The question of Headset...
 

Okay folks, I would like to get your advice, Let me explain. I have searched and gone back and forward between stores and like often times, I came out with nothing purchased.

So, After years on the normal cell phone... I have decided to be on BB. Everything is great except the phone doesn't really live up to standards and you can read all about it while under search. So, the natual thing to do is to get an external headset. Question number 1, if I get a good headset, will blackberry behave better? in terms of call quality? Anyways.. Here are some other questions.

My week has been monday to friday, conference calls with internal teams, then customers, then airport, then car. etc.. you get the idea. And listening to others on the phone with cell phone, often time I wonder if I do sound the same. With black berry, i have received some feedback that voice tends to drop in and out. One great thing I found is the position of the microphone, which I will note that from now on.

So, my life is a mobile warrior and that will never change. The question number 2 is, to bluetooth or not to bluetooth. To be honest, statics coming out of the phone sometimes worries me. I have decided that I should get a wired earphone piece and not bluetooth because of fear of frequency closer to brain and charging another unit is a pain in the butt!. I have enough stuff to charge, and Don't want to add another to the mix. But, have you guys thought about what bluetooth may do to health? Anyways, that may be debatable.

Question 3, apparently, the NEXZEN.com has this bigger DSP processor that is suppose to be real good at tuning out external noise. After listening to demo sounds from the website, I am impressed, but still doesn't sound too good. In fact, I have listened to other bluetooth modules and still does not impress. So, my assumption is that bluetooth will never be as good as wire headsets.

That leads to Question 4, I was looking at two products that are wired earpieces, one from Plantronics MX505 and Theboom. One is 30 bucks another is 150. Theboom really impressed me a lot!.. but will it be as good when it is on black berry 8700C that I have? Another question is, Question 5, for those that have both or tried both, what are your take on it? is it worth additional 140 bucks to get theboom? that is suppose to be the caviar of headsets?

Question 6. I am real confused, I believe in spending one time and last for a good period of time. Would you guys recommend Theboom? MX505? or going to bluetooth? Have you had this dillemma before? One thing for sure, for any of BB owners, there is no way that we can sound as good and as confident as we do in person without a headset..

Any feedback is appreciated... I am leading towards theboom.... but it is an investment hopefully will pay off... the problem is, if blackberry is the source, i guess no matter how good of earpiece I get, will mean nothing.

Sorry for the long message.... please share your thoughts and advice. Thanks.

I switch between a Moto HS605 and a Jabra BT250v. Some people say they can hear me better on the Jabra. I think the call volume is better on the Moto.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8703e/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

I use the RIM 655 which works real well.

I have an issue of Laptop from before that's dedicated to wireless and they reviewed the majority of headsets and the best reviews came for the Jabra JX10 ($179ish) and the Motorola H700 ($119ish). Tekkeon EZ Talker (never heard of this) was next choice with Plantronics Discovery 640 after that. I've been researching it myself and it seems the first two mentioned are the best. Good luck.

I have decided
 

After reading comments from barjohn and hofo forums, I have decided to have some fun with it. I have ordered 3 AX2's from Amazon which are about 30 bucks a piece and now I need to decide which MIC I should get to modify the AX2.

Do you guys have better experience with ETY.com headset or theboom quiet microphone? It looks like the unit will look better with ETY.com headset, but theboom sounded like it will perform better. Anyone has feedback? If theboom were to perform according to their website, then the modification is worth it... Any thoughts?

Oh yeah, I have zeo soldering skills, but it won't stop me.. Good luck to me.

My favorite headset of all time is the Etymotic Ety-Com wired headset. Exceptional incoming and outgoing sound from my experience. If I'm in a place where I can use a wired headset without a problem, I always choose this over my bt headsets.

http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/images/er22-all3.jpg

no question...Jabra BT250v is the most solid headset....overall great performance and clear call quality...........

I 2nd the vote for the RIM 655. It is not perfect but is better than all the others I have sued and I have used near 10 different ones. Not a big fan of BT headets, but there are times in the field that I got to have both hand free and the 655 does better that any I have seen.

I could only ask that they make the buttons on it less hard to push. I think that the pressure required to push the main button is a little excessive.

Moved to Hardware & Accessories....

I have the Motorola H500. I am told I sound better on it than through the mic of the phone. I can hear very well with it.

It will also charge from the very same mini-USB from which I charge my BB, so not additional charging cord.

