The headset looks like something that a person working in an office who talks on the phone all day might wear. It’s much larger than your typical Bluetooth headset, but it promises much better comfort. The headset is designed for commercial drivers and truckers, but anyone who doesn’t mind larger size can benefit from its features. The headset features a smart sensor that recognizes when the driver is wearing it and automatically transfers calls and music from an iPod to the headset.

The Blacktop 500 also has an in vehicle charging system that allows for unlimited talk time while driving. The headset also has a USB port allowing it to be used with a laptop for VoIP calls and more. Other features of the headset include built-in wind and noise canceling technology for the microphone. The headset can automatically answer phone calls and it has a cable with all the controls that can be clipped to a pocket or shirt.

The earpiece is heavily cushioned for all-day comfort and the device uses Bluetooth 3.0 + A2DP for audio streaming. The headset can connect to two different Bluetooth devices at one time. When on battery power, the headset offers 10 hours of talk time and up to 10 days of standby. The Blacktop 500 is available now for $129.99.

[via Plantronics]

You’ve got two simple ways to wear this earpiece, one of them being a hook which holds the piece down over your ear, another being a brand new clear ear tip which Plantronics lets us know is their newest concentration for getting this piece to stay in your ear with finesse. This little clear ear tip is extremely flexible and yet holds the earpiece in your ear securely as it fits comfortably right in the side of your head. The photo you see above shows how nice the piece looks and fits in the ear and on the head with just the ear tip in, no hook necessary.

In testing the device, I had no trouble going through the simple pairing operation required to connect to any and all Bluetooth devices I had on hand, be they the iPad, several Android handsets, or a notebook computer. To pair this device to any of your Bluetooth-capable devices, you’ve just to hold down the Call button for several seconds until the indicator light flashes red and white – you’ll be pair-ready from there.

The Call button on this device is unmistakable as it’s essentially the entire side of the hardware, it requiring just a series of taps and holds to activate any of its many numerous functions. For the most part, you’ll be using this device to make and take calls and conferences, and you will be satisfied by the quality on both ends. The little notches on the sides of the device are there for noise cancellation, and they certainly do work well – much better, in fact, than most of the budget-level Bluetooth earpieces we’ve ever laid eardrums on.

Speaking with people through the earpiece resulted in clear, nearly perfect quality on the other end, with exceptions being of course when you’re in intensely crowded areas. This sort of situation is always going to result in you not having the most fantastic voice quality unless you’re going for a much, much higher cost headset – at the price you’re paying for the M55, the quality is excellent.

This device has such fantastic battery life that you’ll more than likely not have to charge it more than once or twice a year. We’ve not gotten to hold on to the device and use it for more than a year quite yet, but according to Plantronics, this device’s new DeepSleep mode will have your headset into such a deep sleep that its using up next to no battery life at all when its not being used. This DeepSleep function is activated automatically if 90 minutes have passed since you last been in-range of a paired Bluetooth device. NOTE here that the photos we’ve got are of the pre-production model – the final model will look and function exactly the same or NEARLY exactly the same as this unit, so says Plantronics.

Another fabulous function you get with this device is voice activation in the form of being able to say “Answer” when you get a call on a paired smartphone device. This device can also pair with up to two smartphones in the same area at once, both of them then hooked up with this same voice-activated call-answering ability. The M55 comes with a free full year of Vocalyst Basic, this being a service which can give you voice email, news, weather, and reminders right to your ear, this service normally $2.49 a month or $24.99 a year with this headset. As a bit of a bonus, this service can automatically upload audio clips at your request just so long as you’re paired with an internet-connected device at the time – fun for everyone, without a doubt!

This device is certainly worth the cash you’re going to spend on it at just $50, coming to the Plantronics online store soon! Have a peek at our timeline of Plantronics reviews below to see their full line of Bluetooth-capable audio devices and let us know what you think when you’ve got them in-ear!

In our modern world of awesomely tiny technology, we can expect a bit more from our earbuds than we did all those years ago when the technology to put a speaker that small into one’s ear was invented. What we’ve got here is certainly not the highest-class earbud in the industry (custom-made ear-molded buds still hold that distinction) but they’re certainly up near the top for the wireless pre-made sets.

These buds have DSP (Digital Signal Processing) and what’s known as full duplex echo cancellation so you’ll have great noise cancellation on the whole – rare for headphones that don’t cover the ear. You’ve also got great sound regardless of the fact that you’re not physically connected to the source of the audio transmission. Bluetooth technology has gone a long way since 1.0, and here with the BackBeat Go we’ve got near-perfect sound quality on par with the upper half of the wired industry for sound quality.

The unit has the ability to connect to whatever Bluetooth device you’ve got in a snap – just hold down the side-sitting button on the control unit between the buds for a moment until you hear an upward-ringing set of beeps in the phones themselves. The device will then be discoverable and will pair without a hitch. From there that same controller can do a variety of functions including volume up and down, skip tracks in most basic audio apps, and there’s a perfectly fine-sounding microphone in there too so you can take calls or talk in a conference.

The unit is charged with microUSB via one of the two buds – right there in the back of its head. Charge the unit up fully and you’ll have a straight 4+ hours of listening time easily. The cord is short enough that you’re never ever going to get it tangled up – it’s a sort of flat rubbery cord so it’s also not going to slip away from you any time soon. It’s just long enough to sit under your chin or around the back of your head as well, whatever you like.

These buds look and sound excellent, and it’s going to cost you what they’re worth, for sure: $99.99 from the Plantronics online store now. If you’re looking for wireless Bluetooth earbuds, know that these are the highest quality pair I’ve ever experienced. They’ll be in my backpack from now on.

