Motorola HS810 Bluetooth Headset

by Motorola

Product Details

Product Manual [216kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 3.2 x 1.2 x 0.8 inches ; 0.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002F7I94
• Item model number: HS810
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,906 in Cell Phones & Accessories (See Top 100 in Cell Phones & Accessories)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Hands-On Review

The Motorola HS810 Bluetooth headset makes use of a folding microphone boom design that Motorola jointly developed with GN Netcom a few years ago. While the HS810 might not be the most attractive headset on the market, the folding boom certainly makes it one of the more practical. When the boom is folded, the device is off. When the boom is extended, the headset powers up and immediately connects to the phone - answering any inbound calls in the process. This design makes standby battery life almost a non-issue since you can easily keep the HS810 powered off when you are not actively using it, turning it on only for an actual call. Its battery life is quite good, with my tests coming in at 5.25 hours of talk time. That's quite a good deal if you don't have to worry about the battery draining while it sits on your desk between calls. A light user like me can easily go a week or two between recharges.

The HS810 folds neatly and fits easily in your pocket.

The folding design has another benefit, too. The HS810 is very pocketable when it is folded closed. Nothing sticks out that could easily get damaged or broken while it is in your pocket. When folded up, the HS810 is just barely over 2 inches in length and a bit less than 1.25 inches in width. Considering that it weighs .70oz (19.9g), you will barely notice it at all.

Of course you need more than a power switch to operate a headset, to which the HS810 offers a call control/multi-purpose button and a pair of volume keys. The multi-purpose button let's you answer and end calls, as well as initiate voice dialing, reject inbound calls, and redial the last number when used with a phone that supports the Hands Free Bluetooth profile. Most every Bluetooth phone on the market today supports this profile.

The Motorola HS810 can be linked up (or "paired") with up to 8 devices at the same time. This means that you can use it with your phone as well as perhaps your desktop PC and a laptop, assuming the computers have compatible Bluetooth adapters that support headset use. This means that you could potentially use your headset with VOIP applications like Skype as well as with games and other functions.

Two softly pulsating blue LEDs signal when the headset is in use.

People will also be able to tell that you are actively using the headset because of the softly pulsating twin Blue LEDs. Unlike many other headsets on the market, the LEDs fade in and out instead of blinking or flashing annoyingly. The same LEDs will let you know when the device has properly been put into pairing mode when you are linking it up with a phone or computer (the default PIN code is "0000").

In terms of audio quality, the Motorola HS810 runs in the middle of the road. The quality is very clear and easy to understand, both inbound and outbound, but it does suffer from a lack of bass sound. The audio is just a bit on the thin side when compared to the best performing headsets on the market. To perhaps make up for that, though, the HS810 offers something much more practical: an amazing ability to resist wind noise. The HS810 is the ideal headset for people that want to have the windows down while driving or who spend a lot of time outdoors. The HS810's maximum volume level should be fine for most situations.

In short, I highly recommend the Motorola HS810.

--Reviewed by Michael Oryl, editor in chief of www.MobileBurn.com

Pros:

• Small, light
• Comfortable
• 5 hours of talk time
• No wind noise
• Can be worn on both ears

Cons:

• A bit funny looking
• Audio quality is a bit thin

What's in the box: Motorola HS810 Bluetooth Headset, Travel Charger, User Manual, and Quick Start Guide.

Product Description

No wires. No limits. Designed to enhance the experience of any Bluetooth technology enabled phone, the Motorola Wireless Headset HS810 also stores information and wirelessly interacts with up to eight different Bluetooth 1.1 compliant devices, including handsets, PDAs and computers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

106 of 106 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good headset, with a few issues, September 24, 2004

By 

M - See all my reviews

This review is from: Motorola HS810 Bluetooth Headset (Wireless Phone Accessory)

I've used this product for the past couple of days. Great design. Much smaller than you would expect from looking at the pictures. Here's a list of PROs and CONs. I won't cover anything you can get from the "Technical Data" section.

PROs:
1) Call quality is great on the other end. People have commented that they didn't know I was calling them from my cellphone when using this headset.
2) You can turn off the headset by closing the mic boom. Unlike the older HS801 and maybe even the latest model, HS820, you can actually deactivate the headset just by folding the headset. Your phone will automatically revert to non-bluetooth mode. Open the mic boom and it'll sync automatically. Just make sure to set your phone to automatically detect the headset.
3) You can turn off the blinking lights while on a call so you don't look like a 'Star Trek' reject. Just press both volume buttons at the same time. The light will go off ONLY for the duration of that call. If it were up to me, I'd like to disable the lights altogether, but I'll take what I can get.
4) Great design. A must have for every got-to-have-it gadget person. And it matches the Motorola V600 perfectly.

