Cheap Bluetooth Headset: Is it worth it?

Cheap Bluetooth Headset: Is it worth it?

A bluetooth headset is nothing more than an accessory for a cell phone or Bluetooth MP3 player, if we’re talking about stereo bluetooth headsets. That’s why many times isn’t worth it to buy an expensive model and just focus on a cheap bluetooth headset. In this post we’ve gathered one of the less expensive bluetooth headsets on market in 2009 and put them through our tests and wrote up the list of pros and cons for each of them. We hope this will help you choose the right inexpensive bluetooth headset, that will just do the job (the list is made considering the 2009 offering).

Jabra BT150

JABRA BT 150 – 14.99$

With its simple design and basic features, Jabra BT 150 Bluetooth headset is a convenient wireless bluetooth headset, positioned in the manufacturer’s entry line level.

Pros:

• simple but stylish design (sleek black look)
• comfortable to wear (after some hours you will forget you have it on your ear)
• good auto connection when making calls
• good sound quality, even when you’re in a loud space
• multi-colored LED for status on Bluetooth, battery and charging

Cons:

• when turning on/off the Bluetooth headset you have to hold the action button for about 10 seconds and some people could find this is way too long.
• from time to time could happen that the volume go down with apparently no reason and you have to adjust it from volume buttons.
• even if Jabra BT150 is comfortable to wear do not shake your head, because it might slip over your ear

Jabra BT8010

JABRA BT 8010 – 14.50$

If you like the idea of listening to your tunes wireless, but also hate having both ears covered when you make call while you drive, than you can consider the Jabra BT8010 Bluetooth headset.

Pros:

• automatically switch between stereo mode to calls mode (when your phone is ringing, the headset will pause your track and the main earpiece vibrates to alert you of a call)
• voice recognition work well on Jabra BT 8010
• this bluetooth headset can pair two Bluetooth devices simultaneously, so you can listen music to your iPod, and answer to your mobile if it rings.
• its battery supports 10 hours of talk or 6 hours of listen to music and up to 10 days of standby and will go to a full charge in less than two hours.

Cons:

• its ear bud is much bigger than traditional earbuds and take some times to get used to it.
• Jabra BT 8010 Bluetooth headset has its own memory that stores up to 15 recent caller ID and up to 30 phone book entries, but you can use them only if you have a very good memory, otherwise you have to take off the headset and view the display to navigate through it.
• its earpiece are rather large and may not fit comfortably in smaller ears.

Motorola H800 Slider

MOTOROLA H800 SLIDER – 17.95$

Motorola H800 slider is a cheap, but chic Bluetooth headset. It comes with a lot of features at a very good price.

Pros:

• stylish design with sliding microphne
• echo cancellation and noise reduction technology, which provide a sharp, clear sound on both incoming and outgoing channel
• its three keys are easy to press and have a very good tactile feadback; the volume can be reorientated when you change to the opposite ear easy paring, you only have to press the call key and the device is ready to connect with your phone; paring takes only a few seconds.

Cons:

• some users reported that the headset becomes uncomfortable to use after a long time of wearing.
• sound is not so clear in highly noisy areas despite of its noise reduction technologies.

Samsung WEP210

SAMSUNG WEP210 – 17.99$

Samsung WEP210 focuses on features and price rather than design as it tries to be a good price/performance product, thus ditching fancy feature aside.

Pros:

• smart two colors design means is not too flashy so it looks good for the vast majority of people
• it is light weight – only 8.5 grams, fits comfortably in either ear
• the WEP210 has some basic noise canceling functions and an omnidirectional microphone

Cons:

• battery is below average, at 5.5 hours talk time and 70 hours stand by.
• the multifunction main control button is an ergonomics nightmare that requires some time to adjust to.

We think those headsets are by far the ones with the best price/performance ratio on market in 2009. Keep in mind tough that prices change and new models appear, so we will update this post as soon as new contenders hit the shelves.