More Borg Bits
Written: Mar 25 '04
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Doesn't block ear canal, excellent battery life, no ultrabright blue LED.
Cons: "Noise-cancelling" could work better.
The Bottom Line: It's very much worth a look.
|
|
|
| caradoc's Full Review: Plantronics M3000 Bluetooth Headset |
After the self-destruction of my Jabra FreeSpeak BT200 I went shopping for a new Bluetooth headset to replace it.
I'd gotten used to being able to drive without worrying about tangling a headset wire in the gearshift, and being able to dial by touching a button near my ear and speaking the commands to make the call. There was never a question as to replacing the BT200 with another Bluetooth headset - the question was "which headset?" The fact that I'd already replaced my Sony Ericsson T68i with a (soon-to-be-reviewed) Sony Ericsson T616 strengthened my desire to continue using the Bluetooth technology.
I'd always used Plantronics wired headsets in the various cubicles in which I've worked, so I was familiar with their name and with the quality of their work. I've yet to be disappointed in the performance of a piece of Plantronics hardware.
Therefore, when I discovered the Plantronics M3000 on sale at the local Fry's Electronics, I decided I'd give them a chance to beat Jabra. (Not that it would be hard, given what I'd discovered about Jabra's lack of actual design in their headset...)
The M3000 is slightly larger than the BT200, but is well-balanced around the point where the earloop connects to the device. Unlike the Jabra, the M3000 puts all of the electronics "off" the ear, while the part that loops around the ear is a composite of rubber and plastic.
It weighs just slightly more than the BT200 as well, but has a considerably longer talk time, and phenomenal standby time. The battery pack makes up just under half of the package, but is still smaller than the tip of my thumb from the last joint down.
There's one more button on the unit than the BT200 has, too - a mute button that doubles as the on-off switch. The primary "talk" button is placed on the "outside" of the earpiece, while the volume control and mute/on-off switch are on the "side" of the earpiece. When worn on the left ear, they face "down," and on the right ear, they face "up."
Pressing the on-off button and holding it for about two seconds turns the unit on or off. Pressing it and releasing it during a call mutes the microphone, so the other people on a conference call don't have to listen to your car noises.
The volume controls are equally easy to use. It's a rocker switch, placed near the end of the "boom" for the microphone. Pressing the end towards the tip decreases the volume (since the tip of the microphone will point "down" toward your mouth, this is easy to remember) and pressing the end towards the ear raises the volume.
To make a call, one simply presses the "talk" button until you hear a beep, then wait a few seconds while the headset notifies the phone that you're about to give voice commands. Or, you can dial the phone and press "call" while the headset is paired and turned on, and the phone will automatically use the headset to make the call.
To answer a call, just press the "talk" button while the phone is ringing.
The headset has a fairly primitive noise-cancelling circuit. It reduces wind noise up to a point, but in very windy situations people simply can't hear me - the headset just passes static as it can't determine what is "noise" and what is "voice." It works perfectly in a car, though.
I've forgotten on several occasions that I was still wearing the headset. This gets me in a little trouble whenever I'm passing through metal detectors, but the guards are usually curious about the headset anyway.
Since the M3000's plastic case is in a subdued matte silver, and the LEDs are green and red, the headset doesn't really stand out quite as much as the BT200 did with its ultrabright blue LED.
The final point I found in favor of the M3000 over the BT200/BT250 headsets is that while the Jabra headsets use an "eargel" that fits into and occludes the ear canal, the M3000 has a barely raised "bump" that sits in the "cup" of the ear. It's quite audible, yet doesn't cut off hearing in that ear.
If you're shopping for Bluetooth headsets, take a look at the M3000. I'm enjoying mine far more knowing that the switch under the most often-used button isn't going to just "slide" off of the circuit board like my BT200's microswitch did.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
caradoc
|
 - Top 500 |
|
Member: John Groseclose
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
Reviews written: 182
Trusted by: 133 members
About Me:
System admin, technology addict, knife thrower, and dog "caregiver."
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.