Smallest bluetooth headset for phones

"Smallest bluetooth headset for phones"








How do I find the right Bluetooth headset for me? If you don’t want to strictly be tied up to your computer or phone. This way if you are driving and there are several people in the car you can use this instead of the speaker. Plantronics Wireless Bluetooth Headset, Model: Voyager Legend Many customers who reviewed this latest model from Plantronics have owned several of the models that came before it. For example, Olle Linden's Earin promised crowdfunders the chance to go wireless, while the Dash also included advanced fitness tracking and media storage. The Voyager Legend UC boom and ear hook feel durable and can swing around 180 degrees to allow you to use the headset on either ear. Also its battery life is really good with a talk time of 7 hours and standby time of 11 days. It’s small, extremely comfortable and has superb sound quality. Jabra Bluetooth Headset for Phones and Tablets is a great option for everyday calls, music, and streaming. It kept a strong connection even in the car and on bike. Folding them up is a breeze and they don’t take up much space at all. Your choice of a Bluetooth headset is a matter of how and where you will use it, and personal preferences such as design and price. With that, voice-activated commands, and push-button functions you can use this Bluetooth headset anywhere. Songs sound clear, clean and well-balanced, and the accurate bass adds to the feeling. In other words, it's one hour of listening to music followed by an half hour of charging, six times over. Then there's NoiseAssassin, which cleverly detects vibrations in your skin, so it can tell the difference between you talking and the background noise, enabling it to completely mute everything around you. Is quality or price most important to you? For everyday music and calls, then Kinivo BTH240 has a low price tag. Also the three microphones on the headset effectively cancels out background noise, so you don’t have to shout in a noisy environment. This feature set is quite attractive, but there is one area where the Dot appears to fall short, and that is battery life. If you need a business headset, then we recommend Plantronics Voyager Legend UC B235-M or Bose Series 2. There are buttons for volume control, handling calls, muting the mike and activating voice controls. Enable Bluetooth on your desktop, if it does not have Bluetooth capability already built-in, by plugging a Bluetooth USB adapter into an available USB port on your desktop. With all the best mobile phones being released with bluetooth, there will never be a better time to kit out your phone, making it wireless and hands-free. Here are the best Bluetooth devices that can be considered so that you can easily get your gadgets be uses. We did this test three times for each headset to get a good average. This year 2014, all these gadgets has really rocked the market well. It's also easy to sync, set up and use and with a battery that can last for up to seven hours of calls this isn't likely to let you down. Bluetooth Headsets for Everyday Music and Calls. Its fairly large size means it's not the most discreet of headsets, but it's a worthwhile trade-off for all that battery life. A Stereo Bluetooth Headset on the other hand, can be used for talking calls and listening to your favorite music, podcast or with your video game console. This means that they don’t flap around when you don’t use them, which is handy. Given the diminutive size of most headsets, you shouldn’t expect too much here, but you at least want the battery life of your headset to be in line with that of your phone. Its developers say it will also feature a single multifunction button that you can tap to answer a phone call or hold to activate Apple's Siri, given of course that an iPhone is connected. There are also some really good options if you fancy high quality stereo audio. PC, desktop or laptop, which is Bluetooth capable or a Bluetooth USB adapter. Configure the microphone properties by clicking on "Start" button in the lower left tank corner of your screen and clicking "Control Panel. How we picked and tested We looked for any newcomers to the market since the previous iteration of this guide. The BTH240 sits behind your head, rather than on it. Their expectations for this version were high, compared to the excellent quality they had experienced in the past. If you want something that works especially well in a noisy environment, or if you just want to save money and you aren’t concerned about having the absolute best voice quality, go with the $60 Plantronics Explorer 500. The faux-leather ear pad makes it comfortable to wear, though isn't quite as secure as in-ear headsets and it features great call quality and effective noise-cancelling, along with voice controls for just about everything, so it really is the complete package. Audio quality is really quite good for voice calls, or superb if you consider the price. Who