The Marque M155 uses Bluetooth 3.0 and can pair and maintain connections with two or more devices through its Multipoint technology. It has A2DP standard stereo sound that makes it great for more than just answering calls. It promises great sound quality for listening to music, GPS directions, or even your email. With voice recognition technology, answering calls is as simple as saying “answer.”

The headset works with Vocalyst Voice and Text Services and comes with a one-year subscription of the service, which lets you send email, text messages, post to Facebook and Twitter, or even check the weather, all hands-free. You activate the voice service by pressing a button on the headset and then speaking simple commands.

Apps to help familiarize you with the Marque M155 can be found for both the iPhone and Android. Talk time for the headset is rated for up to 5 hours, while standby time is rated for up to 9 days and it takes 2 hours to charge until full via micro USB.

The Plantronics Marque M155 comes in Jet Black and Arctic White, priced at $59.99. It is available for pre-orders starting today on Amazon and will be available at Verizon, T-Mobile, Best Buy, and other retailers around mid to late October.

This wall contains rubber molds of ears of every size, shape and form they could possibly throw together in order to cover as wide a range of ear shapes possible.  Plantronics tests all new headset designs rigorously in order to put on the market the most comfortable headset for all shape and sized ears.   Ears are notoriously difficult to create a mass market product for due to the level of inconsistency in human ear shapes.   This wall is the “database” Plantronics has created in order to hit as many variables in headset design possible.

Each row of ears has been given a name to represent a shape and the other which percentile of the human race that particular shape and size fit into.   It is fascinating how much goes into designing a headset that is comfortable for every member of the human race.   For what its worth Plantronics demonstrated to me how much effort and research they put into designing the most comfortable headset one can wear.

The Voyager PRO UC Bluetooth headset will ring in at $199.95, and features a revolution in mobile phone and PC communications via some excellent smart sensor technology. Using advanced technology to make your whole entire experience completely simple this headset appears to be one that you just slide in and use.

The Calisto 800 Series, in particular the 825 (ringing up at $259.95) enables you to use multi-device hands-free connectivity with visual call management with a user interface they say is totally intuitive. Made specifically well for working with Microsoft Office Communicator and Lync, this device and it’s 800 family were made for private and home office workers who’ve just gotta have multiple communication devices (me! us!) to work and collaborate effectively. The Calisto 825 also manages calls between a PC and a mobile phone, and features a unique wireless mic that’s got unparalleled speakerphone audio quality and freedom of movement.

Check out the full press release below:

Plantronics Celebrates 50 Years of Innovation and Unveils New Unified Communications Products and Services
The Award Winning Voyager PRO UC, the New Calisto 825 and New UC Toolkit Accelerate Unified Communications Adoption and Deployments

SANTA CRUZ, Calif., Jan. 26, 2011 – Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) today announced new additions to its Unified Communications portfolio that span communication devices, software, and services. Plantronics is delivering a vision of smarter, more intuitive communications and pioneering the next generation of mobile communications devices and technologies to help people stay connected regardless of location or device. Plantronics celebrates its 50 year milestone with a look to the future by offering the new Plantronics UC Toolkit, the industry’s first complete set of tools, training and documentation for expanding the growth of unified communications solutions and two new flagship products for the UC market, VoyagerTM PRO UC and Calisto® 825, also announced today.

The company’s celebration will be held at an event filled with customers, partners, industry influencers and employees at company headquarters in Santa Cruz, Calif. The guest of honor is world famous astronaut Dr. Buzz Aldrin who was wearing a Plantronics headset when he managed the Apollo mission that heralded the first moonwalk nearly 42 years ago. Aldrin will be joined on stage with Plantronics CEO Ken Kannappan to honor the heritage of the industry pioneer and celebrate continued innovation. The event will be streamed live online and replays can be seen here:http://www.plantronics.com/launch/

“This is a pivotal time in Plantronics history as we celebrate the half century mark and embark upon an exciting time of innovation and industry leadership. It’s an ideal time to introduce the world to our vision of Simply Smarter CommunicationsTM,” said Ken Kannappan, president and chief executive officer at Plantronics.  “We want to end the pain-points that people experience when trying to stay connected at work or home. We think everyone – from consumers to mobile professionals to the business world- should be able to simply communicate regardless of device or location. We want to deliver innovative products with uncompromising quality, an ideal experience and extraordinary service so everyone can simply communicate.”
Simply Smarter CommunicationsTM

Behind the Vision

The “office” has transformed from four walls, a desk and a computer, to something much more fluid, mobile and familiar. No matter the location – home, airport, coffee shop or café – today’s distributed workforce requires instant access to information and people. People want solutions that save time, so they can conduct their business with more productivity and efficiency. Plantronics is uniquely positioned to understand the needs of this new world and create the “hub” for communications, whether users want to communicate via PC or mobile phones, deskphones or softphones.
Industry Supports the Vision

Today’s event will be filled with Plantronics executives, customers, partners, industry influencers and employees. Industry leaders Avaya®, Cisco® and Microsoft® will be speaking on the importance of unified communications in the enterprise and how Plantronics and they are working together to  offer customers solution to simply communicate.
Plantronics UC Toolkit

Available today, the new Plantronics UC Toolkit is a portfolio of IT best practices, guidelines, recommendations, and training tools that encompass the entire lifecycle of a unified communications implementation. The Plantronics UC Toolkit empowers IT organizations so they can have the best UC audio device experience and adoption rates – and ultimately optimize their companies UC investment.

“Now, more than ever, enterprises are embracing the move to unified communications, said Bill Loewenthal, vice president of unified communications at Plantronics. “We created the Plantronics UC Toolkit by leveraging best practices learned through helping our customers deploy UC solutions. The only resource of its kind, the UC Toolkit is designed to arm and empower IT professionals with the best information to meet the demands of today’s business world. With the introduction of the Plantronics UC Toolkit, we are extending our legacy of 50 years of innovation to help our customers embrace our vision of Simply Smarter Communications.”

