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Bluetooth Headsets Galore

If you live in California, or any of the states that have outlawed driving and talking, then you know how useful a Bluetooth headset can be. With this in mind, Motorola rolled out a pair of noise-canceling headsets today, and they look like winners.

The MOTOPURE H15 has a flip design that lets you open to talk and close to save battery. In a handy feature, the company says the H15 can convert 15 minutes of charge time into more than an hour of talk time.

The Motorola H15 has the company's CrystalTalk technology for clear talk -- the previous Motorola headsets I've had with this have been pretty good. The H15 also brings noise canceling, as it will automatically enhance frequencies to improve the call quality.

The H780 sports a more traditional design. It also has the CrystalTalk technology, and the company expects it to get seven hours of talk time. The H15 is expected to cost $129, and the H780 is expected to be about $100. Both headsets should be available during the fourth quarter, and I'm looking forward to giving them a try.

Now, it should be obvious by now, but I'm kind of a cell phone geek. I also dig Bluetooth headsets and am thinking about giving them more coverage and test-driving some.

For example, I've been rocking the BlueAnt V1 voice-control headset for a few weeks now and wanted to share my thoughts. I like the design -- it's a bit plain, but it gets the job done. I wasn't a huge fan of the ear hook at the beginning (it just felt off), but it grew on me.

But the big deal about this headset is that it has voice powers. Once you turn it on, it'll give you spoken instructions on how to pair it. It's essentially the same process as any other headset, but it's still nice to have verbal instructions.

Pairing was a breeze, whether it's with my broken-down Helio Ocean or the spiffy new Palm Pro Touch. You can ditch the manual and just say "Teach me," and you're given instructions on what you do. You can voice dial your office, house, voice mail, speed dials, and even Google's 411 service, even if your phone doesn't have native voice recognition. You can use voice commands to redial, check your battery, ignore calls, and more. Here's a video with a good walkthrough of how the voice control works (be warned: there's awful techno music in the background):

All these fancy voice controls don't mean jack if the call quality isn't good, and, fortunately, the BlueAnt delivers in spades. The everyday usage was clear enough while I was putzing around in my house or office, and the voice-isolation mode overcame noisy and windy streets.

The company claims about five hours of talk time and more than eight days of standby time. I didn't torture test it, but I found I only needed to charge it every few days (I'm not a huge talker though, so your mileage may vary). The headset will cost about $90 to $130, and it's worth getting if you can find it for less than $100.

So, InformationWeek readers, am I wasting my time covering Bluetooth headsets? What are you using? Is there any specific headset you'd like me to cover? Feel free to drop me a line or leave a comment.

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