is this product for? If you already have a working Bluetooth headset, you probably don’t need a new one, especially if you spent more than $80 on it. It has a really comfortable and secure fit in your ear, which makes it great to keep on wherever you go. However, we would not recommend them for music. It easily pairs with every mobile device. Many also commented that this model is very comfortable to wear for long periods of time, and that’s a definite plus. When we first unboxed FreeGo we were afraid they would be rather uncomfortable, but we were wrong. Setting up the Voyager Legend UC with your devices couldn’t be easier. In fact, after a few minutes it’s easy to forget that you’ve got it strapped on to your ear. You can also see a more detailed Kinivo BTH240 review here. To pair it with a phone is simple and fast. It's clever stuff, though it occasionally has issues staying in contact with your skin and like the Voyager Edge the battery life isn't the best. Sound quality is superb, voices sound rich and natural. As in most situations, the larger the order takes priority. It can also be used to deliver voice prompts from GPS apps, can be connected to two devices simultaneously and features noise-cancelling technology, though it's not quite as good at this as some rivals. The result is that you can use it all-around efficiently. Bluetooth range is another important factor to consider. You could even wear it while jogging. Plantronics Bluetooth Headphones, Model: BackBeat Fit Perfect for sports, workouts and plenty of outdoor activities, this turquoise blue Bluetooth headphone set has many nice features. Lights on the back of the headset display battery life and Bluetooth connection status. I look for different ways you can arrive at a good fit for various ear shapes and sizes. Also the range is very good, the signal gladly passed through multiple plasterboard walls and rooms in our tests. The M55 also has a DeepSleep mode which activates when it's separated from a paired smartphone for 90 minutes and leaves it with up to five months of battery life, but simply bring your phone within range and it will quickly wake up again. You can use the same one for several years and rest assured that you won’t be missing out on lots of new and exciting features or dramatically better performance—this latest generation of headsets offers only marginal improvements over the previous models. BlueParrott Roadwarrior B250-XT has tons of talk-time (16 hours) and a massive 66 foot range. Currently at the working prototype stage, the headset will reportedly connect to up to eight devices at once through the energy-saving Bluetooth 4. Here are some of the 12 headsets we tested for this update. A great feature of Bose Series 2 is that it senses noise around you and automatically adjusts volume. It was a pretty solid contender in our tests, and most of our panel preferred its outgoing voice quality in a moving car with the windows down. All in all, LG HBS-700 has a handy design, is lightweight and has fantastic music audio quality. It's not overly stylish and sound quality is good but not great, but with such an affordable price tag it's a very solid buy. Chances are, you have at least one or two other gadgets that use Micro-USB cables, so it’s nice to be able to use a single cable for charging everything. The sound quality isn't perfect but with motion and environment-sensitive noise-cancelling it holds up well even in loud environments. Finally, although you shouldn’t have to pair your headset with your phone often, the process for doing so should be painless. Out of 4,088 reviews, this item received an overall 4. VXi BlueParrott B250-XT gives the business user complete freedom in their busy professional lives. The Voyager Legend UC is more all-around for both computer and phone usage, while Bose Series 2 is primarily designed for phones. You need the dual earpieces that a stereo headset provides for times when the sound experience is essential. The speakers also make sure that call quality is great. It is compatible with iPhone, Android, and other popular smartphones. The tiny Dot Bluetooth headset is made of aluminum and polycarbonate and is slated to come with three different size inserts (small, medium and large) for different size ears, complete with a portable inductive charger that will let you fully load up on charge for up to six times while you're out and about. After marking off 1-foot intervals in an open coworking space. Indeed, it feels very light and comfortable when we test it. Use the headset to chat on Xbox Live, or switch to Bluetooth mode and use the headset with a Bluetooth-enabled device such as a mobile phone or PC. We’ll help you find the best headset with Bluetooth. But when it comes to value for the money, FreeGo scores really high. Add to that easy pairing and the ability to connect it to two devices at once and the Jabra Wave is a good option. Its noise-cancelling is effective even in busy environments and multiple microphones