In an effort to get back to my tech roots, I’ve decided to write a review of one of my latest toys… the Motorola H605 Universal Bluetooth Headset.
SPECS
- 10 hours talk time
- 200 hours standby
- 19g
- Behind-the-ear headset design
- Microphone mute
- Pairs with 8 devices max
- auto power save feature
- $45 on Newegg
REVIEW
When I first saw the package, I was a little surprised at how big the device actually was. The picture on the right is pretty close to life size. The blister pack took very little effort to get open (which is rare these days) and no scissors or knife.
The headset was very light indeed and very Borg looking when on. I can’t tell if that’s real leather or pleather but it’s soft to the touch and has a little padding to it.
PRO: Charging port is USB 2.0 just like a RAZR, which is nice if you have a RAZR or any other device that runs USB 2.0. I only need one cable to recharge all my devices (as long as it’s not all at the same time).
CON: It takes a lot of effort to actually get it on your ear but when it’s on it AIN’T coming off (I tried rockin out to some Everclear to knock it off but to no avail).
PRO: While it’s on I barely notice and after a while I forget it’s there. My Ray-Ban’s are still wearable but note that they have a really thin wire frame. Those of you with thick ass frames (like D&G or Versace sunglasses) will be uncomfortable.
PRO: First test was pairing it with both my V3 and my V330. Pairing was very simple and only took a couple of seconds.
CON: I may be able to pair with up to 8 devices, but I can’t use them both at the same time! Damn! Not a super big deal but since I have to carry 2 phones, it would’ve been nice. The other thing is it changes your profile… so instead of hearing my favorite Homestarrunner ring, I hear a standard ringing because It can’t play MP3’s…
PRO: Distance test exceeded my expectations… I was able to get about 45 ft. away from my V3 before my call recipent said I was breaking up. That’s much better than the advertised 30 ft.
PRO: The earbud pivots and swivels to get maximum ear placement. This is nice cause it blocks out external noise and increases hearability. Sound quality and volume on the call was awesome. I could hear w/o any problem in the office, in the car and at home (this is a big deal to me since I have hearing problems). The call recipients all had no problems hearing me from the car or the server room which makes me think it may have a background noise filter.
CON: When on your ear, the buttons are really hard to find.
PRO: Lots of functionality with the buttons: mute, call reject, answer second call, redial, join 3-way (the phone type that is), and if you have voice tags assigned, you can use your voice to call.
CONCLUSION
Having owned a few Bluetooth headsets in my day I can safely recommend this one to everyone. None of the above cons are deal breakers… and I have really enjoyed using Motorola’s first behind-the-ear headset.
Shaun, the newegg reviews of this product are pretty negative on the sound quality for the person on the other end. What’s your thought on sound quality? I like everyting else about it.
– Seth
It depends on which phone I use and how much background noise there is. If I use my RAZR I’m clear (unless in the server room). If I use the V330 it sounds “hollow” and muffled (as the reviews seem to keep repeating) most of the time. This could be something different with the bluetooth on the differen models (eg I can walk 50 ft away from the RAZR but only 35 ft away from the V330). I’ve had one person complain that I sound hollow, no one else has said anything about not hearing me. It seems that if you are in a noisy enviornment it gets muffled, but I anticipate that would happen with any headset. Maybe I just got a good model…