Customer Reviews

Motorola HS850 Bluetooth Headset (Color Sent Based on Availability. Comes in Black, Blue and Grey, or Silver)[Bulk Packaged]

5 star:		(262)
4 star:		(268)
3 star:		(148)
2 star:		(123)
1 star:		(163)

 

 

Awesome sound quality, battery life, and range.
I can leave my phone in my bedroom, and still make and receive calls on this headset twenty-five - thirty feet away IN MY LIVING ROOM!! Amazing.

Pairing was as snap on a Motorola V80, and my PC, but other phones may be different.

The only drawback I find, as I did on the HS820 review, is that my phone reverts to a default ring for both voice & messages, so the cool MP3 ringtones are useless when using the headset :(

Ear fit is on par with the HS820 as well. It flaps around your ear sometimes and it feels like it's going to fall off, but it doesn't, and it also fits well when wearing sunglasses.

The battery life is unprecedented. Probably the best on the market as of this writing.

Audio quality:
The sound quality is unequaled. The party on the other end of the line will never know you're on a headset, calls are clear and they sound like a wired phone/headset. The caveat is that in windy conditions, it will be impossible to use, but so will be a wired headset, so there's no way around that situation.

The headset functions w/o any issues almost all the time, except in a couple of instances when, if the phone is answered first, and the headset is turned on afterwards, I've encountered a very loud static noise, which would go away when folding the boom and extending again thereby turning off and back on.
A couple of times I've lost calls and had to revert back to using the phone, but that may have been due to external RF since it only happened twice in a three week period.

Fit and finish:
Motorola has a winner here. The look is stylish, and fit and finish is first class.

Size:
This unit is bigger (longer) than the HS820, since it incorporates a boom, which, when extended, increases the overall lenght to 3.3 inches long, making it more noticeable then other integrated units. It also feels slightly heavier, but not by much.
To it's credit, the boom doubles as a on/off switch, making it a no brainer figuring out the unit's state: folded=off and extended=on

Accessories included:
I was surprised that the U.S. version does not come with the leather carry holster and lanyard like the European version does.
Tried to shop for an replacement Motorola holster online and THERE AREN'T ANY, not even replacements for the HS810 which does include the holster.
Also, the U.S charger is noticeably larger then it's European counterpart (Hello Moto, anyone home?).
A USB charger would also have been nicer than a regular AC adapter, specially when traveling, since all one would have to do is plug into a laptop if the battery is running low.

To recap:

Pros:
Easy one-button function
Fit/Finish
Stylish
Battery Life
Call quality
Range

Cons:
Size
Overrides phone's customized rings
Ear fit may prove too loose for smaller ears
No holster provided
No USB charger

I just picked up my first bluetooth phone, and was looking forward to a wireless headset. My last headset was an [...], which gave exceptional noise isolation, and very clear reception and transmission, even in the noisiest of environments. It was just a hassle to leave the wire hanging, and wasn't easy to get it hooked up from scratch for a call, so I wound up using it a lot only in the car or on long calls. But its exceptional performance left me with high expectations.

I started with a Sony HSH660 (which I reviewed) but it rubbed on the back of my ear and left it hurting. It picked up ambient noises in a noisy environment on its mic and created lots of static on the other end, though I could hear very clearly. So I was looking for better fit and clarity in transmission.

The Motorola is lighter, and its thin earpiece fit in a way that was immediately comfortable in a way the Sony wasn't. BUT, the HS850 feels vaguely set on my ear, wobbling back and forth on my ear. In contrast, the Sony felt rock solid. The Motorola never actually fell or moved off my ear, it just felt flimsy. The narrow earpiece that made it less painful made it feel less secure. Still, I think that'd be easier to get used to than an earpiece that hurt.

I went out to a mall and checked out the reception. The ambient noise would show up the quality quickly. Here, the Motorola's mic screened out the ambient noise better, but the people I called said that while there wasn't much background noise, it sounded like I was on a speakerphone. The boom is certainly too short to allow better positioning and noise isolation like the ety. But while the Motorola's transmission was better than the Sony, I had more trouble hearing the Motorola. The Sony earphone seemed much clearer, less prone to static or noise than the Motorola. This certainly surprised me. Rather than a clear winner, it was a trade-off. The verdict is about the same in quiet environments, though it is a little easier to hear on both ends.

The Motorola folded up neatly, and the black unit looks sharp. The blue light that is on when the headset is in use is a nice touch. The unit was easy to set up with my phone, and the swinging boom turns the unit on and off. When a phone call is received, it took no time to open the boom, and by the time I got the headphone on my ear, I could press the on button and receive the call seamlessly. I haven't had a chance to test out the 8 hrs talk time, but others tell me that's accurate. It folds up more compactly than the Sony.