ensure strong voice quality, for a great all-round Bluetooth headset. If you plan to use your headphones for calls and music, then the stereo headsets LG HBS-700 Tone (in ear headphones) and Kinivo BTH240 (on ear headphones) are the best choices. Since it has stereo on-ear headphones, it manages to provide great music audio quality. For example, if there’s an incoming call and you put the headset on, it’ll automatically take the call on your headset. Using the portable charger can extend this time to six and nine hours respectively, but charging the earbuds will take about 30 minutes each time. Second, the height of the ear hook can be changed. But with numerous models, many of which either have almost identical names or just a catchy string of letters and numbers in lieu of a proper moniker, it can be hard to sift through them and find the best of the bunch. We had no problems connecting it to our phones, tablets, and mp3 players. To find a reasonable Bluetooth headset isn’t hard, but to find the best Bluetooth headset 2016 can be tricky. It has a higher price than the average headset, but you get remarkable value for your money. This could lead to production delays depending on the success of our Kickstarter campaign. The sound on these Jabra is clear even for getting GPS directions, or streaming video. Although we're perhaps being harsh on the Dot's battery specifications, we should mention in fairness that neither the Dash nor the Earin have come to market yet, meaning their production model battery life claims can't be verified, and could very well be overstated. We gave six non-techie friends a box of 12 numbered headsets with all of the respective accessories to allow for the best fit, and we asked each person to rank, on a scale of 1 to 10, the comfort of each headset. But a good headset will be diminutive and understated enough to avoid drawing too much attention or making you look like you’re working at a call center. The first thing we noticed when unboxing the BTH240 was its lightweight and that the headphones are rather small to be on-ear. Sound technology makes sure you hear the call well no matter if you’re at a busy terminal or in a noisy restaurant. Note For great video tutorials that show how to set up the wireless headset with Bluetooth, how to use your headset with other Bluetooth devices and how to clear the headset of all Bluetooth devices, see the “Video tutorials” section at the bottom of this article. And if you listen to a lot of music on that phone, with only the occasional call, you might want to consider stereo Bluetooth headphones with a microphone (full-size or earbuds ). Advertisement A California startup is seeking funding through Kickstarter for Dot, the "world's smallest Bluetooth headset. Advertisement According to the Dot's crowdfunding campaign. The controls are located conveniently on the ears, so switching from music to calls is simple. Headset comes with a convenient micro USB charging cable, three sizes of ear gels and an ear loop Features up to eight hours of talk time Allows easy switching from Xbox to Bluetooth mode to answer calls Note Bluetooth mode is only for operation with Bluetooth devices. The layout of the controls is straightforward and buttons can easily be found with your finger tips. Talk time is about five hours, which is good. While it doesn't have a premium build it's perfectly comfortable to wear, it supports voice commands for truly hands-free use and the sound quality is good, especially when aided by the built in noise-cancelling tech. They are waterproof and sweat proof, and the earbuds stay securely inside the ears. Like the Voyager Legend the Edge also supports voice commands (with multiple language support) and it's smart enough to know when you're wearing it, so if you put it on when you get a call it will automatically come through on it. During my tenure, I reviewed more than 1,000 products, including numerous Bluetooth headsets. Its small size makes it easy to keep in your ear or stick in your pocket. It looks bulky at first glance but rides unbelievably light. Bluetooth headsets are more convenient to use than normal headsets; they can be put on in no time and can be kept on wherever you go. They're already pretty small and light, but we've recently seen efforts to make them even smaller, go cable-free and do much more than just throw music down your ears. You’d rather spend time on things you enjoy than dealing with limiting and tangled cables. Some headsets, including our top pick, come with a charging case—a battery-equipped storage case that charges the headset when you put it inside—to extend battery life significantly, but the headset itself should still be able to last a good while alone. This prompted companies such as Cardo to build external bluetooth adapters such as the BTA II. In other words, clear outgoing sound is the one feature that separates the superior headsets from the rest. The Voyager Legend UC is easy to use, comfortable and has outstanding