Sony Ericsson HBHDS980 Stereo Bluetooth Headset

Other products by Sony Ericsson Mobile

Product Features

• Neat and discreet-How you communicate reflects who you are. The hidden depths of a mirrored OLED display illuminates the information you need while you stay mobile.
• Auto-Pairing. A feature that makes pairing the device with your Bluetooth¿ mobile phone faster and simpler by dropping the PIN code without compromising security
• Digital Signal Processing-Enhanced audio quality is achieved through Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technology, including compression and echo cancellation.
• Multipoint-Connect to two wireless devices simultaneously, allowing access to the music files in your computer, PDA or other Bluetooth¿-equipped devices.
• Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH)-AFH reduces the impact of interference between wireless technologies, resulting in excellent audio quality.

Product Details

• Item Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• Note: Gift-wrapping is not available for this item.
• ASIN: B000VAPXBA
• Item model number: DPY901619/2
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #479 in Cell Phones & Service (See Bestsellers in Cell Phones & Service)

Product Description

Product Description
Sony Ericsson makes listening to music and taking calls a quality experience with the launch of the Stereo Bluetooth¿ Headset HBH-DS980, announced today. This stylish accessory delivers wireless music and calls with superior sound performance, even in noisy environments. This is achieved through advances in design, ergonomics and audio: Digital noise cancellation/echo reduction to reduce background noise. Bluetooth¿ 2.0 to deliver better quality voice calls. A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) for high quality sound when listening to music. A hidden OLED display delivers a seamless design effect, much brighter than a conventional LCD display. Given a talk time or music playback time of up to 6 hours, the HBH-DS980 has to be designed with comfort in mind. The soft silicon ear buds on the stereo headset are provided in three sizes, so as to ensure an optimum fit with the size and shape of the wearer's ear. Separate to the headset, the overall unit weighs in at just 27 grams, so won't be a burden when worn around the neck. Of course, if you are wearing your headset for long periods, you will also want it to look the part. Finished in a stylish charcoal colour, the Stereo Bluetooth¿ Headset HBH-DS980 features a hidden ¿magic mirror' display that only becomes visible once the headset is activated. Use it to view the title of the song playing on your phone, the battery status of your headset or the details of the caller trying to reach you. You can use the HBH-DS980 with more than one device at the same time. The new multipoint function allows you to listen to music stored on a Bluetooth¿ enabled PC/laptop and handle calls from your phone at the same time.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Could have been 4 1/2 stars..., January 17, 2008

By	Paul (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

Pros:
-Stereo sound is great when connected to compatible bluetooth-enabled devices.
-Can be used as either cell. phone headset or stereo headphone.
-Good battery life, could be better though...
Cons:
-DC connector is not the standard mini-USB, Sony intentionally uses some weird connector here, so you better not lose your wall charger, or else...$$$. I wish I had known about this... Be warned!
-High price compare to others.

So far i have been able to pair it with my Fujitsu P1610 (excellent sound), USB BT dongles from MSI StarKey 2.0 (great stereo sound) and Anycom USB-250 (so so sound). Clearly, sound quality is dictated by what you connected to, the Sony HBH-DS980 only streams what coming out from your devices. I would give it 4 1/2 stars if it had had a std. mini USB connector.

Personally, i would not by it again just because of that #@&*& connector.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great device, small flaws, USES Any SE charger!, October 6, 2008

By	S. Sidlov "sbsidlov" (Pompton Lakes, NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Small flaws tarnish this great product. I used this with a SE Z750 debranded and loaded with updated firmware from SE.

Edit: I just discovered that my SE Z750 charger (wall or car charger), charges this BT device! YAY! I only need ONE charger with me when I travel. Other posts elsewhere show that this is the same for other SE phone models, you can use the same SE charger with the device!

First point. Sony doesn't consider this device to be a BT Handsfree (even if they included the profile) they consider this unit 'music wireless speakers' or 'wireless stereo.'

