Plantronics Voyager Pro UC Judging from the photos on Plantronics’ website, the system requirements for its Voyager Pro headset include a goatee (recommended) or some carefully cultivated designer stubble (minimum). Fortunately, we were in unshaven mode when the box landed on our desk and it seemed to work just fine with a basic two-day growth. …
The search for a decent headset was fairly long, with three main criteria;
1. Ability to operate with two devices (Nokia N810 and a cell phone)
2. Audio quality.
3. Comfort.
After much searching I arrived at the Voyager Pro. It meets all of the above needs and doesn't try to be a fashion accessory. It is the most comfortable headset I've worn, so comfortable that you can forget you're wearing it until it beeps to let you know a call is coming in.
The ability to be linked with two devices is a real plus. My Nokia N810 serves as a Skype phone in areas where cell service is spotty or prohibitively expensive but WiFi is readily available. The N810 makes a great Skype Phone. Note to Skype: Update your Linux client so it can use web-cams.
On the con-side the interface to the headset is a bit clunky. Every other headset I've owned would activate voice-dialing on a single tap of the devices main 'call answer' button. This one requires that you hold the button for one second and doesn't always work as advertised. The single momentary press works for hanging up, a double-tap calls the last number dialed.
All in all a very good unit.
This post has been deleted by its author
These things (the UC variants that ship with USB dongles) are geared at business travellers who use UC products regularly. They're not aimed at you. The fact that you don't like BT headsets in general is irrelevant.
We've got a number of heavy UC users (Microsoft OCS) who carry netbooks and ultraportables when they travel. Our stock headset for use in the office is a corded USB plantronics, but they're way too big and bulky for travel. Some of our guys use standard BT headsets, but there are all sorts of hassles with voice quality and pairing. Other guys carry analog earbud headsets and plug in to the onboard headphone/mic ports on the laptop, but again the audio quality (particularly the Mic) is often iffy. We also have a number of Polycom C100's, but a speakerphone isn't always appropriate.
The idea with products like the one reviewed is that they're small, portable, give great audio quality, don't tie you to your laptop, and present to the O/S as a standard USB audio device. There's no stuffing about with the O/S BT stack to get things paired, and no worries about the particular laptop having good/shitty BT signal (looking at you, Dell XPS M1330). It's supposed to be something that's easy to carry and just works, really well. If it can be paired with your mobile, that's good too. Sometimes it's important to be able to type two handed while on the phone, without using shoddy built-in speakerphones. Most importantly tho, it's a high quality headset for your UC app that you an carry around with you.
We, as professional IT people, need to be able to provide these sorts of things to staff, so I'm actually glad that The Reg took the time to review it.
It's the one without boom, the 520. Absolutely quality piece of work, and I have it work with an iPhone 3GS and a laptop (using a standard Toshiba Bluetooth stack on XP - works a charm with Skype).
The only occasional hiccup is that the iPhone isn't very good at convincing it to switch back to the iPhone channel, one day I may even bother to read the manual.
On the basis of wearer comfort, build as well as voice quality I will certainly give the boom version a try - I've always been a believer of putting a mike close to where the sound is.
I personally don't care two beans about what it looks like - I know how comfortable it is, and in the car it beats the bejeebes out of any other handsfree idee. You really notice Plantronics has been in the headset business for a long time.
Thanks for the review.
Integrating with a desk phone (one that's capable of taking a headset) isn't a hard concept, or even a new one. I'm really not sure why you think it's not available.
Just looking at what Plantronics offer, check out the Voyager 510S Bluetooth Headset System and the Savi Office range. Pretty much every major headset manufacturer makes a bluetooth version of one of their cordless headsets that can also be paired with a mobile phone.
If you're looking for something else then maybe you should clarify what you actually need, because at the moment you seem to be swearing about the lack of something that *already exists*.
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