CONs:
1) Too quiet, even on the highest volume. The earphone is an open ear design so unfortunately, you can't really block out the sounds from your environment. When driving on the highway, this product becomes almost useless when calling someone who doesn't speak loudly. Doesn't help that my car's cabin isn't very quiet, so you may find the volume not an issue in a better acoustically sealed car.
2) Voice activation isn't very reliable. Only seems to work reliably in a quiet room. As with CON 1), you may not have an issue in a quiet car cabin.
3) The earpiece is not very comfortable. Again, this may not be an issue for you, but is for me. I'd give it a 6 or 7 out of 10, in terms of comfort.
4) The carrying case is very stylish, but poorly designed. The headset presses against the top of the case, causing the multi-function button to be continually pressed. The headset is off since the headset is folded, but continually pressing the multi-function button causes the lights to come on every few seconds within the caase. Maybe I'll try the neckstrap provided instead.

Hope this helps.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I've been using it for 4 months, March 30, 2005

By 

Cliff - See all my reviews

This review is from: Motorola HS810 Bluetooth Headset (Wireless Phone Accessory)

I bought this headset about 4 months ago, and am using it with a Motorola V710 with Verizon.

Pros: I love it, but it fits me well. It pairs quickly and easily with the phone, and the standby time is great. I charge it every couple weeks. The sound quality on both ends is very good, as long as you're not in the wind. In my car most times people don't even know I'm on a cell phone. I like the design of the earpiece, because I can wear it and sunglasses at the same time. I don't even notice it's there. You probably couldn't say that about the ones that put all the electronics behind the ear. Big Pro - The blinking light on the side shuts off after 5 minutes of inactivity.

Cons: There's a big blinking light on it that really attracts attention, and it continues blinking the entire time you're on a call. The Blink is particularly distracting in a car at night, because it's fairly bright and you can see it in the rearview. It doesn't fit small ears well. I wanted to get one for my wife, but when she tried mine it kept falling off her ear. When you're in the wind, the other party can't hear you and you can't hear them. It's not good for outside use, just because of that. Biggest con - the battery life on my phone is cut in half when using bluetooth, so even though the standby is 100 hours on the HS810, you better have a plug or extra battery close for the phone.

All in all, I love it. When I'm in a hotel, car, or home I plug in my phone and wear the headset all over the place. You can place and receive calls as long as you're within 30 feet of your phone, and the other user has no idea you're on a headset. Well worth the money, unless you plan on using it outside.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Motorola HS810 Bluetooth Headset, December 7, 2004

By 

T. Taylor "Terry in Texas" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Motorola HS810 Bluetooth Headset (Wireless Phone Accessory)

I originally purchased a Motorola HS 820 bluetooth headset from Amazon to go with my Sony Ericsson T637 phone on Cingular. After the original charge, it worked fine for a few days, but I was annoyed that you have to hold down a button to turn it on each time you want to use it, or else leave it on in standby, slowly draining its battery. As luck would have it, when I charged it for a second time, it went kaput.

I used the opportunity of returning the now dead HS 820 to switch to the, IMO, superior HS 810. With the HS 810, you not only get a carry case for the headset, but you just flip out the hinged microphone to activate the device and instantly it negotiates a connection with the phone. People hear me fine even though I am training myself to speak quietly when on the phone in public, and, in contrast to other reviews, I usually find myself turning down the volume on the phone and the HS 810 to keep it from being too loud. I have found that by adjusting the phone volume and headset volume, I can get a good natural sounding balance between tone and volume unlike regular headsets which I find to sound a bit muffled in general. Using the voice dialing feature of my phone with the headset works best if I enter the original command name using the headset.

The headset is so light that I forget about it being on my ear until I start wondering why people are staring at me. This product is very reliable and handy. Note to Motorola design team: Get rid of the silly and unnecessary blue light. I will be interested to see how reduced in size these devices will become over the next couple of years. It wont be long before the whole phone is this size and fits in our ear I imagine.

This is a good product that meets a need.