Plantronics Expands Product Portfolio for Unified Communications
The next generation award-winning Voyager PRO UC Bluetooth headset, announced today, revolutionizes mobile phone and PC communications through smart sensor technology.  It uses advanced hardware and software that seamlessly eliminate communication complexity by detecting presence, integrating with your PC applications, and dramatically enhancing the headset experience.

The Calisto 800 Series, also announced today, are the first speakerphones in Plantronics’ unified communications product portfolio that combine multi-device hands-free connectivity with intuitive visual call management. Optimized for use with Microsoft® Office Communicator and LyncTM, these products were designed for private and home office workers who depend on multiple communication devices to collaborate effectively. The Calisto 800 Series also includes the Calisto 825, which manages calls between a PC and a mobile phone.  The Calisto 825 features a unique wireless microphone that provides unparalleled speakerphone audio quality and freedom of movement.
Please visit www.plantronics.com/calisto to learn more.

Safe Harbor

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements relating to Unified Communications (”UC”) and our Voyager Pro UC and Calisto 800 series. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such statements.  Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated are: (i) UC solutions may not be adopted with the breadth and speed in the marketplace that we currently anticipate and (ii)  our plans are dependent upon adoption of our UC solution by major platform providers such as Microsoft, Cisco, Avaya, Alcatel, and IBM, and we have a limited ability to influence such providers with respect to the functionality of their platforms, their rate of deployment, and their willingness to integrate their platforms with our solutions.  For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 1, 2010, quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q, particularly the sections entitled “Risk Factors,” “Certain Forward-Looking Information” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”,  and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as recent press releases.   Plantronics undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date they were made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

To submit your photo, first take it, prepare a short explanation of why your face is representative of today’s gamer, and send it out via Twitter to @plantronics with the hashtag #gameface! Check out these freaking amazing prizes!

Prizes (subject to change):
• 1st – Xbox 360, Kinect and PLT X95
• 2nd – Xbox Live “Minute Gift Cards” and PLT X40
• 3rd – PLT GameCom 777 7.1 with Dolby Surround Sound

And remember, you’ve only got a short while to submit, so get to it!

Important Date(s):
· Submissions begin – November 29
· Submissions end – December 10
· Judging – December 11 – 15
· Winners announced – December 17

Plantronics believe the key to the premium market is enabling straightforward multitasking with solid audio performance, hence the Savor M1100′s triple-microphone array and the bundled one year subscription to the new Vocalyst service. Bearing the company’s A-frame design, the Savor is a reasonably short and – at 9g – lightweight headset, though it’s surprisingly thick; Plantronics tells us that’s to accommodate the larger battery required for the three microphones, though the M1100 still tops out at 4hrs talktime.

Controls include a physical power switch, which we always approve of, together with a volume rocker, a call answer/end button and a dedicated voice command button. The three omnidirectional microphones are equally spaced along the fascia, and there’s a microUSB port for power (you can also use the headset while it’s recharging). We remain unconvinced by Plantronics’ gel ear-tips, though many people have no problems with them.

In general use, we can’t much fault the Savor M1100′s performance. Plantronics have implemented their latest AudioIQ3 system, and it does a brilliant job of cutting out background noise while leaving your voice not only audible but natural as well. It falls slightly short of the Voyager Pro+ (more on which later) for overcoming ambient sound – then again it’s also a significantly smaller headset – but the DSP is kinder to the tone of your voice. Although it’s a mono headset, Plantronics has added A2DP stereo connectivity so you can hear both channels of music in the same ear.

Paired with an iPhone, you also get a second battery gauge in the status bar of the phone to show the Savor M1100′s current charge. However we did have an issue keeping the Savor connected with a Motorola DROID X; the headset would sporadically disconnect, forcing either a manual reconnect or, at times, that we delete the pairing altogether and then repair them.

The M1100 has ten pre-programmed voice alerts, covering everything from power and battery status, connectivity and even an estimate of how much talktime you have left. Meanwhile there are also ten user voice commands it can recognize, from the basics – “answer”, “ignore” and “check battery” – to “redial”, “Call Information” (which dials Bing 411) and “Call Vocalyst”. The latter two are US-only at present.

Vocalyst is Plantronics’ branded voice-control service, built on top of Dial2Do recognition technology, and the Savor M1100 comes with a year’s subscription. It requires some setup online first – to register various email and other accounts, for instance – but once that’s done it’s designed to be solely operated by voice. You can tap the voice command button and say “send an email” or “listen to email” and either dictate a message or hear your inbox read out, say “Reminder” and dictate a memo that’s automatically transcribed and emailed to you, or even hear and post Twitter messages. News, sports, weather and finance headlines can be read out, you can send new notes to Evernote, and if you have a BlackBerry or an Android device there’s a free app that will read your SMS messages too.

It all works surprisingly well, and we found the emailed reminders to be particularly useful. Voice-to-text transcription accuracy is, as ever, dependent on how clearly you speak and how common the words are; we wouldn’t want to dictate a review and have it publish as-is, but for general use and shooting out email replies it’s reasonably effective. Plantronics hasn’t yet confirmed how much ongoing Vocalyst subscriptions will be once the included twelve months expire. On the downside, we found it was reasonably easy to run down the Savor M1100′s battery by taking advantage of Vocalyst’s capabilities.

As for the updated Plantronics Voyager Pro+, there are only relatively minor changes in comparison to the model we tested all the way back in April 2009. The company has added in the same enhanced voice alerts and voice prompts from the Savor M1100, together with bundling the Vocalyst service. They’ve also slightly changed the microphone grill, which apparently some users found could catch on their beard or mustache.