I have a Plantronics Discovery 655. I'm THRILLED with it. It's BlueTooth.

Hope this helps,
JimiH

I have a similar question as to what type and headset to get. Noise reduction is the key as I work in a noisy environment and I am on the phone most of the day. What is the best out their for noise reduction wired or Bluetooth? Saw the Jawbone on another thread, does anyone know how this compares to the boom. HAs anyone used both or either? Please advise. Thanks.

BT Head set
 

I use a Moto H700 and it is much better than the H500 because of the noise canceling feature. When I am in my office I use the RIM supplied wired head set and it is fine but I canno stand the wire when I am traveling. The BB phones are just not up to the quality of MOTO and that is a fact. I still get a lot of static on the H700. I have used a Plantronics and it is ok. This model Plantronics looks alot like the 655 mentioned previously.

I went with the Motorola HS850 Bluetooth. Personally I think it works great.

Try the Jawbone BT Headset
 

I just picked up the new Jawbone.

I have tried several headsets before over the years and hated them all. But this one is different. It is comfortable, and it has an active noise cancellation feature that, as far as I can tell, seems to work really well. People I have talked to could not tell I was on a headset.

You should take a hard look at the Jawbone before you make a final purchase decision.

Here's my free advice, I'm sure I'm in the minority here:

1. I haven't had good experience with Bluetooth headsets and my blackberry starting with the 7290 then the 8700. Picking up call all the time or not disconnecting were problems. I'd say they worked 85% of the time, but that 15% was too frustrating so I went back to wired headset. The Motorola with the flip boom worked the best for me.

2. I agree with martin_j001. the ety*com is the best sounding headset I've used. The biggest negative is it doesn't have an ear clip so the mic tends to move down from your mouth. Go to HowardForums: Your Mobile Phone Community & Resource and look for a AX2 Pro or search for Mr. Wiskers. I think it is on the Bluetooth section where they took the mic from the ety*com and added it to the Bluespoon AX2 Pro. They have detailed instructions or you can find someone to make it for you, I think they're selling for $200, maybe less now. I haven't read anything but good about these headsets.

3. The Nexzen sits in a drawer (somewhere) after a week of use. It works great in the car, or in my office. I was actually looking for it to see how it works with a softphone on my pc. Gennum gives you tuning software to change the mic settings and speaker but you have to use it at a PC, there isn't a way to change the profiles in the field. Gennum Nexzen has just come out with a new model.

Most headsets don't work well in the wind, unless it has a boom and windsock. I want a bluetooth headset that I can use outside. So the wind is one factor and outside noise is the other. In NYC there is always a wind blowing as the buildings create air passages and it is noisy, very noisy. DSP headsets I've tried can't cut it in Times Square, the clipping makes it unusable. Not just Time Square but most of midtown Manhattan. This may not be a factor you. For NYC the best I've found in the Sony HBH-300, no dsp and a boom mic.

The jawbone has the same problem with wind but I haven't tried it so can't comment on the clipping; from what I've read it is similar. You can search here and howard forums as there was lots of discussion about it, and no, it doesn't use jawbone voice conduction. In the car, some of my Bluetooth headsets sound great, incoming and outgoing. There are two or three jawbone conduction headsets reportedly coming soon for the past 18 months, the Motorola H5 (now H9?) and the Nextlink Invisio Q7 have received a lot of press but both are vaporware as far as I know.

4&5. The boom is reportedly the best, but it looks to big for me. Check Home. He was fairly active in this forum and did a number of headset tests. I settled on the ety*com for the size and it works very well.

6. My suggestion is decide where you really need to use a headset. If it is in a car or office you'll probably be ok with a dsp like the Plantronics, Nexgen or Jawbone. If you're outside, you should look for a headset without dsp, noise cancellation and a windsock. I have, off the top of my head, tried at least six bluetooth and countless wired headsets. The ety*com has been the best compromise.

EDIT - one more comment, I have been using the Sony DS970 headset with a Samsung A707 phone. It sounds good on my end and works well outside but I've received complaints my voice doesn't sound good.
Regards-Michael G.

I am looking for a car kit with a cradle that is wired to the antenna, wired to the in car speaker and wired to the privacy handset. Is this possible with a BB 8703e?

Any suggestons on who could make this?

Thanks, Ben

Jabra BT 250 and now the jawbone
 

I used to use a BT250 but my last one failed in the earpiece so I have jsut moved over to the Jawbone - still trying to get the fit right but as for usage and hearing it works great.