So here's my summary:
Pros:
Extremely light weight
Easy and painless over the ear fit
Blue light shows others you are on a call
Easy hookup with your cellphone
Uses the same adapter as Motorola phones

Cons
Earpiece feels flimsy and not that secure on your ear
No battery level
Mic and earphone quality adequate, but not up to best wired headset standards

I've decided to keep this headset for now. If the Sony headset were comfortable for me it'd be more of a toss-up. There probably aren't any perfect BT headsets yet, but I will certainly be on the lookout for something better

I have been very happy with this headset. I use it with a Motorola RAZR V3.

My last Bluetooth headset was a Jabra, and it broke after just a few months -- the power button quit working, so it was always on until the battery drained.

I love the HS850 since it has no power button! Instead, you just flip it open or closed. It gets great battery life, since it's so easy to put it in standby by flipping it closed.

I have also used this headset successfully with Skype on both Windows and Mac. The only catch is that it can only be active with one device at a time, so you have to disconnect/release it from your cell phone, before you can successfully use it with Windows or Mac. This makes switching back and forth between your PC and phone a bit cumbersome. Of course, it took a couple of hours to get it working under Windows, but it worked first try on the Mac ;-)

I've tried a few different headsets (Jabra, Ericsson). This is by far the best reception and most convenient to use.
Pros:
- Good range.. I can place the phone on the kitchen counter and walk around freely up to about 30 feet from the phone and still get good reception.
- Great battery life
- Strong volume and clear reception.. transmission is another matter (see cons)
- Very convenient to use. Once the headset is paired, it's the most convenient of all the headsets to use. When my phone rings, I simply flip open the mic boom. The headset connects to the phone and the phone passes the call to the headset in the time it takes me to bring it to my ear and hook it on. I chose this headset specifically for this feature based on previous experience with bluetooth headsets.

Cons:
- For the flip feature to work, you must keep your bluetooth radio on the phone activated. Although the phone will hibernate the bluetooth radio after a few minutes, it is essentially always on. This consumes battery life on the phone. However this issue remains regardless of the headset you use. If you keep bluetooth readily available on your phone, it will have to be "on".
- Transmission (from earlier)... the biggest con for me is clarity on the transmit side. In a noisy environment (in a car with lots of road noise), the first syllable of your sentence will often cut out. It's as if it takes the headset's firmware half a breath to figure out that your are talking. I am not sure, but it may be related to noise cancellation functionality of the phone.
- Tinny sounding.. but I get this feedback on all bluetooth I have tried. My listeners tell me that I sound tinny or metallic.
- Update (24 June 2005): Something I have just encountered recently... the party with whom I converse tells me they hear an echo. This issue has come up only recently, but in reading another reviewers post, it appears that when the headset volume is increased to maximum there is feedback through the microphone. The other party is in essence hearing themselves speak.

I was very dissapointed with its audio performance. I don't want to write a lot because others have definitely written the positive features in good detail(good microphone, quick connect, good battery life, light-weight etc.), but the usability is very restricted.

Here is the bottom line, if you want to take this unit outside of your office/home/any quiet environment, you will NOT be able to hear the other person even if the environment is moderately noisy (this is at unit's highest volume). I was using this in the car, and I can hear faint at best when the road is good, but when you pass through slightly patchy freeway, the other person's voice is completely drowned. The speaker's maximum volume is just completely unacceptable. By the way, this experience was inside a luxury car, not a cardboard car. I am not sure the reason behind this design, could be to improve battery life?

I had high expectations. I am returning this unit to Amazon and will look at the Jabra BT500 (read good reviews about it: in-ear position & USB charging).

By the way, I used this with my Blackberry 7100g, good syncing and quick connection.

I bought the HS850 after trying TWO other BT headsets. One was a "lookalike" version (off-brand)that didn't have as many features (I returned it) and the other was the top-of-the-line Jabra BT800 (which was $50 more than this one, and not as good! I also returned it).

I am very pleased with the features of this headset. I use it with my Motorola V710 phone and the sound quality is just fine. My husband sounded clear to me, and he told me I sounded clear to him. I had two different people tell me they couldn't understand me when I used the Jabra.

I am extremely happy with the folding boom feature to answer a call. This means my headset can remain "off" and my phone will ring AS USUAL when I receive a call. I then just unfold the boom and pop it on my ear! The headset automatically connects to my phone and answers the call! To end the call, I just take it off and fold it back up.

When I used the other two headsets, I had to leave them turned "on" all the time in order to use them, and then, to my dismay, my phone didn't ring! Well, it did ring INSIDE the HEADSET, but since I don't want to walk around wearing the thing, I didn't hear it ring! SO that was a major bummer with the other headsets.