Nonetheless, it’s tough to improve on a near-perfect product when it comes to comfort, quality and design, and we remain significantly impressed by the Voyager Pro+. It too gets the iPhone battery gauge, and we didn’t have any issue keeping it paired and connected with the DROID X. Battery life is also stronger than the Savor, at up to six hours (a figure we’ve found to be accurate).

Both new models are priced at $99, and as ever it comes down to fashion and usability as to which should get your credit card details. The Voyager Pro+ remains our choice for battery life and overall performance in difficult environments; we also prefer the fit of its over-the-ear design. It’s hardly discrete, however, and the Savor M1100 is smaller, weighs half as much and – unless you’re in a particularly noisy place – can keep up with the Pro+’s audio quality. On the downside, it requires more frequent charging. Generally speaking, everyday users would probably be better served with the smaller Savor M1100, saving the Voyager Pro+ for those making more hands-free calls. Either, though, is a safe and flexible choice.

Style-wise, there’s not a huge amount of difference between the 903+ and the model it replaces. Plantronics says the casing is more rugged, and we do reckon you could throw the BackBeat into your bag without the included carry pouch and not worry too much about damaging it. The two earpieces are connected by a tough, rubber-coated cord, with the battery sections hooking over the back of your ears and the earbuds themselves mounted on flexible loops.

It’s a comfortable arrangement, as long as you haven’t got particularly large or small ears; there’s minimal adjustment beyond the rubber sections, although Plantronics do throw three different sized sets of earbuds into the box. In terms of controls, there’s a play/pause button on the right earpiece and a call answer/end button on the left; running down the back are power, volume-up/skip-forward and volume-down/skip-back keys.

Of course, different presses can do different tasks, and so long-holding the call button can redial the last number (phone permitting) or reject an incoming call, and other presses mute, trigger re-pairing, transfer ongoing conversations between headset and handset, and turn Bass Boost on or off. If your phone allows, you can do voice-activated dialing, too.

Like Plantronics’ recent monaural headsets, the BackBeat 9303+ gets AudioIQ2 and twin microphones for background noise reduction. It’s a system that works well, though unsurprisingly better with constant background sounds like road noise. Unfortunately there’s no MultiPoint, for hooking up two devices simultaneously; that seems a big omission when you consider how many people might want to pair their phone and their Bluetooth-enabled PMP at the same time.

It’s a shame, because musical performance is strong. The optional Bass Boost does a decent job of adding some thump – handy, since neither MP3s nor Bluetooth are generally known for having a great effect on audio quality – and while you’ll still get better sound from a wired headset, the convenience of the 903+’s is arguably worth the compromise.

Bluetooth A2DP obviously works with most recent devices that support the wireless standard, but if you’ve got an iPhone the experience is a little slicker. As we’ve seen on some other headsets, once paired with the Apple smartphone (or, indeed, an iPod touch) you get a separate battery meter in the status bar, that shows the charge left in your BackBeat. Plantronics reckon you’ll see up to 7hrs talktime or 7 days standby from a full charge, though obviously that depends on whether you’re using the headset for music or conversations. We managed to get through a day of heavy calling and some extended music sessions before the low-battery voice prompt piped up, and there’s a Listening Time announcement option, which will periodically tell you roughly how long you have left.

Considering the improvements in build, audio performance and usability over the headset it replaces, and the fact that Plantronics have kept the price at $99.99, we’re finding it tough to criticize the BackBeat 903+. Yes, if you’re a glasses wearer it can be a little trickier balancing the earpieces, and the absence of MultiPoint technology is a frustrating omission, but strong audio and flexible controls keep the Plantronics running with the front of the pack.

If they’re going to be suitable for daily wear, we expect our Bluetooth headsets to be discrete. Happily the M100 fits the bill, with a slimline design in matte black and blue plastics. As with other Plantronics models, the ear-loop is optional (and hinges to suit left or right ear wearing); if you prefer you can use one of the three different sizes of gel ear tips to hold the M100 in place. It’s certainly lightweight enough for that, though we had a little trouble picking the right ear tip: we felt we needed something in-between the standard sizes.

Still, even if it were to drop out of your ear, we’re reasonable confident the M100 would stand the tumble. Build quality is high, and the multifunction button is solid. Plantronics has also made use of various voice alerts, which speak the M100′s status to you rather than expect you to decode a blinking LED. These include low battery, mute and connection status; however, if you pair the M100 with your iPhone, the headset’s battery levels are also shown on-screen on the Apple smartphone.

The M100 supports Multi-Point connections – i.e. you can pair it with more than one Bluetooth device simultaneously – we had trouble when actually tried connecting it to a second device until we discovered Multi-Point is turned OFF by default. To activate, press and hold the Call button and slide the power button to on until LED flashes blue twice; repeat the process to deactivate Multi-Point.

Audio quality, meanwhile, proved strong. With Plantronics positioning the M100 as a mid-range headset we weren’t too surprised to see the absence of user-tweakable EQ, but there’s still echo cancellation, wind reduction and DSP (though not the company’s premium AudioIQ system) to balance the input from the dual microphones. Altogether it adds up to decent background noise reduction – especially when faced with repetitive droning such as wind or road noise – and clear audio for whomever you’ve called. We would’ve liked a little extra sparkle in the higher frequencies, which could be over-squashed by the DSP, but we’d put up with that in return for the absence of hiss.

Battery life is estimated at up to 6hrs talktime or up to 10 days in standby. In actual use, the M100 showed decent stamina, easily getting through a couple of days with a balance of multiple calls and time in standby. The iPhone battery gauge makes for far easier monitoring of power status, too, as does the audio low-battery warning, combining to take some of the guesstimate element out of knowing when exactly your headset is on its last legs.

