LG HFB-500 Bluetooth Solar Speaker Phone

by LG

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5 x 5 x 8 inches ; 5.1 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0024FA6QM
• Item model number: HFB-500
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,707 in Cell Phones & Accessories (See Top 100 in Cell Phones & Accessories)

Product Description

HFB-500 is 2009 Consumer Electronics Innovation Award Winner. It offers exceptional sound quality, and the ability to pair with two mobile phones. Just two hours of sunligh equals one hour of talk time. Go green with HFB-500.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good sound, great convenience, February 3, 2010

By 

Roger A. Knopf "makes sawdust in spare time" (Menlo Park, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: LG HFB-500 Bluetooth Solar Speaker Phone (Wireless Phone Accessory)

I've had mine for about 5 months, and my wife just asked me to get one for her as well. Its not perfect (but hardly any bluetooth accessory is in my experience). Here are some of the pros and cons:

LOVE that it is solar powered. My wife never remembers to charge her bluetooth earbud and the fact that, once initially charged, you pretty much never have to think about charging it again is huge.

LIKE the sound quality, I have very few issues with not being able to understand or be understood when talking via this thing. Sound quality both ways is WAY better than on my wife's iPhone speakerphone, which is frequently unacceptable - thats why she asked me to get one for her.

LIKE being able to have it in convenient reach on my windshield.

LIKE and DON'T LIKE at the same time the strength of the bluetooth connection - if I forget to turn it off, half the time when I park my car in the driveway and go into my home office if I call comes in it goes via the speakerphone in the car, LOL!!! So good connection but sometimes too good.

DON'T LIKE the suction cups giving out once in a while - I wish it had a visor clip, but of course it wouldn't be in the sun that way, would it?

DON'T LIKE the charging cord - it is short and inflexible - so if I have to use it I can't put it on the windshield where I am used to it. Fortunately almost never have to use it after the initial charge.

DON'T LIKE the volume buttons, small and hard to use when driving, so I pretty much never use them and adjust on my phone (Blackberry Bold) when I need to.

**** UPDATE (Oct 2010)**** While mine still works fine, the second one I got for my wife has begun to behave oddly - especially that it will not stay turned OFF when not in use (like when the car is parked all day at work). The primary side-effect of this is that it is not charged and ready when she needs it. Definitely makes me hesitant to purchase a replacement.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I got a refund, November 1, 2009

By 

Sweetheart "Tweety" (Miami) - See all my reviews

This review is from: LG HFB-500 Bluetooth Solar Speaker Phone (Wireless Phone Accessory)

I bought this hands free unit because it is solar powered and compact. When I placed it on my windshield and tried it out, the people that I called told me that they were hearing feedback. I did not have that problem but my problem was that I could hardly hear them even though the volume was at the max. This was really unacceptable because when I was on the highway I couldn't hear at all.

I had it about a month before going back because I could not find the time to take it back. I was given a new unit, the volume seemed like it was even lower. I went on line to LG and had a live customer service chat to try to resolve the issue because I was still attracted to it being solar and compact. The rep did not have a solution and told me that I should go back to where I purchased it to get it serviced. At this time I had this NEW one for only one week and the thought of having it serviced did not sit well with me. The final straw came the next day. The unit would not turn on even though I live in Florida and sun (solar) is year round. I took it back and got a refund!!!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great until it overcharged, August 5, 2010

By 

MY - See all my reviews

This review is from: LG HFB-500 Bluetooth Solar Speaker Phone (Wireless Phone Accessory)

I've had this over a year and it worked great until recently. I did the initial charge as instructed. It's gotten only solar power charging since then and I've never had a low battery issue. Some callers reported hearing a lot of background noise but I was still understandable. Volume was sufficient for my car environment. I had an ad-hoc visor mount when in use. The way the volume drops periodically to indicate you are on mute was annoying so I used the phone's mute instead. Voice dialing worked fine for me. I also like the fact that I could pair it with my wife's phone too in case she drove my car.

Like another reviewer though, we had a hot sunny period and the unit appears to have overcharged its battery. It is so swollen none of the buttons can work. (sealed batteries swell when overcharged) On cool days it seems to partially recover but is sporadic at best. Sometimes turns on by itself and won't pair automatically any more. I can only assume it didn't have sufficient overcharge protection (if any). Too bad because I liked the solar feature.

I'm now having to look at a replacement and it won't be this model.