Usage

As I mentioned earlier, the headset looks a bit clunky and one does wonder how the heck you get the headset on. Well - unfortunately it does takes a bit of effort to make it happen. It's not as easy as many other headsets on the market. In fact, I would not try and put the headset on while driving. I usually need to use both my hands when putting on the headset. One hand would be holding the headset while the other hand would be holding back my ear flap. Bluetrek needs to make the headset easier to wear.

However, once the headset is on the ear, it actually sits fairly comfortably on it. You can turn on the headset by pressing the ON button for a few seconds. You'll hear an audible beep in the headset indicating you are now in standby mode. When you are ready to make a call, you press the ON button for a second to bring the headset out of standby mode. The headset connects with the BT07 dongle and your conversation can commence.

The boom microphone works fairly well. I tried using the headset under a variety of conditions and had some mixed results due to connection issues. I had the best results when I wasn't physically moving around too much. I tried using the headset sitting in front of the computer and also sitting in my car while driving and my friends heard me loud and clear. However, when I was walking around in a supermarket, my voice apparently came in and out on my friends cell phones. However their voices were heard just fine through the speakers on the headset. I'm not sure if I was suffering from interference from other devices in the area but your mileage will definitely vary here. I tried the headset on the Treo 600 and various Samsung mobile phones. I also used it on my Panasonic 5.8GHz home cordless phone. Bluetrek bundles a number of 2. mm adapters allowing you to use the headset in a variety of scenarios.

So how's the sound quality? It's actually not that bad though it's far from perfect. You will hear a soft background hiss during your conversations which is noticeable at first but quickly fades into the background over time. The convenience of wireless communications overcomes the sound quality issues here.

The Bluetrek headset is rated for 3.5 hours of talk time. I managed to use the headset for approximately 2 hours and 50 minutes before needing a recharge. Bluetrek includes a car charger for those on the road a lot. It's important to note that if you need to charge the BT07 dongle - you're going to be out of luck if you need to use the headset on a non-Bluetooth enabled phone. The 2.5mm jack on the dongle performs double duty by being an interface for the charging adapter.

Summary

The Bluetrek wireless headset is a good first version for a Bluetooth headset though it does suffer from some design issues. It's fairly easy to initiate a pairing between the headset and the included dongle. The package comes with a wide array of accessories allowing you to use the headset with a variety of phones. However the headset is poorly designed - requiring you to use two hands to put it around your ear. This is unacceptable when you're driving on the road. The two buttons on the headset also makes it hard to actually know what mode you are currently in without reading the manual. It's probably best that you never throw out the manual since you'll never know what mode you are in if you press the buttons for too long. Despite these issues, the headset did work for all the mobile phones that we tested it with. Sound quality could use some improvement and we did have dropouts under some conditions. However the headset was very useable in a car environment and at home for long periods of time. If this headset is on sale - definitely give it a consideration. If it's not - then wait around for the next version.

If you have any comments or questions, please post in our forums.

Pros:

• Easy to pair
• Lots of included accessories
• Strong microphone

Cons:

• Poor physical design
• Hard to place around ear
• Cumbersome operations

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