follow us on twitter, facebook, pinterest, youtube and foursquare

 “a consumer reports for the cheap” — the new york times

Home » Electronics » Bluetooth Headsets

Cheap Bluetooth, Cheap Bluetooth Headsets Review

Related Guides: MP3 Players and Smartphones

A Bluetooth headset lets you talk on your cell phone or listen to music without a connecting cord or wire. It's a hands-free device that relies on low-frequency radio waves to communicate with remote devices.

And with more and more state and local laws requiring drivers to use headsets when speaking on a cell phone, demand for cheap Bluetooth headsets is growing.

High-end Bluetooth devices offer more sophisticated noise cancellation, along with features such as longer battery life and voiced status reports, than their cheaper counterparts. Still, frugal consumers can purchase a good-quality, reliable cheap Bluetooth headset for under $50. The companies offering cheap Bluetooth headsets include Samsung, Jabra, Plantronics, Motorola, Sony, and BlueAnt. There's great variety in the Bluetooth market, but the key features to look for in cheap Bluetooth headsets are sound and fit. Also important is the ease with which you can operate the headset, pair the headset with your cell phone or portable music player, and the battery life.

In case you're wondering where the name "Bluetooth" comes from, it derives from the name of an ancient Danish king who united many Danish tribes into a single kingdom. The analogy is that the Bluetooth technology provides a single universal communications protocol that enables many different types of devices to communicate with each other.

Cheap Bluetooth Headsets Noise Cancellation.

Any cheap Bluetooth headset worth buying should sound good to the person wearing the headset and to the person on the other end. Most Bluetooth headsets, regardless of price, provide good quality sound to the person wearing one. However, there are significant differences in the quality of the sound transmitted to the person you're speaking with. Most headsets employ some type of "noise cancellation" (also referred to as "noise reduction") technology that enables the headset to filter out the sound of your voice from the sounds in your environment. Expert reviewers test Bluetooth headsets by taking them out into the wind or rain or near a construction site, and then using them to talk to someone through a cell phone. If this technology works well, the listener will hear your voice but not the background noise.

All the cheap Bluetooth headsets on our list of top picks employ some type of proprietary noise cancellation technology. For example, the Samsung WEP870 (starting at $35, Amazon) and the Jabra BT530 (starting at $35, Amazon) each use a type of "dual microphone noise cancellation." This technology consists of two "noise cancellation" microphones that pick up and then filter out background sounds. The Motorola H560 (starting at $30, Amazon) uses what it calls "digital noise reduction and echo cancellation." The Motorola H560 also features automatic volume adjustment, which raises the volume on your end when you're in a noisy setting so you can still hear the other person. The BlueAnt Z9i (starting at $49, Amazon) also uses dual microphone noise cancellation and offers two settings: "voice isolation standard" and " voice isolation max," the latter useful in very noisy environments. The super cheap Jabra BT2080 (starting at $18, Amazon) is notable for its lack of noise reduction capability.

Cheap Bluetooth Headsets Design.

Another important feature of cheap Bluetooth headsets is comfort. Most headsets have some sort of ear piece that rests in your ear, as well as an ear hook that wraps around the back of your ear for added support, although many users seem to prefer wearing their cheap Bluetooth headsets without the hook.

To ensure a comfortable fit, Jabra has developed rubbery, plastic "ear gels" that fit over the ear pieces of their headsets. The ear gels are designed to fit snugly in the contours of your ear. In case you want to see an ear gel at work, watch this video review at Amazon. The Jabra ear gels shown in the video can be purchased separately from the headset for a starting price of about $4. The Jabra BT530 has two types of ear gels in a variety of sizes: one type sits just inside the ear (you may need to wear an ear hook with this type); the other type has a rubber loop that fits within the ear folds (this type should work well without the ear hook). The Jabra BT2080 comes with two different size ear hooks and two ear gels of different sizes.

The Motorola H560 features multiple ear piece cushions and a plastic ear hook. BlueAnt Z9i includes two sizes of ear pieces that screw on and off, and two ear hooks. The Samsung WEP870 comes with one ear piece (without gels or cushions) and one ear hook. And the Plantronics Explorer 390 (starting at $20, Amazon) comes with one rubber ear bud and a bendable plastic ear hook.

Cheap Bluetooth Headsets Control Buttons.

All cheap Bluetooth headsets have control buttons. Most headsets have a multipurpose call button for typical headset features such as answering calls, redial, voice dial support, call mute, call hold, and call transferring from the headset to the phone or vice versa. Other common features on cheap Bluetooth headsets include an LED display that shows the Bluetooth connection status, battery life, and call connection status, as well as a power switch and volume controls. The BlueAnt Z9i also has a handy additional feature: if you press the master control button and say "status", the headset delivers a voice message indicating the battery life, signal strength, and so on.

Inexpensive Bluetooth Headsets Pairing.

Pairing is the process of establishing the wireless connection between your cell phone or some other electronic audio device and your headset. Generally speaking, when pairing a cell phone and Bluetooth headset, the cell phone (or audio device) is the "host" and the headset is the "guest." To pair the two devices, you turn on the pairing option for both devices, and then use the cell phone to identify the headset and confirm the connection.

If both devices use recent versions of Bluetooth software (Bluetooth 2.1 or higher), pairing the devices is simple; the Samsung WEP870, Plantronics Explorer 360, and BlueAnt Z9i use Bluetooth 2.1 software and can pair with two devices at the same time. (The Jabra BT2080 uses Bluetooth 2.1 but only pairs with one device at a time.) If either device uses an earlier version of Bluetooth software, as do the Jabra BT530 and Motorola H560 (Bluetooth 2.0 for both), you'll need to enter a passcode from the headset into the cell phone in order to pair them. The exact process of pairing depends on the cell phone and headset being paired; consult the user manual for both cell phone and Bluetooth headset for complete instructions. Jabra provides user-friendly online instructions for pairing its BT530 headset with many different types of cell phones; ditto for the Plantronics Explorer 390.

Discount Bluetooth Headsets Charging.

Nearly all low-cost Bluetooth headsets come with a wall charger. The Plantronics Explorer 390 offers the convenience of multiple charging options: in addition to a wall charger, it comes with a 12V car charger and an additional cable that connects to your computer's USB port, which lets you charge your headset from your computer.

Cheap Bluetooth Headsets Frills.

The Samsung WEP870 is the only headset we feature that offers both a mono and stereo option. The Samsung WEP870 provides a mono headset for phone conversations and an attachable stereo ear bud "lanyard" for listening to music. In mono mode, this headset is worn in one ear for hands-free talking; in stereo mode, the ear bud "lanyard" attaches to the headset and is worn around your neck, with one bud for each ear. Another option for low-priced stereo Bluetooth is the Motorola S9 (starting at $50, Amazon), which has no mono option; sound is delivered in stereo for both phone calls and music playback.

Back to top »

 

 

 

Motorola H560
BlueAnt Z9i
Plantronics Explorer 390
Jabra BT2080
Samsung WEP870
Jabra BT530

 

Electronics Batteries Cordless Phones Paper Shredders 3D TVs Blu Ray Players Bluetooth Headsets Camcorders

Cheap LCD TVs Digital Cameras Digital Photo Frames DSLRs Electric Guitars Ereaders GPS

Headphones Home Theater iPod Speakers MP3 Players Turntables Universal Chargers

blog  about us  contact us  sitemap  in the news  privacy  terms of service  jobs

Follow us on Facebook Twitter Sign up for our Free Newsletter