vB Easy Archive - Initial impressions of iPhone Bluetooth Headset

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Initial impressions of iPhone Bluetooth Headset - subpar
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Posted by: kaidomac

My iPhone Bluetooth headset showed up today. I was very excited and let it charge fully before playing with it. Wow...not impressed in the least. That "white noise" that everyone is talking about isn't barely noticeable, it's extremely noticeable. It's kind of a low-level static fuzz. If you walk more than 5 or 10 feet away from the iPhone while using it, the static gets kicked up quite a bit. I'm on the fence about returning it - it's wicked cool, but the quality is just not what I expected it to be.

Overall I am terribly unimpressed with the iPhone and iPhone Bluetooth Headset sound quality. The iPhone sounds like one of those free phones you get from AT&T - just average. Not horrible, but not great either. Not exactly what you would expect for $600. The Speakerphone is what I feel is the biggest flaw; it's absolutely useless in any kind of semi-loud environment such as a car. AT&T's service isn't spectacular either, so that combined with an average earpiece doesn't make for steller results. Fortunately the rest of the phone more than makes up for that. But even the iPhone Bluetooth Headset is subpar. For $130 I expected something better in quality than the cheapest headset Motorola puts out. My previous headset was a Motorola HS-350-something or other. It was one of the basic bottom-of-the-barrel Bluetooth headsets, not one of the nice $80 models. But it sounded pretty dang good! The iPhone Bluetooth headset is not even half as good as that one is. The quality on the headset is just average, assuming you don't get interference from, oh, walking a few feet away. But I have a hard time really wanting to return it simply because it's so slick!

Oye

What's your experience with it?

Posted by: Mark Booth

How stupid of me to keep my iPhone with me at all times in a holster on my belt, just a couple of feet from my ear. Because of this, I've managed to miss out on all of this horrible white noise when using the iPhone Bluetooth Headset.

I've just got to learn to leave my iPhone on the desk when I walk away so I can enjoy the white noise!

Mark

Posted by: cowboy1964

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Booth

How stupid of me to keep my iPhone with me at all times in a holster on my belt, just a couple of feet from my ear. Because of this, I've managed to miss out on all of this horrible white noise when using the iPhone Bluetooth Headset.

I've just got to learn to leave my iPhone on the desk when I walk away so I can enjoy the white noise!

Mark

Some people would like to keep the phone on their desk docked, so it can charge, etc.

I would expect a $130 headset to not have noise issues. But then again, I would also expect a $600 phone to not have a virtually unusable speakerphone.

Posted by: davistld01

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowboy1964

I would expect a $130 headset to not have noise issues. But then again, I would also expect a $600 phone to not have a virtually unusable speakerphone.

Truth. I was actually looking at buying this BT headset from a guy off of my local Craigslist...but don't want to spend the money on something that is not worth the price paid.

Looks very cool...but cool is not everything.

And...I won't start another rant-a-thon about the speakerphone...

Posted by: ubercool

I'm very happy with my Apple BT headset, no noise problems whatsoever.

Posted by: JiveDonkey

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Booth

Mark

Not all of us wear belts, I get white noise when its in my pocket. Combine that with the horrible fit for me (it falls right out, never stays in), its going back.

That being said, i've had bluetooth headsets work 20 feet from a cell before, through walls, without any noise problems. It appears that either the iPhone, the bt headset, or both are just weak in the BT department.

Posted by: xcharliemx

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Booth

Mark

Really. It's a bluetooth headset, don't act like it's a cordless phone.

Posted by: ferniesp

Quote:

Originally Posted by ubercool

I'm very happy with my Apple BT headset, no noise problems whatsoever.

You must be a serious fan boy because nothing on this phone seems to bother you. The bluetooth headset is garbage! If anyone wants to make the Iphone sound a bit better, you have to get the Jawbone or the Plantronic's Voyager 510. Other then that, the Iphone by itself is self-distructing as I write this. Going down fast!

Posted by: kaidomac

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Booth

Mark

I don't know if you're being sarcastic or not, but what's the point of using a Bluetooth headset if your iPhone is only a few feet from your ear - why not just use a wired one and get perfect quality?

I typically use my headset when my phone is in my pocket or in my car's center console or dashboard. Mine always has the white noise. If there is any interference whatsoever, I get static. It acts like it's an Infrared device - I can pull my shirt in front of the iPhone between the Bluetooth headset and it develops static instantly. I really, really like the headset a lot, design-wise - it's small, it's sleek, it fits in my ear fairly well, and it only has one button to deal with. Exactly what I want in a headset. Except that the quality is junk. Maybe I just got a bad one? Probably 90% of the reviews I've read on this headset have been similar to mine. I've been using it more today and the quality issues are still the same - very poor. However 10% of the people who use it absolutely love it, so maybe I just got a junky one.

Posted by: XanderMac

audio over Bluetooth is shite on the iPhone regardless of the headset you use, I've tried 4 different ones and they were all terrible, hopefully they won't bother with a2dp if this is the best that the Bluetooth chipset can do. Pure crap.

Posted by: kaidomac

Quote:

Originally Posted by XanderMac

audio over Bluetooth is shite on the iPhone regardless of the headset you use, I've tried 4 different ones and they were all terrible, hopefully they won't bother with a2dp if this is the best that the Bluetooth chipset can do. Pure crap.

My Motorola headset sounds just fine on the iPhone, far better than the Apple Bluetooth Headset. It's not the greatest sound quality, but I hardly hear any static. My wife really likes the iPhone headset, and while the quality isn't phenomenal, it works. I really like the dock integration and all the little things as well. I'm considering sending it back and asking for a replacement; maybe I just got a bad one.