call quality. Its soft ear pads also makes it comfortable to wear. Also a signal range of about 20 feet is good. It also features strong audio quality and is good at suppressing noise, especially wind. The top five Bluetooth headsets (see full reviews further below) fit into separate categories. We wanted to see how far we could separate each model from its paired phone before the Bluetooth connection started to suffer. These days most decent headsets provide solid incoming sound quality—we quickly distinguished between the good and the not-so-good models with simple listening tests—so what you really want to look for is a headset that won’t have people asking you to repeat yourself. Over 2,324 customers reviewed this item giving it 4. We'll keep you updated on developments. But fear not, because to save you time and the risk of ending up with a useless oversized ear accessory we've curated a list of ten of the best. The neckband can also vibrate, for example when you receive calls. It was no problem to wear them for hours and you can adjust them to fit on either ear. LG HBS-700 Tone Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Headset LG HBS-700 Tone has an unusual but handy behind-the-neck design. NFC ensures you can pair it quickly and easily and it does a good job of cancelling out background noise. Because stereo audio and mono phone conversations use different Bluetooth protocols, this test doesn’t correlate perfectly to talk time, but because the difference should be roughly equally proportional for each headset, this approach gave us the ability to directly compare battery performance without maintaining phone calls for hours at a time. Its diminutive size, however, comes at the expense of battery life. Bose Bluetooth Headset Series 2 The Bose Bluetooth Headset Series 2 is primarily designed for phones and business use. It means you can play music or listen to a podcast and still keep one ear free. And now there's Dot. The Jabra Bluetooth Headset for Phones and Tablets comes with a couple of features that make it very comfortable and adjustable. If you don’t do much talking on your mobile phone, you’re probably okay with the earbuds that came with it. Also you can place you earbuds in magnetic pockets at the ends of the neckband. We consider at least five hours of advertised talk time to be the minimum. The Bose Series 2 has the highest price of all top ten headsets. The Voyager Legend UC really excels in terms of call quality. This adjustment feels natural and is helpful for example during a walk down a noisy sidewalk. The results ranged from 2 hours, 44 minutes for the headset with the shortest battery life to 10 hours, 19 minutes for the one with the longest. These are reasons to get a Bluetooth headset: You’re busy. All of which makes it well worth the steep asking price, just make sure to try it on before you buy, as despite being adjustable for size and wearable on either ear it won't be a perfect fit for everyone. Additionally, the in-ear design ensures that the HBS-700 is very portable. There doesn't appear to be too much information available at the moment. Voyager Legend UC has voice announcements, for example it tells you how much battery is left when you put it on. It's also completely hands free, as caller ID will announce the name of whoever is calling you and you can simply say "answer" to take the call. It performed flawlessly with all computers and phones we tested it with. My editor, Dan Frakes—who also helped with the testing for this guide—spent more than a decade reviewing gear and coordinating accessory coverage at Macworld. You can move, walk or even run however you want. An upcoming Gizmag review of the Dot Bluetooth headset should determine whether its battery life is practical enough for everyday use. Battery life of about five hours is good for a headset this size. This BlueParrott Roadwarrior B250-XT is definitely a professional headset appropriate for busy offices, or telecommuters working from within noisy coffee shops. But if you have an inexpensive headset, or if you’re dissatisfied with the features or performance of your current one, upgrading to our pick will likely get you better sound quality, voice or gesture controls, and improved noise cancelling. Aoife McEvoy has tested dozens of headsets for TechHive (a sister site of PCWorld and Macworld), and she told us in an email interview: “One size headset doesn’t fit all. Our team is very experienced with manufacturing will try our best to negotiate with our factory and even place penalties if they are to delay production. It offers superior noise cancellation technology to block out all sorts of noise so the only thing your caller hears is you. Its small size does mean its battery life isn't quite as good as some competitors, but at six hours of talk time it's still not bad. Mpow® FreeGo Wireless Bluetooth Headset Mpow® FreeGo is a mono headset mainly designed for cellphones. Consulting reviews on sites such as iLounge and CNET, user