Bluetooth profiles are:
Headset
Handsfree
Audio Streaming
Audio Remote Controller
Audio Remote Control
Target

Background:
Well, I've always hated those Borg-like (or Uhuru-ish) ear clips for Bluetooth. They scream-- I'm so important that I must be connected all the time... Another problem with them is that it's very hard to tell WHO it is on the other end. And why would you want to put a RF device in your ear (not that I'm saying its harmful, but...). And then you have to pull them out to listen in Stereo to your music or podcast or if you have the service, the audio stream of your cell's TV/Video cast.

Sony has come very close to solving these issues with the HBH-DS980. This Bluetooth stereo device will allow you listen to a music/sound source while keeping you connected to your phone for calls. It could be the same device or it could be a different device. As I write this I'm listening to iTunes on my laptop (networked iTunes library) and connected to my cell phone.

The unit has a lightweight forefinger length control unit that hangs off of a neck string, so that you can pop the ear buds out and still wear the device, ear buds dangling. The length of the ear bud's cords can be adjusted so you won't have big loops of wire hanging. The entire thing could be tucked into a shirt pocket as you wear it, if you don't want it dangling and people will assume you have some sort of mini-player in your pocket. There is a 'safety release' in the connectors that hold the ear bud wires if someone (small child?) pulls on the unit.

The extra feature that makes this better than some other units is that the display is full featured and goes beyond just a few icons to twenty pictograms plus text for caller id and music track information. Normally invisible the display on an incoming call it lights up with the caller id information. So now, you can accept/reject the call if you wish. Either press the 'call button' on the microphone bulge that hangs closer to your jaw line and the unit will pickup the call, and blank out the music automatically. Reject the call by holding the button down. A mellow beep or the phone's ringtone can announce the call and a beep tells you that the rejection went through. You can interrupt the music to make a call also by pressing the Call button.

The OLED on the unit will also display the ID information of the track you're listening to - provided your Bluetooth sending device supports that information which is NOT available as just a stereo headset. It must support the more advanced headset profile A2DP or Audio Gateway. Along with a volume graph (different settings for music and cell phones allowed), time, battery power, the devices that you are sync'd to, and were sync'd to in the past. However, the OLED is not bright enough for direct sunlight - small flaw.

The 980 is also a remote control device. It has a dedicated Menu button that allows you to view the `Contacts List', `Call List' and `Device List' (and back up a level when using these lists). Using the rocker volume bar allows you to highlight these items and the Play/Stop button is also the 'Select' in this function. This works fine when your phone is the primary device. Sometimes the unit when connected to the laptop (in my case) disconnects from the phone. The call/contact list icons show, but as the phone is not primary there is nothing to display. Holding down the on/off button or the Call/Talk button will resync you to the primary device (more later). But you may not realize that you are disconnected. Another small flaw. The manual says that you can easily transfer any call in progress on your phone to the headset by `pressing the Call button' which may be a SE phone feature.

Besides the manual method to either retrieve a recent call or dial one from your contact list (contact list is divided into alphabet; select a letter and scroll through listings with multiple numbers listed for each contact as they scroll by and can be selected with the Play/Stop button); you can also use voice dialing if your phone supports it. (Voice dialing on your phone will NOT negate the need to use the call button. Some phones support 'Call Control' by saying 'answer' or 'busy' and never have to move your hands. Magic Word (turn on the phone's voice command) and Voice Call Control however, doesn't appear to work with the unit, as it will not leave the microphone open all the time as it's a battery drainer. In my configuration, I could only press the Call button and then my phone would beep (in my ear) for the voice number that I recorded for each number. The OLED shows a dialog balloon pictograph as it waits for the voice command. This could be a problem for some but, magic word is a battery drainer for your phone. It would be highly recommended that you use the device to RECORD the voice commands for better matching.

The Device List will also to allow you to connect to the additional devices. Select the previously paired device from the list and press the Play/Stop button and the `reconnecting Bluetooth' display will show. Adding a new device requires that the 980 be turned off, and then holding the on button until the `search for devices' pictogram shows. The unit supports auto-pairing, and if you're connecting device doesn't-- the pair code is the expected `0000'. Reconnecting or adding a device paired previously is done by the list and pressing the Play button until a reconnect icon appears. A problem exists where your phone and the unit will not always agree on what is connected all the time. Your phone might say it's not, and the unit may say that it is. Selecting a device that the 980 already thinks is connected won't show the `reconnecting' display. Either turning the unit on and off will resync the primary device or pressing the call button will resync, but you'll have to reselect the secondary devices.

