The new ParentDish: helping raise kids of all ages
Posts with tag BluetoothHeadset

iLounge reviews Apple Bluetooth Headset



Those unstoppable cats over at iLounge (whom I am convinced are using genetically modified oompa loompas) have gone and reviewed themselves an Apple Bluetooth Headset. For $129, you get a pretty darn sleek headset that one-ups the competition by including only a single button for control (or perhaps that's 'one-downing' the competition...), a Dual Dock for charging both the iPhone and headset and a travel charger that can handle the same job. iLounge's verdict? Well, it's a mixed bag. The headset doesn't blaze any trails in the places it matters, such as audio quality or battery life, nor is it as functional as many would expect from a typical bluetooth headset (it doesn't even have on-board volume buttons; that's controlled from the iPhone). However, the headset's performance does rank in at around average, and the included accessories are certainly a leap beyond the rest. The headset also features some unique integration with the iPhone in that charging both via the dock or cable will display the headset's battery level right alongside the iPhone's. Also, to some people's surprise, the headset (just like most bluetooth headsets) can be paired with a Mac for audio chats with the likes of iChat and Skype.

All that said, it seems like Apple's Bluetooth Headset will be a good buy for the general customer who can make use of the rich set of extras that come with it. Personally, I'm counting my pennies for one of those Jawbone headsets with the crazy noise cancellation technology. In my opinion, every bluetooth headset on the market sucks. Period. I've tested a very hefty portion of them from the bottom of the barrel to the premium $100+ models (return policies are a beautiful thing), and they're all terrible because both the caller and myself sound horrible to each other, especially when there's anything louder than a pin dropping in the background. Given Apple's tendency to try and solve some of the major problems plaguing a particular technology or industry (i.e. - Visual Voicemail), I'm surprised they didn't at least try for something like the Jawbone with the Bluetooth Headset.

But I digress - if you're on the Apple Bluetooth Headset fence, iLounge's review might be able to help you out with the decision. Check it out.

Apple bluetooth headset unpacking pics

When reader Nomad send us a link to pictures of his new iPhone bluetooth headset, we thought, "Eh, it's just a headset in a box. How cool can it be?"

Pretty cool.

It's packaged in a black, minimalist box, as expected. Inside is the headset itself, a combo dock (accommodates the iPhone and headset) with USB cable and a travel cable for the headset only.

Nomad notes that when both the iPhone and headset are connected to the dock, the iPhone's display depicts the headset, as well as its current charge. Pretty nice. When connected to the stand-alone cable, the headset uses a magsafe connector.

Leave it to Apple to make the act of charging a headset elegant.

TUAW Features


Mac 101 ask-tuaw
Mac News
WWDC (250)
.Mac (57)
Accessories (635)
Airport (74)
Analysis / Opinion (1328)
Apple (1636)
Apple Corporate (554)
Apple Financial (187)
Apple History (45)
Apple Professional (53)
Apple TV (160)
Audio (446)
Bad Apple (118)
Beta Beat (149)
Blogging (84)
Bluetooth (16)
Bugs/Recalls (56)
Cult of Mac (869)
Deals (214)
Desktops (115)
Developer (251)
Education (98)
eMac (10)
Enterprise (136)
Features (396)
Freeware (381)
Gaming (360)
Graphic Design (31)
Hardware (1281)
Holidays (37)
Humor (576)
iBook (65)
iLife (234)
iMac (184)
Internet (325)
Internet Tools (1309)
iTS (967)
iTunes (796)
iWork (21)
Leopard (366)
Mac mini (112)
Mac Pro (53)
MacBook (202)
MacBook Air (79)
Macbook Pro (220)
MobileMe (16)
Multimedia (439)
Odds and ends (1437)
Open Source (277)
OS (910)
Peripherals (208)
Podcasting (182)
Podcasts (89)
Portables (197)
PowerBook (135)
PowerMac G5 (50)
Retail (577)
Retro Mac (48)
Rig of the Week (42)
Rumors (629)
Software (4303)
Software Update (406)
Steve Jobs (252)
Stocking Stuffers (50)
Surveys and Polls (97)
Switchers (111)
The Woz (34)
TUAW Business (235)
Universal Binary (281)
UNIX / BSD (61)
Video (902)
Weekend Review (81)
WIN Business (47)
Wireless (83)
Xserve (39)
iPhone/iPod News
iPhone (1485)
iPod Family (2024)
App Store (16)
SDK (14)
Mac Events
One More Thing (27)
Liveblog (1)
Other Events (226)
Macworld (489)
Mac Learning
AppleScript (2)
Ask TUAW (101)
Blogs (85)
Books (26)
Books and Blogs (62)
Cool tools (443)
Hacks (459)
How-tos (482)
Interviews (43)
Mods (185)
Productivity (586)
Reviews (107)
Security (153)
Terminal Tips (58)
Tips and tricks (563)
Troubleshooting (166)
TUAW Features
iPhone 101 (26)
TUAW Labs (3)
Blast From the Past (17)
TUAW Tips (141)
Flickr Find (34)
Found Footage (80)
Mac 101 (88)
TUAW Interview (31)
Widget Watch (198)
The Daily Best (1)
TUAW Faceoff (4)

RESOURCES

RSS NEWSFEEDS

Powered by Blogsmith

Sponsored Links

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) bloggers (30 days)

#BloggerPostsCmts
1Cory Bohon862
2Robert Palmer5846
3Steven Sande5623
4Dave Caolo370
5Scott McNulty370
6Mat Lu348
7Erica Sadun282
8Brett Terpstra210
9Mike Schramm212
10Michael Rose1334
11Christina Warren1242
12Joshua Ellis54
13Lisa Hoover26
14Chris Ullrich12
15Jason Clarke11

Featured Galleries

Macworld 2008 Keynote
Macworld 2008 Build-up
Apple Vanity Plates
DiscPainter
Macworld Expo 2007 show floor
The Macworld Faithful in Line
iPhone First Look
AT&T 3G Coverage Map
MobileMe Guided Tour UI Changes

 

    Most Commented On (7 days)

    Recent Comments

    More Apple Analysis

    More from AOL Money and Finance

    Weblogs, Inc. Network

    Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in: