suemccartin's Full Review: Garmin nuvi 660 Car GPS Receiver
I started shopping for new bluetooth headset recently. I've had bluetooth on several of my phones but never really used it because it seemed to really affect battery life. It's not illegal in Florida (yet) to talk on a cell phone while you drive but just from a practicality standpoint I can see why people think it should be. My phone, the kyocera strobe, is supposed to support all the voice dialing stuff etc but so far all I've done is used the headset after dialing from the phone.
What's in the box:
Headset
Choice of three ear buds
proprietary charger (i.e the connector is not common that you could get away with a charger from something else if it was the same voltage etc.)
Setup:
Charge it for three hours for a full charge
Choose the earbud most comfortable for you and install it
Pair the headset with your phone
Controls:
On off button
Volume up/down button
button on microphone boom
Operation:
You can't use the headset on the charger (or the instructions say not to) so wait for it to have at least 30 minutes charge before trying to pair it and test it out. This headset is simpler than others to get into pair mode, just hold the button on the mic boom at the same time you turn it on, the led will blink red and blue alternately, this indicates pair mode. Put your phone into discovery mode and select the device, as with all bluetooth devices the password is 0000. After pairing the led should go back to blinking blue meaning it's ready to use. If you're making a call just dial on your phone and it should automatically transfer the call to your headset if it's turned on and in range. You supposedly get something like thirty feet with the new bluetooth spec, I haven't tested this out yet since the phone is usually hanging on my purse or my belt loop only about a foot away from the headset. To answer a call just push the button on the microphone boom. If you setup all the fancy voice dialing stuff that is also controlled from the button on the boom.
Comfort?
I find this headset light and comfortable if you have the right earbud installed. The rubberized outer skin makes it comfortable to wear against your bare skin.
Battery life?
Supposedly 6 hours, I imagine this may vary according to how far you are from the phone while you talk, interference and other factors, they also claim several days standbye time but if I use it alot I'll toss it on the charger just to be safe. If it did die in the middle of a call the phone should just automatically take the call back to the handset.
What I think of it?
It's a great headset, the only thing I don't like about it is the way the ear buds attach to the headset. It uses a key like arrangement, i.e. you turn it a certain way to install it, however, there's nothing to hold it in if the earbud decides to turn and it can easily fall out. I solved this issue on mine by taking a piece of heavy duty thread and wrapping it around the base of the earbud several times and tieing it loosely around the base of the boom mic so that if it does pop off it won't be lost, it should stay there. Sound quality is quite decent but one of the newer digital ones (that also cost a lot more) definetly sounds better because it's cleaning up the audio before you hear it. I got this headset to carry around with me because my motorola HT820 is just too big to be portable and a lot heavier. In Florida it is illegal to wear headphones while driving (covering both ears--the HT820 covers both ears because its stereo) but a headset like this is not illegal while driving because it only covers one ear. I'm happy with it, I got this on ebay for under 60 bucks (free shipping), I would not pay any more than that for it. Plantronics has been making audio products for many years, we used to have their phones and headsets at my workplace and they were always excellent hardware. I have no complaints about this headset, yet, and every call I've used it on people have had no issues hearing me. The way this headset is designed the boom can be swung for use on either the left or right side of your head.
What else do I need?
Since plantronics chose to make the charger on this guy proprietary, you'll probably want a 12V car charger if you plan to carry this around with you. Either that or a small inverter so you can use the existing AC adapter in the car, truthfully the car adapter would probably be cheaper, haven't checked ebay but I'm sure they can be found there.
update: You can find both the 12v car charger and the usb charger for around 9 bucks each, sometimes you can find a two pack for around 15 bucks. Since it's a proprietary connector they can kinda take you but this still isn't bad and the USB connector would be all you need if you've got your laptop along and have your adapters for it already in your kit.
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