Mini-Review: Plantronics Voyager 855 Stereo Bluetooth

After much coveting of this unique bluetooth stereo headset, Amazon’s recent price drop has allowed me to purchase it. And I am way impressed.

This is a unique headset.  It starts as a standard bluetooth earpiece. And for phone calls it does a great job.  It has adaptive noise reduction and multipoint technology to connect to multiple phones.  7 hours of talk time and 160 hours of standby.

Where this product shines is its ability to stream audio via the A2DP protocol.  When connected to my iPhone 3GS, I can listen to podcasts and music through the single earpiece.  This is extremely convenient when you want to keep an open ear to hear your environment.

But it gets better.  Attach the secondary earbud, drape the light, cloth cable around the back of your neck and you’ve converted this earpiece into a full stereo headset.  There is a fit kit with 3 sizes of earpieces.  For me, the medium gels fit great and provide good sound isolation.  Since the secondary earbud and cable are so light, you can pop it out temporarily to hear your environment.

While this isn’t a full review, it covers the highlights.  Here comes the pros and cons.

Pros:

• Ultralight
• Versatile – A2DP in either mono or stereo
• Audio Quality – On par with my current favorite, the Motorola S9HD
• Inexpensive – I was able to purchase this headset for under $35 ($120 retail)

Cons:

• No hard case – Only a soft pouch (which doesn’t fit the charger)
• Micro USB Charger – Everything else I have uses Mini USB
• Doesn’t include a travel charger – Since it is Micro USB, I need to purchase one separately

That’s it for now.  If you have any questions, leave a comment.

Tags: Bluetooth, iPhone, Review, Stereo

AceKard 2i Review Coming Soon

In a moment of weakness (and Team Cyclops being offline for over 2 weeks) I ordered an AceKard 2i for my recent Nintendo DSi purchase.   I’m 4 days into using the AK2i and I’m very close to writing a formal review.

Preview: Compatible with the Nintendo DSi, has nice advanced menu features,  decent/timely open-source firmware/loaders, but lacking in game compatibility.

Come back soon for the full review.

Tags: DS, DSi, Nintendo

News: Bejeweled for the iPhone

Yesterday, PopCap Games released a free iPhone version of Bejeweled. How does it play? Depending on your access (Edge vs WiFi), it takes about a minute to download. Once you start playing, it flows well. Is it as good as a local version of Bejeweled on a Treo, no. The animation isn’t as smooth and you can’t choose your next move while the jewels are falling. And unless I was doing something wrong, it is missing the addictive sound and music.

Overall, props to PopCap Games. They’ve shown that it is possible to make a decent iPhone game on the web. I’m looking forward to what other software developers are able to deliver.

Review: Comply Whoomps!

As you already know, I have an iPhone. And I’m sure you’ve already heard, the headphone jack is recessed and many third party headphones won’t fit. This left quite the dilemna. My favorite headphones, wouldn’t fit. I tried an old pair of Griffin EarJams with the stock headphones, but was very disappointed by the sound quality. Enter Comply’s Whoomps! These improve upon Griffin’s design in two ways. First, the memory foam used by Comply is much softer than the rubber used on the EarJams. Second, the Whoomps also fit into your ear at a different angle. Lastly, the Whoomps use pinholes in the housing to vent just enough bass to avoid sounding muddy.

So if I already own expensive in ear monitors, why use the Whoomps with the stock Apple earbuds? Because they are easier to put in and take out. There are many times when I am listening to the iPhone (work, chores around the house, etc) where it is important that I be able to hear a little of my surroundings and react to them. These give me that functionality. Also, I don’t lose the convenience of the play/pause/answer button that Apple so cleverly put on the stock earbuds. This is an advantage compared to first generation iPhone earbuds such as the V-Moda Duos.

Bottom line: At $19.95 for two pair, Comply’s Whoomps! are a highly recommended accessory for any iPhone owner.

Coming Soon: A review of Shure’s Music Phone Adapter.