Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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85 of 89 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Noise & Echo Canceling Really Works!! Dual Mics are Awesome!, September 20, 2008
This headset is amazing!! I bought this primarily for the noise and echo canceling feature and I have to say it works like a charm. I checked out other noise & echo canceling headsets like the Motorola H710 but it looks exactly like my H700 which in my opinion has big design flaws. Motorola should've done more to upgrade the headset's look and function. As it is, the 710 is just a boring retread. But what really sold me on the BlueAnt was the dual microphones.
I've done a lot of recording work and know how difficult it can be to eliminate ambient noise, so the concept of dual mics was a revolutionary idea that made total sense to me. Liken it to having two eyes - you can see everything with just one, but when you look with both eyes, there's more depth, clarity and accuracy with what you're seeing. Well, the same is true with hearing with two ears or a headset with two microphones. The two mics are the secret to the superior noise & echo canceling of this headset. But don't take my word for it, listen for yourself online.
I went to the manufacturer's website and watched a video showing a guy using the BlueAnt headset in action in a noisy bar. First they just showed the guy talking normally in the bar and you could hear all the ambient noise around him, and that alone was enough to give me a headache (a big reason why I hate places like that.) Then the guy picks up his cell phone and turns on his BlueAnt and they let you hear actual audio from the headset with just normal noise canceling on, and it cut the ambient noise in the bar drastically! Just on the normal setting! Then the guy turns on max noise canceling and the ambient noise all but disappears!! No kidding!! His voice did sound a bit tinnier as a result of all the filtering, but that's to be expected. You'd never use max canceling in normal situations, just in circumstances where you need to take a call in a noisy location and being heard is paramount. In any case, the video was quite impressive and a brilliant marketing move. So I'm wondering if it's just doctored in some way, but the dual mic concept has me sold and the video has me intrigued enough to try it out. I believe the guy in the video is using a Z9i and supposedly the V1 is even better at noise canceling which is why I chose it. The two headsets are identical other than color and that the V1 also has voice control.
At first, I was wondering if I needed voice control or not. I also wasn't clear if I could still use my phone's built in voice control with the V1, but the answer turns out to be YES, you can. You just give the voice command, phone commands, to access your phone's own voice commands. It's very simple and I like having the option to use either the headset or my phone's voice control. At first I thought it would be an either or, using one or the other. As it turns out, I find myself using both for different situations. And I absolutely love-Love-LOVE that you can ask the headset how much battery life is left! With no accurate visual indicators on most headsets, like the disappearing battery bars on cell phones that at least give you a clue where you're at, I was always trying to estimate how much I'd used my headset so I could figure out if I needed to recharge it or not. It's not good to overcharge things so I was always doing the math in my head. Now, all I have to do is ask, and the little genie in the headset tells me!! That alone is worth having the V1 over the Z9i in my opinion!
So overall, I have to say this is a pretty awesome headset. When I buy something new, I want it to actually be new, as in, the latest technology. I always check the item's description to see when it was first available on Amazon and don't buy when I see a product is a year old or more. Technology is changing everyday, so don't waste your money buying something new that isn't really new since it's been on the market over 12 months. It's already old, useless junk by then. The V1 is newly released so it's the latest technology and as a result, won't be obsolete for a while. This is a great headset and you won't be disappointed!
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85 of 91 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
After you get over the voice command gimmick, it's a good headset but flawed., September 17, 2008
I spend around 2000 minutes per month on my phone for work, mostly with an BT earpiece stuck in my ear. My previous earpiece was the Jabra JX10 (1st gen), and it was a small device that worked really well most of the time. After a couple weeks of using the V1, I can say the same about this headset. I had some initial issues with sound clarity (re-pairing helped) and with keeping it in my ear reliably (removed the black nub used for the over-ear plastics).
I am not a fan of plastic over my ear, and with the Jabra I was able to use Jabra softgels to put that earpiece in my ear - and it stayed all day if I wanted. With the BlueAnt V1, I had to work harder but finally found the solution. Softgels don't fit, and the included Comply soft tips alone were not enough. I use Comply tips with Shure headphones on my iPod, so I am already fine with foam in my ear. However, I couldn't get the foam tips far enough in my ears to stay put. Once I took off the black rubber nub that sits in the middle of the nice-idea-but-useless-in-practice 'tie clip,' I am finally able to get the V1 to stay in my apparently cavernous ear. That nub simply kept me from getting the last little bit I needed for the Comply foam to stay put.
As a user for a couple of years, I know these Comply tips wear out with any kind of regular use. They are dirt magnets no matter how clean you try to keep them and your ear, and so far they are not available from BlueAnt at the site mentioned in the included documentation. It's a very new product, so that's fair, I just hope they get them out soon. Contacting Comply directly has not elicited a response, although these tips seems to have the same larger hole as the Whoomp Earbud Enhancers for the iPod's standard mediocre earbuds. The ones from my earphone have a hole that is far to small to fit the V1.
