LG Tone HBS-700 Review

The LG Tone HBS-700 allows music lovers who spend a lot of time wearing headphones to use the same equipment to send and receive phone calls. This around-the-neck stereo headset has retractable earbuds. The unusual design, combined with flexible material that conforms to your neck, makes for a very comfortable fit, according to LG Tone reviews. Users say they hardly feel anything in their ears because all the weight of the device is around their necks.

Controls for the LG Tone HBS-700 are on the two arms of the headset -- audio on one side, phone call controls on the other. This makes it easy to remember where the controls are; users posting LG Tone reviews say the learning curve is slight. If you don't have the earbuds in when the phone rings, the neckband vibrates, and users say pulling out an earbud is easy enough to get one in by the second ring.

The stated battery life of the LG Tone is up to 10 hours of talk time and 15 days of standby time. When an expert reviewer at PCMag tested the device, it delivered 11 hours and 28 minutes of music playback. Unlike most other Bluetooth headsets we looked at, however, it offers no indication of how much charge is left. A consumer who posted an LG Tone review on Amazon points out that the headset could just drop dead unexpectedly. PCMag also tested the range of the device and found that the signal remained strong until the reviewer got about 15 feet away from the handset.

While audiophiles may find cause to quibble with the sound quality, PCMag's LG Tone review says it's generally solid, with no audio glitches or background hiss. There are many levels of volume control both for music streaming and for phone calls. The noise cancellation is effective, according to LG Tone reviews by users at Amazon, where more than 500 reviewers have given this device the highest rating. Consumers report that people on the other end can hear them loud and clear.

The LG Tone HBS-700 uses Bluetooth version 2.1. It's multipoint capable, so it can connect with more than one handset, and comes with A2DP (advanced audio distribution profile), so it's compatible with most devices. Pairing is almost automatic -- it goes into pairing mode as soon as you turn the power on the first time.