Overall, we can’t fault the M100′s balance of price and performance, and the lengthy battery life lives up to expectations too. We’re still not 100-percent convinced by Plantronics’ choice of gel ear tips, but that’s down to personal preference. Where the decision gets trickier is when you consider what you can get – from Plantronics themselves – for roughly the same money. The Discovery 975, which we reviewed (and loved) twelve months ago, launched with a $129.99 MRSP but has settled to a street price on a par with (or even below) the new M100′s $79.99 tag. The Discovery 975 is the stronger audio performer, but the M100 is smaller, more discrete and offers longer battery life. For a mid-range headset to comfortably take on yesterday’s flagship is impressive stuff, and the Plantronics M100 comes recommended. Visit Plantronics M100 for more details.

Some folks don’t realize that Plantronics also makes headsets with mics for computer users. The company has announced a new gaming headset called the GameCom 777 with Virtual Dolby 7.1 surround sound. The headset is compatible with both Mac and PCs and connects with a single USB port.

The headset also has standard mic and speaker adapters for connecting with common ports on computers as well. The mic boom is hidden out of the way until you need it and the device has inline volume and music controls. The mic has noise cancelling features for clear conversations on VoIP services or gaming. The exact launch date for the headset is unknown.

The design of the Voyager PRO UC won’t come as a surprise if you’re familiar with other models from Plantronics’ range. It’s not the slickest of Bluetooth headset designs, with a size-able battery section that hangs over the back of your ear, and a reasonably long boom microphone arm, but it’s well made and the plastics and rubber feel of high quality.

Since the ear-loop is responsible for keeping the Voyager PRO UC in place, the earpiece itself doesn’t need to be buried in your ear canal. That minimizes longer-term discomfort and also allows for some background noise to still be heard. If you’re planning on wearing the Plantronics throughout your work day, it’s useful being able to hear what’s going on around you when you’re not on a call. In the box there are two sizes of soft gel ear tips and two sizes of foam ear tips, and we had no trouble finding one to suit; a medium-sized ear tip is preinstalled on the Voyager PRO UC itself.

Setup is, as with most Bluetooth headsets of late, straightforward. The Voyager PRO UC has volume controls on the top of the earpiece, a call control button on the outer fascia, a power button on the lower back edge and a microUSB charging port on the bottom. There’s also a reasonably discrete status LED just above the power button. Pairing with a cellphone requires holding down that button until the LED blinks red and blue, and then tapping in 0000 on your phone; from then on, you can answer and end calls with the headset control button, double tap it to redial the last number, or press and hold to trigger voice dialing.

Of course, what sets the Voyager PRO UC aside somewhat is the bundled USB Bluetooth dongle, which comes pre-paired to the headset. That’s simply a case of plugging it into a spare USB port and waiting for the LED to go red; since it uses Class 2 Bluetooth it offers 33 ft range. Plantronics say the headset is compatible with a considerable number of softphones and VoIP clients, including industry standards like Cisco and Avaya; happily it’ll also play nicely with apps like Skype, allowing you to answer and end calls with the control button. Since the Voyager PRO UC can remain not only paired but connected to both the dongle and your cellphone at once, you can also flip between calls.

Although we had no trouble getting the headset to work out of the box, Plantronics also supply the Windows-only PerSono Suite app which gives on-screen battery feedback, integrates with Skype to show notification evens, and handles system sounds more intelligently. As well as the Voyager PRO UC, Plantronics also offer an “Optimized for Microsoft Office Communicator 2007″ version which, as the unwieldy name suggests, is specially tailored to Microsoft’s comms platform.

Of course, all this would be pointless if sound quality was below par, and thankfully the Voyager PRO UC is another Plantronics headset with decent audio performance. Like other models there are two microphones each with wind screens, paired up with DSP to cut out background noise. It manages to walk that fine balance between clarity and sounding artificially processed. As for battery life, Plantronics reckon you’ll see up to five days of standby or six hours of talktime from a single charge, and with a day of periodic use with both Skype and our cellphone the battery indicator was still showing 75-percent. Unless you’re literally talking throughout a full work day, the Voyager PRO UC should suffice; meanwhile a recharge generally took 1-2 hours.

The biggest hurdle with the Plantronics Voyager PRO UC is the pricing. With an MRSP of $199.95 it may be small change to the office manager, but for a home user looking to balance VoIP and cellphone calls it’s a considerable step up from impressive models both from Plantronics’ own range and from rivals like Aliph and Jabra. You’re paying in no small part for the convenience of the pre-paired USB dongle; of course, if your laptop already has Bluetooth built-in, you needn’t bother with the dongle at all. The Voyager PRO UC’s MultiPoint abilities are good, its battery life excellent and its audio quality brilliant, but we’d opt for cheaper models like the basic Voyager PRO – at half the price – which still deliver the strong performance.

The most obvious cut back from Plantronics’ more expensive headsets is in the styling. The Explorer 395 isn’t an ugly device, certainly, but neither does it stand out from the rank and file of similarly priced generic headsets out there. Build quality feels high, but the clear plastic ear hook – which rotates and swivels to suit wearing on the right or left ear – lacks the poseability of high-end models. You’re also stuck with the standard ear-bud size, and we found it wasn’t sufficient to hold the Explorer 395 in the ear without the hook in place as well. That might prove frustrating if you’re a glasses-wearer.