The unit can handle 'call waiting' by using the Call button as a flash button.

Headphones
Three different sized sets of silicon buds are supplied to give a good fit, you should be able to wash with soap and water. I found the headphones clear and bright sounding. 192bps media sounded very very good playing from my phone.

As an audio control:

I mentioned before that it can hold an independent volume setting for music vs. voice calls. The unit has independent Play/Stop, volume +/- rocker, Menu buttons and a skip/back slider. When connected to my SE phone; the Play buttons will startup or the media player at the last song in your playlist. You can scroll through the current playlist but you can not change playlists.

Also, the data for the music id on the unit is dependent on the software being used on the player and the Bluetooth profile being used. Right now, I don't have a Bluetooth profile beyond 'Headset (aka earphones and mic)' and stereo headset on the Bluetooth on my PC. So I am not seeing music information on the 980's display. The PC's `Audio Gateway' profile which `should' be valid is not working on the 980 and won't recognize it as a service beyond just headphones (but the Next/Previous buttons do work). My phone has a more sophisticated profile and it shows the data. I can however, go to the next/previous item in the current playlists on both my phone and iTunes.

Additional features:
Unit makes beeping noise and will (on my phone's display anyway) show `Battery Low on Headset" message. Really low battery will just shut the unit down; I got an hour of music playing after the first low battery message.

I think the proprietary charger connection is a plus. There is no question that the unit is correctly connected and the prong snaps into the units body. OLED lights up with animated charge pictogram.

Additional flaw: time display is 24hr there doesn't seem to be way to change it. My phone is set to 12hr AM/PM.

It would have been a big plus to be able to use your own headsets but then the mic would have to be in the unit, and that would have to be near your head.

Replacement silicon buds are 3 sets for $5 at some online sellers. Plus $5 shipping.

I hope that there is a firmware upgrade for this unit, the small flaws can add up to be annoyances for some, and it should all be `correctable' SE might update the firmware, they do for their phones.

Edit: I spoke with SE about some issues with the device, they don't expect to have a firmware update. One issue not mentioned is that the unit's display goes 'nuts' once in a while, and looks like static. Functionality is still there, you don't have a readable display. A full reset will correct this, it's described in the manual, shut off, hold call and menu buttons down together, and turn on, device will reset and correct it.

Also, you can setup your bluetooth profile in the phone to auto-answer calls without pressing the call/mic button.

My SE phone switches profiles when it detects that the 980 is in range automatically and transfers audio to the phone.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good start, April 13, 2008

By	ak_9jsz (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

[Addition: I paired this up with my Mac. Good news and bad new.

Sadly, the sound quality was poor when i listened to my music (and no you cannot control (fast forward/rewind/stop the song you're listening to via this headset).

Good news is that the mic on this headset worked just fine with Skype.

Note when using this with your Mac: Go to System Preferences, then Sound, and finally the output tab. Select this headset as the output device otherwise, you won't hear anything.

Finally, the instructions for this device are written concisely, and clearly.

Finally, finally, thanks to those feel this is a helpful review.]

Seeing as how these devices are relatively new, I think it's a pretty successful end product.

The sounds is very good (still better than a lot of wired headphones you could buy for $50). Though i've noticed where it doesn't match the quality of my Sony MDR-CD580 headphones (the best i've ever listened through), I'm quite happy with the sound.

Usability is not an issue. It's easy to use. You can look at your address book, and navigate to the number you want. You can do the same for your "calls" list. You can change the volume, move to the next, or previous tracks, and check the time. I'd've liked to go to my list of songs that way i could pack my phone in my bag or something.

i like the way the earpieces don't snag because the plastic (or whatever) wire doesn't wrap around your neck. It's pretty cool how they make the length of the wires per piece adjustable.

I would've prefered the option to use my own headphones (which is available on other headsets from Sony-Ericsson). The get tired of having those things in my ears.

Wear and tear. I've had this at least 2 months and one of the wires is splitting open, and I've got tape holding together the casing for the mic/answering button.

Other than that, it's a good product. you'll be happy with it.