By Dave Peiser
Up until now, I have been really unhappy with all the headsets I’ve tried using with my BlackBerry Storm. They typically work fine when I’m sitting at my desk at the office, but once I start moving around and particularly in the car with the A/C or heater blowing, the person on the other side of the conversation has had a hard time following everything I am saying.
And it’s not that I’ve been cheap. The first Bluetooth headset I tried was the Aliph “Jawbone” which was a great example of one that worked under ideal circumstances but not in my car. The Jawbone has a small plastic nub that needs to touch your cheek in order for the noise cancellation to work. I couldn’t get that nub to constantly be in contact with my cheek, so it typically had no functioning noise cancellation. So it wasn’t any better than the cheapos.
I tried wired headsets too, but microphone placement seemed to be sub-optimal, especially with background noises in my car.
The device that has finally been working for me is the Plantronics Voyager PRO Bluetooth Headset. This headset has two noise-canceling mics on a boom that sticks out from the earpiece toward your mouth. Their marketing material says they have “Three layers of WindSmart technology–stainless steel mic screens, acoustic fabrics, and an electronic filter–block intrusive wind noise”. That's lots of mumbo jumbo, but the bottom line is It works!! I have used this headset with my air conditioner blowing big-time on a hot day in Calfornia and the person I was talking to could hear me and I could hear them. Amazing!!
The Voyager Pro was a cnet Editor’s Choice in April of 2009 (http://tinyurl.com/qczs37).
It also has an available car charger, which works perfectly for me, because I only use the thing in the car. I don’t need to look like a dork walking around talking to myself, right? As of 7/2009 you can get a free car charger for registering the device on the Plantronics website (http://tinyurl.com/cra9vm).
The typical price for the Voyager Pro is $99.99 and you can buy it at most places that sell these type devices including:
Amazon.com: Plantronics Voyager PRO Bluetooth Headset
See a promotional video about the Voyager Pro on YouTube
Start talking! And driving! At the same time! Don't miss your exit though!
I like this text: “That’s lots of mumbo jumbo, but the bottom line is It works!! I have used this headset with my air conditioner blowing big-time on a hot day in Calfornia and the person I was talking to me could hear me and I could hear them…”
I’ve had a Prime and I now own a Voyager Pro . The Voyager is more comfortable, easier to use and definitely has better audio. When you add the lower price, the Voyager a definite winner!!!
Good thing that you found one. I been looking like this also for my Nokia phone.
It is my honor and privileged to found and read your post. It made me learn a lot of different ideas. Keep up the good work.
It’s good to know this is finally working with your other gadgets!