, when I got home, I immediately plugged it in for the recommended eight hours of intial charging. Once that was completed, I initially called my voicemail to test it out. I have an LG-CU500 fliphone from AT+T, with an interesting handicap-- I dunked the lower half accidentally in a glass some months back, so now it has a lot of interesting "quirks", like buzz when the phone rings, but the actual phone communications work just as well as ever. Connection problems do occur using it's bluetooth capability with my computer, but nothing I'd call aggravating.
So, back to the call-- this was simply to test the audible part, as to how it sounds to the user. The voicemail came through just as clear as if I had been using the phone-- no discernable distortion or muting.
Then I made a call to someone with a land-based phone line across the country, while in my car in fairly busy L.A. freeway traffic. I did not inform them I was using a headset, and they had no problem whatsoever hearing what I was saying to them. We carried on a 10 minute conversation like normal, and when the call ended, nothing had been questioned about the audio quality.
I then called someone's cell phone from inside a building , and again not informing them of the use of the device. Again, every word I said was just as clear as using the phone to them, and only at the end of the call did I ask how the audio of my call sounded to them-- to which they responded that it was just fine-- no buzz, no distortion, nothing hindering the call.
Finally, I used it with my Metal Gear Online account, and everyone who also had mic capability heard every word I said. I carried on conversations and team shout-outs during battle, with no one complaining or asking to repeat myself.
The device is incredibly light, to the point you can forget it's on while using it. While made of plastic for the device, it doesn't feel cheap, and has a solid feel to it. The earpiece is flexible and soft, yet firm when attached around the ear, offering plenty of give but remains in place. Turning it on usually requires a good 3-5 seconds of holding down, but once on, stays on until you repeat the process.
The volume buttons take a bit of pressure to activate, but having the volume UP on the bottom was a good choice, allowing you to use your thumb to brace the device while another finger presses it. There is a noticeable beep that does temporarily mute your call in progress, but is unheard by the other parties.
Linking it to your devices is incredibly simple-- simply hold the button down longer until the LED alternately flashes blue and red, and then use the linking device you want it to go to (phone, computer, game system) to hook up, typing in a simple (0000) registration code. The device did drop off once while playing Metal Gear Solid 4 and occasionally disconnects while my phone is in standby mode, but in the case of the phone it simply searches again, re-linking immediately. Thus far it has not dropped any calls. Calls can be received or disconnected like any other bluetooth by simply pressing the power button briefly.
While I'm sure Gadget Madness knew what they were doing, calling Skype to test the call by leaving a message and then playing it back in MP3 format leaves a plethora of unanswered questions. Who knows what level of quality their MP3 was set at? Also by putting it through a daisy chain to play back the results-- using a cell phone to call a software-based phone system played back in MP3 form-- just dilutes the call with each succeeding step.
Overall, I like the device's audio quality, light yet sturdy build, and ease of use. Comfort is also great, and looks sharp to boot with it's slender angular look, compared to other awkward-looking models on the market.
In conclusion:
Ease of use: A-
Incoming audio: A+
Outgoing audio (from other parties comments): A+
Comfort: A
Design: A
