Customer Reviews

LG HFB-500 Bluetooth Solar Speaker Phone

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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!!!

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.

First 11 months:

Nice and loud.
No pairing issues.
"Never" had to charge it, ever.

Last week:
90 degree sunny weather appears to have fried the unit. "Answer button frozen solid", power button rarely works. When it can be convinced to be turned on, if the unit is even moderately hot it will not work. It can be cooled down via AC flow, and fighting with the power button you can eventually get it turn on... but it can take minutes. so, its basically unusable.

Anecdotal: Friend who bought same unit weeks after me had his unit fried same day as mine, with same symptoms. 90 - 95 degrees on hot dry day.

YMMV.

Easily charges in sunlight, and powers up easily. Audio quality is adequate -- occasionally people (on the other end) will complain but for short conversations while driving it's a very safe and easy option. Lack of wires is very nice. Overall, a good deal if you're looking for a hands-free option for safer telephoning while driving.

This sucker works as advertised. I mounted it on my windshield four weeks ago after charging it, and the solar has kept it powered ever since -- even though it's been cloudy most days since I received it. Speaker quality is good enough -- not great, but what else do you expect. I'm very happy with my purchase.

I ordered this item recently since it was illegal to be using the cell phone while driving and got sick of pulling over to accept a call. Shipped and got here pretty quick granted we had a bad weather. Very easy to use and all my friends that don't have a Bluetooth in their car are ordering one. It does significantly help with being able to keep your eyes on the road and the ease of use. I've only solar charged it and works great. And it has a auto shut off once you leave your vehicle for. Unless you leave your cell phone in the vehicle, in which does not make much sense. Anyway, for $20, it's great. And saves you from being pulled over and getting a hefty $$$ ticket for being a dumb call.

I like this product, It works Great. I have used it for a long time, and it has nice and crisp sound. Only Problem is the Suction Cups, There not that Good. But I like these devices There a Great Idea to stop car accidents and People having phone to there head while driving.

I'm a gadget addict. This one works. Both ends can hear the other person. It is always charged ready to go.

This is a really great little device. It's small. Light. Charges in the sun. Pairs easily. Gets good talk time. People can hear you clear (a few callers said I was clear if not just a little distant sounding). It's really loud...so much that it distorts if you turn it up all the way.

The downside is, if you dont like having things on your window...you are out of luck. Thats the only place you can mount it (actually a glass sunroof is the most ideal place - sadly it wont stick to mine which has a funky coating). It's tiny so it doesn't take a lot of space, but it kinda bugs me. So I mounted it behind the mirror. Which is fine, except it makes it hard to turn on/off. More so, the large 'answer call' button will 'redial last caller' if there is no incoming call; makes it all to easy to misdial your last call. I realize this point here is just me not liking stuff on the window - thats what it comes down to.