Physical controls include a dedicated power button, volume, and a multi-function key that answers/ends calls and – if your phone supports it – triggers voice dialling. The DSP, meanwhile, includes acoustic echo cancellation, and it works reasonably well. It’s not quite as magical at cutting through wind and background sounds as the company’s more expensive models, but it did a good job of reducing road noise while driving and that’s likely the scenario most would-be buyers are considering. Unfortunately you can only pair with one device at a time, but both the hands-free (HFP) and headset (HSP) profiles are supported and we were able to connect to our notebook and use it as a Skype headset for VoIP calls.

Plantronics reckon the Explorer 395′s battery is good for up to 5hrs talktime or a week’s standby. Recharging is via the standard microUSB port on the rear end of the headset, and we’re glad Plantronics didn’t opt for a proprietary connector. You don’t get the slick battery/case with status display of the Discovery 975 (Buy at myiphone store), but then it’s less than half the price, too. We haven’t had enough time to put their 395 fully through its paces, but it certainly lasted through a full day with a mixture of a few voice calls and standby.

If you regularly make hands-free calls, or both cell and VoIP calls, you should probably look to higher models in Plantronics’ range (or elsewhere); they support multi-point pairing with more than one device simultaneously, and we’ve found their DSP is more refined. Still, if you’re looking for a relatively inexpensive way to go hands-free, the Explorer 395 offers above-average audio processing and the warranty comfort of a brand name. It’s on sale now through Plantronics online store and in Best Buy stores.

The concept of bone conduction is straightforward: a sensor integrated into the earpiece of the HX1 is used to pick up the vibrations that talking sends through your skull.  Nifty software interprets those vibrations as speech; however, since there’s no microphone involved, background noise isn’t picked up.  As a system its been used extensively by the military, where quietly communicating between team members is pretty important; now Motorola wants to deliver the same abilities to regular Bluetooth headset users.

To be fair, there’s a similar system in use by Aliph with their popular Jawbone range of headsets, which use a cheek sensor paired with a microphone to do some noise-reduction magic.  It’s not true bone conduction, though, which is why we’ve been so interested to try out the Endeavor HX1.

Motorola refers to their bone conduction system as “Stealth Mode”, likely because it sounds cooler to potential customers, and it’s not actually active all of the time.  Usually the HX1 relies on a more traditional dual-microphone array along with their CrystalTalk sound processing technology, and we found that worked pretty well in regular circumstances.  It’s not as effective as, say, Plantronics has been offering with their recent models, but holding a conversation while there’s music or wind noise in the background is certainly possible.

Unfortunately, Stealth Mode is far less successful.  When we tested it back at the HX1 launch event, we were impressed with the demo models Motorola had on hand.  Something appears to have gone wrong in the meantime, as the bone conduction on all three-production units has some issues.

It starts with an uncomfortable earpiece the use of which, since the Stealth Mode sensor is embedded into it, can’t be avoided.  We had significant trouble trying to get a comfortable fit, and even then didn’t find the HX1 wearable for extended periods.  More concerning is the fact that our test callers simply couldn’t hear us when Stealth Mode was activated: it ranged from simply a distant buzzing through to snatches of quiet, garbled speech punctuated by loud pops, with any recognizable words having their intonation sounding muted or mangled in a very robotic way.

It’s possible that we have the “wrong type” of ears for the HX1, given that everybody’s ear canal is differently shaped; however, that doesn’t fill us with confidence that every buyer of the headset will find it to their favor.  As it stands, though, the Motorola Endeavor HX1 delivers 50-percent of its promise, working as a reasonable though not standout Bluetooth earpiece in standard, CrystalTalk mode.  $129.99 is a whole lot to ask, though, for straightforward functionality, and the HX1 comes nowhere close to knocking our current consumer favorite, the Plantronics Voyager Pro, Plantronics Discovery 975 and Jawbone Prime off of their perch.

Many thanks to everyone for helping me test out the Motorola Endeavor Bluetooth headset!

Visually the Discovery 975 resembles a slimmed down 925, and is far less bulky than the Voyager PRO. Side-on the small diamond-shaped, leather-clad core extends into a narrow boom arm that extends to around half the cheek; it’s not the thinnest headset we’ve seen, but it’s light and easily supported by the in-ear gel tips rather than requiring a hook.

In with the headset Plantronics supply small, medium and large ear tips together with a leather carrying case that doubles as a mobile charger. The Discovery 975′s own battery is rated for up to 5hrs talk time or 1 week standby from its 85mA Li-ion polymer cell, but Plantronics told us that they’ve purposefully “underpromised and over delivered”; indeed, we’re seeing more than 5hrs use from the headset, with it comfortably getting through a morning’s worth of use and well into the afternoon too. Meanwhile the case has its own rechargeable battery, just as the 925′s did, which will rejuice the Discovery 975 up to three times. We’re also pleased to see that, unlike rival headsets such as the Jawbone PRIME, which need to be turned off to recharge, the Discovery 975 can remain powered on and connected while it’s juicing. The case even lights up and flashes when a call comes in, just to make sure you notice it.

There’s also an integrated display, which shows the separate battery status of both the headset and the case, together with the Bluetooth connection status. We far prefer this arrangement to one or more flashing lights on the headset itself, which generally either require decoding or only offer the vaguest indication of how much power is left.

Plantronics Discovery 975 Product Tour

As for that Bluetooth connection, the Discovery 975 uses v2.1+EDR and supports Secure Simple Pairing (SSP), the Hands-free and Headset profiles. It’ll also use Multipoint technology to simultaneously hold an active connection with two Bluetooth devices: we paired with both our test iPhone 3GS and a MacBook Pro, and were able to easily use both for cellular and VoIP calls in turn. Range is quoted at 33 feet, and we’ve been able to move around neighboring rooms to our test phones without a loss of signal. The headset has minimal controls – a multifunction button integrated into the boom arm, and a volume/mute control on the side – and supports voice-activated dialing and last number redial when used with a compatible handset. It’ll also give you a verbal alert when running low on power, when muted and if the Bluetooth link has been lost.