Since the HS850 didn't come with a lanyard to wear around my neck, I just hooked it onto a regular old neck strap that I had used previously to wear a name badge. You can get those things anywhere, they are sometimes used to hang keys on. I used some needle-nosed pliers to squeeze the clip enough to slide on the headset hook. You can bet it won't fall off!

The voice dialing function works as described, I just tap once on the middle button and I hear my phone say "Say a command" and go from there. I haven't learned all the special tapping commands yet, as I haven't needed anything more than voice dial and pick up/hang up a call. I plan to go through my manual a few more times to get familiar with all the other features, but for normal use, you can easily use it from the start.

The charge seems to be good, especially since the headset stays "off" most of the time. I fully charged it before using the first time and the blue LED turns off when the headset is fully charged, so that was nice. I was especially pleased to notice that it has the VERY SAME charger plug/port as my V710, so the car charger that I already have for the phone should work fine for this headset. They also have those "Y" chargers out there for charging both at once.

Also, I find this to be very comfortable to wear on my ear. I do have rather large ears, but it doesn't "cut" into the back of my ear. It is easy to open up the hook and slip into place, and it feels nice and snug when on, it's easy to forget I'm wearing it. And although I don't mind the flashing LED while I'm using it, the manual says you can turn it off by changing the setting for that.

In all, I am very pleased with the design and features/function of this headset! It sure is nice to be free of that old wire "ear bud" I have been using for years!

I've read all the reviews and I have to say that the volume level is fine...after I read the manual and set the buttons to raise it. Perhaps this is where some are having their problems. The first time I used it the volume was low for my liking, but after setting the buttons as required and adjusting I could hear as well with the headset as I can with the V3 in hand up to my ear.

True the unit is very light. I've forgotten it was on more than once. With small ears I too feel like it might fall off however short of shaking my head with vigor it stays on fine. Sure a 'firmer feel' would give me more of a sense of of security but the looser fit works perfectly with sunglasses.

The controls are super easy. Tap a call on or hold for a refusal. Set up was a breeze as well.

Nobody I've spoken with has complained with their reception of my calls...in fact some couldn't tell if I was on the headset or not.

I've had no problems with road noise or background pick up. As a matter of fact in a very windy walk to the office the mic didn't pick up the noise...the call went on without a missed beat.

Overall I'm very pleased with this BT headset. The price is right, the comfort is very good and the operation is, to me, excellent.

Number one thing that no one tell's you about is that how the lights on the piece really works. The light is blue and is ok, as long as you dont want to ues it a night. The light when not in use blinks every three seconds for about five min. and fades in and out when in use. At night you look more like a radio tower. It's will start to bug you when your driving at night. Some times I have check my mirrors to see if im getting pulled over my the police.

However the reviews are correct the ear piece does have a low volume problem when their is a lot of background noise. Talking to people I have never had a problem with anyone hearing me. They cant tell the diffrence between using the phone and the headset.

Very nice look and you will like the folding boom that acts as the power button. You will hardley notice that you are wearing it. very light weight comfortable for about an hour of steady use.

Battery life has been alot better than I thougt I only use it when driving so i only have to charge it once or twice a week depending on usage. I don' like that you can't change the battery if it goes bad. If you buy it I would recomend buying a "Y" adapter at the same time it's a pain to have to wait if you only have one charger. But your in luck it does come with a charger. Still its a pain to have both charger pluged in.

It paired up with my phone Motorola V551 with no problems. And I have not had any problems with it not connecting it takes about 3 seconds before you can talk on it.

I'm still very happy with my purchase, its a 100 time better than fooling with a cord and I can walk aroud the room with out a phone next to me. or while its charging. I whould have given it a 5 star if it wasn't for that dumb ass light blinking.

And if motorola is reading this you may want to give the user some options of changing how the LED work.

Generally speaking I am willing to overlook minor issues with a new product. However, after using this earpiece for several months I am definitely unimpressed.

Generally speaking, here are my problems.

1. Volume - I am nearly ready to have my hearing tested because I simply can't hear what people are saying to me.

The biggest problem is when I'm in my car... which is the reason I BOUGHT this device. If the car is moving the microphone picks up road noise and makes it VERY difficult to hear what people are saying to me. I end up having to press the piece against my ear so that I can hear... which means that I (fairly often) inadvertently hit the multi-function button which disconnects the call.

I place the volume at MAX but it doesn't help. I repeatedly find myself telling people to "speak up". Very irritating for both them and me.

In the end, the "best" sound I can get is when I am in a silent room with the volume setting on high. Then I can hear relatively well... unless I happen to be talking to someone who is ALSO on a bluetooth... in which case neither one of us seems to be able to hear anything very well... that could be happenstance, but it's happened enough times that I've grown tired of that problem as well.