reviews on Amazon, and specs, we narrowed the options down to the models that seemed worthy of hands-on testing. The Bose Series 2 is made out of matte and shiny plastic in black with silver details. Plantronics Voyager Legend UC B235-M The Plantronics Voyager Legend UC B235-M is the highest rated mono Bluetooth headset by the bulk of users and experts. Overall, the controls are easy to find and use. It's not the smallest Bluetooth headset around and there are definitely better options, but this is a cheap and cheerful solution if you're on a tight budget or just don't plan on using it much. Update July 13 : It has come to our attention that the crowdfunding campaign for the Dot headset has been suspended by Kickstarter. It provides clarity at both ends of the call and noise cancellation is decent. All in all it makes them easy to bring along, for example around the house, if you’re going out of town for the weekend or other travel. Note For warranty information about Xbox accessories, including the Wireless Headset with Bluetooth, see the Xbox 360 warranty, registration and repair: Frequently asked questions page. We repeated this test in three environments: a quiet office, a moving car with the windows down, and a coffee shop with lots of background noise. There are others available, but I got one of these for $. They also allow efficient multitasking. You can take this unit anywhere. The first test measured battery life. We gave bonus points to models that allow you to perform some of these functions hands-free, using just your voice. We called a designated voicemail number using each headset, leaving the same message with each. You will hear your directions better. An excellent headset will not only transmit your voice clearly under normal conditions but will also cancel out wind and other background noise without making your voice sound robotic. Our devices found the Jabra without any hesitation. Most owners like the flexible design, the great fit and great sound. The headset really shines when it comes to music sounds quality. It's designed with comfort in mind, so you can wear it for extended periods without it bothering you and it sits securely in place too, so it won't fall off. Many noted that the sound quality was excellent, and they liked the versatility of being able to connect two phones at the same time. This will allow backers to change their address and also confirm their pledge amounts. If you find yourself listening to music then suddenly having to take a call, then we think this headset will be your favorite. Shipping will be $8 for anywhere in the USA, and $29 for anywhere else. Prepare your Bluetooth headset so that your desktop computer can find it by turning on the headset and making it "Discoverable. But you still care about quality. Furthermore, setting the headset up with your devices is fairly easy and range is good. You can watch the video below for more information on how you can use the Dot to listen to music, make calls, and shamelessly cheat on your uni exams (though the video's claim that you'll be able to listen to "a week's worth of music on a single charge" seems a tad optimistic). For the price, you get a lot of value. Learn how to connect the wireless headset to a Bluetooth device. We were impressed considering the low price. Bluetooth headsets come in plenty of shapes and prices. Jabra STYLE Jabra Bluetooth Headset for Phones and Tablets is a mono headset perfectly suited for anyone who multi-tasks. It’s great for taking calls, but even more so for listening to music. This make us much comfortable in using the phone when you are driving. We like that Voyager Legend UC can sense when you put it on and when you take it off. There are also plans to feature dual microphones for active voice cancellation, LED indicator lights, and it will be sweat resistant for use in the gym. Originally, the Bose Series 2 could only be used on the right ear, but a version is now available for the left ear too. It is not much easier to use these devices always especially when they we are driving or engaged in any kind of activities. Choose your Bluetooth headset from the list of discovered devices and click "Next" and follow the prompts which will pair your desktop with the headset. They also liked the handy mute button and the faster connection to phones that it provides. In terms of functional design, you want a headset that charges via Micro-USB rather than through a proprietary cord. These are mono headsets, and are suitable for business situations. At the time of writing, you can pledge US$59 for the mono version and of $79 for the stereo version (which is well below the pledge levels for either the Dash or the Earin campaigns). If low price is the most important factor for you, then we recommend Mpow® FreeGo as a business headset. After the campaign ends, a survey will be sent through BackerKit, a Crowdfunding Shipping Fulfillment Software. Despite that the Voyager Legend UC is somewhat larger than your