Of course, the most important element of a Bluetooth headset these days – especially when it has to justify a premium price tag – is its audio quality, and the Discovery 975 happily fails to disappoint. Like the Voyager PRO it couples Plantronics’ AudioIQ2 noise-cancelling technology and their WindSmart systems for avoiding wind noise, with the two adding up to incredibly natural sound. This is actually the first outing for dual microphones on a Plantronics headset, which the company tells us is tailored for everyday use rather than the more industrially inclined microphone setup of the PRO. We’re seriously impressed with the amount of DSP (digital signal processing), echo-cancellation, equalization (Plantronics say 20-bands) and filtering packed into this 8g headset; having tested it first in noisy rooms and cars, then escalating through even louder situations, those on the other end of the line failed to hear any background noise whatsoever. The icing on the cake is natural voice tones rather than the robotized results of some rivals’ heavy-handed processing.

To be blunt, it’s as though Plantronics took our criticisms of the Voyager PRO – its bulk, its glasses-unfriendly hook and its overly businesslike appearance – and immediately set to work on a new headset that addressed each one. There’s still a place for the PRO in pure business environments, and in truly loud and congested areas that earlier headset does top the Discovery 975′s audio performance, but for everyday wear the design, style and ability of the new headset make it an excellent all-round performer. It doesn’t come cheap – it’ll set you back $129.99 and is available at www.plantronics.com and for pre-order at BestBuy.com and Amazon.com today. The Discovery 975 will be available in Best Buy and Apple stores in late August, and AT&T stores beginning in mid September. Availability at Radio Shack and Sprint stores follows in early October. To sum it up, the Plantronics Discovery 975 justifies the premium price with incredible performance, flexibility and comfort. As offspring go, you can’t ask for much more than that.

Discovery 975 walkthrough

Advertisement: Plantronics Voyager PRO

It’s not a small headset, but it does come packed with audio-processing cleverness.  Plantronics’ AudioIQ2 DSP system includes wind-cancellation and ambient noise removal, together with WindSmart thanks to dual-microphones and acoustic fabrics.  Battery life is estimated at up to 6hrs talktime or five days of standby.

In the UK, the Plantronics Voyager PRO will be available from the company themselves together with carrier Orange and Apple stores.  If you’re in the US, you can already pick up the Voyager PRO for around $100. 

Press Release:

NEW PLANTRONICS VOYAGER PRO BLUETOOTH HEADSET WITH AUDIOIQ2 DELIVERS BREAKTHROUGH IN SOUND QUALITY AND COMFORT

Advanced Design Combines Superior Noise Cancellation,

Wind Reduction and Inbound Audio

London – 22nd June, 2009 – Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today continued its 47-year legacy of audio expertise and ingenuity with the new Plantronics Voyager® PRO Bluetooth® headset. Plantronics Voyager PRO features AudioIQ2, the next generation of its AudioIQ digital signal processing (DSP) technology, to deliver superior noise and wind cancellation as well as rich, natural inbound audio so you can hear and be heard clearly.

The Plantronics Voyager PRO is the successor to the popular Plantronics Voyager 510 Bluetooth headset, a cult favorite among headset enthusiasts. Like the Voyager 510, the new Plantronics Voyager PRO is designed for mobile professionals who need all-day wearing comfort and excellent audio wherever they are working.

Engineered for Sound Quality

Today’s headset users expect great noise cancellation and Plantronics Voyager PRO delivers it with AudioIQ2 and a unique adjustable dual-microphone boom. While other headsets deliver noise cancellation at the expense of overall audio quality, the boom provides the advantage of capturing your voice close to your mouth so the AudioIQ2 technology can more effectively remove ambient noise, while still maintaining the natural sound of your voice.

The headset also effectively minimizes wind noise – a major cause of disruption during calls. Plantronics Voyager PRO features three layers of WindSmart® technology. Dual external stainless steel microphone screens and acoustic fabrics that surround the microphones together provide substantial physical barriers to wind noise. At the same time, the AudioIQ2 DSP algorithms intelligently decipher your voice from the wind to deliver clear sound to your listener.

Finally, Voyager PRO delivers unmatched inbound audio quality to ensure every word is heard on both sides of a conversation. It features a custom speaker that delivers full-spectrum audio so conversations are richer and more vibrant. The adaptive 20-band equalizer delivers distortion-free audio and works with AudioIQ2 to automatically adjust sound levels based on the noise level around you to ensure maximum audibility.

“Plantronics is singularly focused on one thing – the headset perfected. With the Plantronics Voyager PRO we set out to engineer a high-performance headset for today’s professional user who not only demands unparalleled sound quality on both sides of call, but also insists on comfort and usability,” said Stuart Bradshaw, EMEA Marketing Manager for the Plantronics Mobile Division. “Voyager PRO breaks new ground in Bluetooth headsets, and consumers will be delighted by the total experience.”

Engineered for Comfort

The Plantronics Voyager PRO endured an extraordinary 24 rounds of human factors testing to perfect the design for all-day wearing comfort and stability. The behind-the-ear wearing style is perfectly counterbalanced so weight is distributed evenly, rendering it virtually weightless when worn. The Voyager PRO ear tip is made of soft silicone for an optimal fit and features a “sound channel” that helps distribute audio evenly to the ear.

Engineered for the Mobile Professional

The Plantronics Voyager PRO was designed for the mobile professional user. It includes easily accessible power, volume and mute buttons. It can seamlessly connect to two different mobile phones with multipoint technology, and it folds up easily for storage. The Voyager PRO also features voice prompts for low battery warnings and mute status. Finally, the lithium polymer battery provides up to six hours of continuous talk time and five days of stand-by time, exceeding the talk and standby times of most mobile phones.