2. Connection

Okay - so it connects to my Razor V3 pretty well. However, due to the above problems with sound, God forbid that I disconnect a call by accident. If I do so, there is a solid chance that some kind of error occurs when I try to reconnect to the person I was talking to. SOMETHING goes haywire resulting in me eventually having to turn off the bluetooth device or the phone itself.

Also, sometimes my earpiece decides that it's not in the mood to talk to the phone even though it's connected. I tap the multi-function button and NOTHING HAPPENS. I repeat this over and over and it simply will not tell the phone to do anything - including pick up a call, dial out or disconnect. It is an intermittent problem or I would be sending it in for service with a clear explanation of when the problem occurs. Sadly, the random nature prevents me from identifying exactly what goes wrong. But the frequency of this problem is HIGH.

3. Disconnection

Okay... so when you close the earpiece it should disconnect from the phone... but it doesn't. Somehow, even though I've turned it "off", the phone maintains a connection to the earpiece. The result is that when I make my next phone call (using the phone itself) somehow the bluetooth device still holds onto the call (yes, it is still in the "off" position)... so I can't hear anything through the phone but the person I am calling somehow is routed to the bluetooth... and they hear dead silence. Possibly a user error? Sure... but it's worked "correctly" often enough that I simply don't understand what goes wrong when it refuses to disconnect.

4. Wearability/Comfort.

It doesn't fit my ear well and is constantly dangling to the point that it may fall off. I have switched from my right ear to my left ear and back again... nothing works well. It also tends to be uncomfortable if I keep it on my ear for longer than 20 minutes... part of the issues seems to be that I wear glasses and the earpiece to my glasses, combined with the bluetooh earpiece tend to bend my ear in a way that eventually starts to feel painful. It may be that users that don't wear glasses have better luck in this area.

5. Overall Review

I wouldn't buy this again and I'd return it right now if I still had receipts or a warranty. I don't know if the bad experience is related to bluetooth tech still being in the early stages... in which case maybe it will become more refined and improve over time. Or, maybe I got a bad unit (in respect to sound and connectivity), but I truly don't believe it based on the number of other negative reviews on this topic. Finally, maybe I just have weird-shaped ears and I'm going deaf... in which case all of this is "sound and fury, signifying nothing"... but I don't think that's the case either.

In the end, I know that I'm echoing some of the existing negative reviews, but it was important to me to make these comments because this is a product that has performed so poorly for me that I have come to believe that it's important for me to express it to others who are evaluating the product.

What can i say - IT WORKS & WORKS GREAT!

Pairing:

Pairing HS850 to Motorola RAZR V3
Overview:

Connecting the HS850 with a Bluetooth-enabled Phone.
The first time a Bluetooth® device is used with a mobile phone, a one-time 'pairing' connection must be established. The pairing connection is only required for the first use, and does not need to be repeated for subsequent usage.

Pairing is done in three basic parts:
Activation: Preparing your mobile phone to identify the Bluetooth device
Pairing: Initiating the Pairing mode on your Bluetooth device
Selection: Establishing the pairing connection between your mobile phone and Bluetooth device

Activate Bluetooth®:
1. Starting with the phone, press the menu button on the keypad.
2. Scroll to and select "Settings."
3. Scroll to and select "Connection."
4. Select "Bluetooth Link."
5. Scroll to and select "Setup."
6. On the screen, if one of the selections reads "Power: On," select "Back" and skip to step 8. If one of the selections reads "Power: Off," select it, and proceed to the next step (step 7).
7. Select "On," and then select "Back."
8. Scroll to and select "Hands Free."

Putting the Headset into Pairing Mode:
9. Put down the phone and pick up the headset. Starting with the headset powered off, hold down the Call button for 6 to 10 seconds until the light stays lit. (Initially, the light will flash a few times before staying lit.)
10. With the light steadily lit, flip out the boom. The light should stay lit. If the light is flashing, or if the light starts flashing anytime during steps 11 through 13, the headset is not in pairing mode, and steps 9 and 10 need to be repeated beginning with the headset powered off.


Select the HS850 Headset:
11. Select "[Look for Devices]." The phone will start searching for Bluetooth® enabled devices such as your headset.
12. Once the phone is finished searching, a list of one or more Bluetooth devices will appear underneath the heading "Scan Results." Select "Motorola HS850."
13. The next screen will read "Bond With Motorola HS850." Select "Yes."
14. The next screen will read "Enter Bluetooth Passkey." Enter 0000 and select "OK." A screen confirms the pairing and the connection. Since the pairing is complete, the light on the headset will be flashing.