typical mobile mono Bluetooth headset, it only weights 0. The trends in portable electronics seem to point toward our devices becoming more and more portable: desktop computers have moved to laptops and tablets, smartphones are heading for our wrists, and once bulky headphones have now shrunk down to tiny earbuds. We then obtained review units of those 12 models to evaluate them using the same criteria we used previously: battery life, comfort, sound quality, and appearance. Top 10 Bluetooth Headsets Overview Chart Benefits of Using Bluetooth Headsets Bluetooth headsets can be connected wirelessly to any device with Bluetooth technology. Not only is it small, but it also fits snugly in your ear and is in no danger of falling out. And unlike with many other electronics categories, spending more on a Bluetooth headset is easy to justify, because these are mature products that have slow update cycles. If you’re going to be wearing this thing on longer phone calls, or for extended stretches in the car or at the office in case you need to take a call, you want to be sure the headset is comfortable enough for you to forget you’re even wearing it. These can be repurposed with a little soldering to send an audio signal to any bluetooth headset, and deliver an audio signal back from the microphone if desired. The Plantronics Voyager Edge is designed to be compact and discreet, but despite its small size there's a whole lot of tech packed in, including three microphones and a boom arm for clear voice quality. Although this test was certainly an unscientific endeavor, it at least gave us an idea of what an assortment of people thought about the fit. Though the Dash and the Earin promise a minimum of three hours per charge, the Dot will reportedly only work for one hour of listening to music or 90 minutes of talk time. Types of Bluetooth Headsets A Mono Bluetooth Headset is typically small with one single earpiece and a microphone. But as transistor technology is advancing at an exponential rate and batteries struggle to keep up, is there a danger of the smaller-is-better mania taking over, jumping the gun and getting in the way of good product design? So you will be equally pleased listening to it if you are in a quiet living room or busy airport. The earpiece provide clear and loud sound, and its noise cancellation is outstanding. Investing in the finest Bluetooth headset that the market has to offer will give you outstanding voice, sound and product quality. Table of contents Why you should trust us I was the accessories editor at iLounge for a little more than three years. It will be available in a choice of white or black, and both in mono and stereo (two earbuds) versions, the latter featuring a different case that will allow you to charge both buds at the same time. The HBS-700 neckband is ultralight and shaped to fit your neck. Kinivo BTH240 Bluetooth Stereo Headset Kinivo BTH240 has earned its high popularity by a mixture of great sound quality, portability for a on-ear headphones and a really low price. We then repeated the test while streaming music from our phone to each headset. And you don’t want to worry about forgetting a proprietary cord when you’re on the road, or having to pay a lot to replace it if you lose it. We also looked for headsets with excellent controls that allow you to answer calls and adjust the volume level easily and intuitively. And if you’re on a call and take the headset off, it’ll send the call back to your phone instead. First, the headset can be worn on either ear. But a good mono (one-ear) Bluetooth headset is a great accessory if you speak on the phone frequently and want the convenience of having your hands free. You’ll even notice that we consider it a top choice for those in the trucking industry; an especially challenging enterprise. If you’re truly looking for the best Bluetooth headset for all-around voice communication, then Voyager Legend UC is the best choice. It's small, comfortable to wear and can last for up to seven hours of calls, which is a great start. And if you spend a decent amount of time talking on the phone, you don’t want to stay tethered to your handset by a wire, or to hold the phone with your shoulder while you talk—the latter is terrible for your neck and back. It’s also an important item if you need to be sure that your voice sounds clear to the person on the other end, without too much wind or other background noise. To test battery life, we streamed stereo audio from an iPhone to each headset, recording how long we could do so before the headset’s battery gave out. Despite the low price it's surprisingly full-featured, with a noise-cancelling microphone, simple pairing and an LED battery status indicator. We then distributed the resulting audio files to five Wirecutter editors and writers, who each ranked their favorite for each environment. The over-the-head design is comfortable and sturdy. To test for outgoing audio quality, we pitted our six top picks against one another.