Other critiques include the fact that pressing the button occasionally does nothing. It's as if the V1 is asleep. I try to answer a call and the V1 does not notify me nor does it respond to the press of the ant button. Or, sometimes I'll press the button and the V1 does not say "Say a command" as is normal. These are overcome with a reset or a few presses to 'wake' it back up. Still, it's a flaw as I see it.
In all cases, I am offended by the fact that many BT earpieces on the market feel they need to flash that they are active. As the wearer, I can't see the flash going on in my ear, and it does nothing but annoy other people - especially at night. The V1 and other BT headsets may be seen as a fashion accessory by some, but I bought it for the size coupled with the technology. I don't care to advertise that I have it in my ear. So, on the one hand, many thanks to BlueAnt for giving me a way to turn it off. Unfortunately, it's an annoying fact that when I turn that flashing blue square off through the voice prompts, the device forgets and starts flashing again once it is turned off for charging. If I shutdown via voice prompts (a waste of time) it seems to remember. BlueAnt, if you're reading, please fix this... that flashing square with an ant on it is huge. At least on the Jabra XJ10 it was a tiny square. Although I couldn't turn it off, a black marker took care of it. I was thrilled when I found the V1 allowed control, but less thrilled now that I have to repeat the action over and over.
Before I say anything else, let me pay a compliment that the voice quality on the other end and noise-canceling appear to be stellar.
That said, I also hope BlueAnt will consider tweaking the V1 firmware updates, per the documentation, so I can just press and use my phone's internal commands if I want. With my old earpiece that was what happened with a press. The BlueGenie voice control is cool, if a bit of a gimmick since you can only answer or ignore calls completely hands-free as others have pointed out. However, calling numbers by pressing the ant and saying what speed-dial you want to call (after memorizing them) is limiting. I have hundreds of contacts I can dial by name if you pass me through to my phone and Microsoft Voice Commander. I know I can say 'phone commands' - but why not add another voice-activated setting to just pass the button press through to the phone's internal commands? Those of us with Windows Mobile devices and VC are not a minority.
Also I want replace these canned and limiting voice-recognized names... 'office' - 'favorite' - 'home' - I don't even have a home phone, and I'm not alone. So, I've set my wife as 'home' - but I'm calling her mobile. If I make her 'favorite,' who would be home? If I make her home and leave favorite empty, I wasted one of the limited voice shortcuts available for speed-dial (voicemail, favorite, home, office, goog411, speed-dials 6,7,8 and 9). Locking me to Goog411 as speed-dial 5 is a waste of an entry. Again, if I could just pass through to my phone with a press, I already have Goog411 as an option. To me it appears the beta-testing group was a small sample.
Don't get me wrong. This is a great device with next-gen features for a BT headset. But give me a few more business-class options (and retain all settings) at this end of the price spectrum if you want to retain my business long-term.
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36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Makes my existing headset seem antique, September 2, 2008
Had about about 5 days now and I can say this is a BIG STEP forward over my previous headsets.
It takes a little getting use to but once you do the voice commands and all the helpful voice prompts make it so much more user friendly and accessible. It walks you through the pairing process by talking to you, then you can just say "Teach Me" a few times and it lets you practice the commands. They start to stick after 3 or 4 times of this. You can always ask it "What Can I Say" if you forget. You can do this all while driving, nothing you have to read and memorize the user guide for. Recognition accuracy seems good if you use the commands it asks you to use. Doesn't seem to work if you say "Battery" instead of "Check Battery"
I got extremely annoyed when trying to make calls with my old headset only to find out it had lost its connection and could not get it reconnected when driving. This thing tells you when its connected, and you just have to ask it "Am I connected" if you are unsure which will cause it to connect if it isn't already. 10x easier than having to stop and fiddle with buttons. Redial, Call Back are particularly useful voice commands as I seem to drop calls frequently and this makes it easy to reconnect quickly. I put my wife cell as "Call Favorite" and home # as "Call Home" so makes this much easier and quicker than using voice dial on phone for those 2 numbers which are half my calls. I haven't bothered to setup all the speed dial voice commands yet as I'm not sure I could remember the numbers. You can start Dial by name on your phone with a certain command, "Phone Commands" I believe.
The audible Caller ID and handsfree voice answer or ignore is pretty cool too. It is Caller ID by number but if its your closest friends or family it will save you from looking at the phone when driving when getting a call.. If you don't recognize the number then you still have to look at your phone display to see whose calling.
Be aware though the voice commands don't do everything. You still have to end calls by double clicking and can't say hangup or end call. I guess it can't try to listen to your commands during a call.
As for call quality, so far no complaints but I mainly use it in a car and can't speak to how it performs in crowd noise or a restaurant..
They give you foam tips and rubber tips. The foam tips blocked out a little too much ambient noise for me so use the old standard rubber ones.
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