We bought a new laptop which did not have a microphone. We use Skype for talking in place of a telephone a lot so out we went for a headset. We were planning on buying a headset anyway because it is easier to hear and talk through a headset. Using the microphone on the laptop is a lot like using speaker phone and you know how annoying that can be.

There were two choices to choose from at the store. We chose this Logitech headset over the "professional" Logitech version because this one cost a few dollars less and had the Skype Certified sticker on it.

This is named "Internet Chat Headset" which is different than standard headphones in several ways. There is a permanently attached microphone which is designed to filter out background noise and it has an extra long cord which will give you the freedom to move around (pace). The box indicates that it is suitable for voice and video chat, multi-player gaming and music listening.

The headset is customizable in appearance. There are four plastic shells that come in the package. Your earpiece can be red, orange, blue, or black. The color really does not matter to us but if you have more than one set you will be able to distinguish your set from others just by the color.

One of the odd things about this headset is the behind- the-head design. My husband prefers this style but I am not so sure about it. The headpiece can not be adjusted. The headset is like rubber and just conforms loosely to the back of your head and wraps around the top of your ears. It doesn't even touch the back of my head so should not mess up a hairdoo. The earpiece is soft and comfortable.

The earpiece has a microphone that extends off of the left ear. This is not removable but can bend slightly to get the right angle.

Ten feet of cable is another advantage. That allows plenty of room to kick your feet up on your desk or walk over to the file cabinet.

There is a volume control and microphone off switch on the cord. This will make it convenient to mute the line so you can put someone on hold in a professional manner. The switch is itsy bitsy so may be difficult for some hands to switch. It's also hard to tell by looking if it's on or off.

Compatibility
The box says that it is compatible with: Windows XP, Windows ME, Windows 2000, and Windows 98SE.

We've used it without probems with XP.

Warranty
There is a 1 year warranty.

My experience
We only use this at home for occasional Skype use and the voice sounds clear. It's an improvement over the laptop microphone but we've never had another headset to compare it to. The headset can be used for anything else that you may need headphones for such as watching a DVD on the computer, internet chatting, Skype phone, game playing, or music listening.

This is not the kind of gadget I would buy just to listen to music. We thought the music sounded just fine with this headset but you can't remove the mouthpiece so I don't think anyone would buy it just to listen to music.

This is a very inexpensive headset which retails for $24 but can be found for much less in stores. This is advertised on Skype's website which sells through Amazon and is currently on sale for $13. We paid around $15 for it at Wal-mart. It's not the best quality. We only use it occasionally but if we were using this all day we would have chosen a nicer one.

I'm not sure how portable this headset will be for people. It doesn't fold and sticks up due to the way it's shaped.

The whole set seems a little cheap to me but it was inexpensive. For a casual occasional user this will be fine but I wouldn't recommend it for frequent use or work-related chatting.

Overall
This is suitable for personal casual at-home use. I haven't had any problems with them yet but I can tell they're not the highest quality.

General Information
www.Logitech.com
Part Number 980158-0403










Recommended: Yes