Pricing and Availability

The Plantronics Voyager PRO is available for £79.99 at www.plantronics.com, Orange and Apple. For more information about the Plantronics Voyager PRO, please visit: http://www.plantronics.com/voyagerpro.

About Plantronics

In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of innovation is the basis for every audio product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing and Clarity. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com.

The range is similar to that offered by Bluetooth, at around 40 feet, and the Plantronics system also includes control of volume, play and track skips in iTunes and Windows Media Player from buttons on the headset itself.  The microphone features noise-canceling technology and automatically mutes when raised into the upright position.

The Plantronics .Audio 995 Digital Wireless Stereo headset is available in the US and UK now, priced at $109.95 and £79.99 respectively. 

Press Release:

Plantronics Introduces New Wireless PC Headset for Enhanced
Multimedia and Voice Experiences

The .Audio 995 Wireless Headset Provides Digital Stereo Sound for
Music, Movies, Gaming and Internet Calls Without the Cords

London – May 27, 2009 – Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today introduced the new .Audio™ 995 Digital Wireless Stereo Headset for multimedia and voice applications on the PC. The .Audio 995 combines rich digital stereo sound and great voice quality to provide users with a single headset for all of their PC activities — including music and movie listening, gaming, PC calls and podcasting — without the cords.

The Plantronics .Audio 995 headset utilizes advanced Plantronics audio technology and the digital 2.4gHz frequency for exceptional audio and lower interference with other wireless devices. Users can wirelessly roam up to 40 feet away from the PC and remotely control volume, play and skip tracks on iTunes® and Windows Media Player® via music controls directly on the earpiece.

“Consumers shouldn’t have to decide between superior audio quality and the benefits of wireless when selecting a PC headset,” said Matt Miller, director of PC and Entertainment at Plantronics, Inc. “Unlike other wireless products on the market today, there are no compromises with the .Audio 995. We designed it to enhance the array of multimedia and voice-intensive activities that PC users perform everyday through full-range stereo sound, clear audio and a comfortable fit.”

The Plantronics .Audio 955 includes pillow-soft, swivel-mounted ear cushions and a lightweight design for long-wearing comfort. The headset features Plantronics’ noise-canceling Fast Mic Mute™ technology, which quickly mutes audio when the boom is raised. Users can connect the .Audio 995 in one simple step with the plug-and-play wireless USB connector.

Pricing and Availability
The Plantronics .Audio 955 is priced at £79.99 The product is also available at www.plantronics.com . For more information about the .Audio 995, please visit www.plantronics.com .

About Plantronics
In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of innovation is the basis for every audio product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing and Clarity. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com

“Class Counsel will ask the court for up to $800,000 in attorneys’ fees and up to $38,000 for reimbursement of documented expenses.  Class Counsel will also request up to $12,000 total for the Class Representatives, who helped the lawyers on behalf of the whole Class.  The Court may award less than these amounts.  Defendants will separately pay the fees and expenses the Court orders.  These payments will not reduce the amount Defendants will donate to charity.

Defendants will also separately pay the costs to provide notice to the Class and administer the Proposed Settlement, up to $1.2 million.  If those costs are less than $1.2 million, Class Counsel may request reimbursement for additional documented expenses up to $12,000, which Defendants will pay upon approval by the Court.” Settlement agreement

A likely result of the case will be a new spate of warning labels and stickers on any Bluetooth headset, informing customers that there might be a risk to hearing from using them.  We say might, as even the class action suit wasn’t entirely sure whether the risk was present: as the legalese says, the Bluetooth headsets “create a risk of hearing loss and that Defendants acted wrongfully when they did not warn consumers of the risk (if it exists).”

Motorola, Jabra and Plantronics are settling out of court in preference to a full – and potentially far more expensive – trial, but are not admitting that their products present a risk.  Meanwhile the consumers carry on regardless, have another label to ignore, and seven law firms take another step toward their Christmas bonus.

[via jkOnTheRun]

Elsewhere, netbooks suffered a hiccup after MSI, ASUS and Acer all apparently saw fewer sales than expected in the first quarter of 2009.  That hasn’t done much to sway the tide of new machines, though, with the Aspire One Pro 531 finally getting official, along with the MSI Wind U100 PLUS.  Toshiba are also getting in on the action, with the Dynabook UX, while Sharp have prompted no small amount of interest with their Mebius NJ70A with its LCD touchscreen trackpad.  Meanwhile we saw the Acer Aspire One 531 unboxed on video, while a review of the ASUS Eee PC 1004DN flagged up the problems Windows XP presents to Intel’s GN40 graphics chipset.

We still can’t get enough of the Viliv S5 MID, and it seems we’re not alone.  Presales for the 4.8-inch touchscreen device kick off on Monday this week, albeit for the non-3G model, and if the reviews are to be believed then it’s a very alluring MID that should find no shortage of buyers.  No such luck for OQO, who have canceled all pre-orders for their Model 2+ UMPC.

If OQO’s struggles weren’t bad enough, SlashGear favorite Ugobe have also hit some unsurmountable trouble.  The Pleo-makers have filed for bankruptcy, leaving the robodino’s alluring IP up for grabs by the highest bidder.

Elsewhere, MSI’s X-Slim X340 ultraportable finally got an official price-tag, though we’re sad to see it missing its sub-$1000 predictions and instead coming in at $1,099.99.  To make up for the disappointment, someone promptly opened up their X340 to reveal compact components and a surprising amount of masking tape.

Don’t forget, SlashGear is giving away a year’s subscription to Slacker Radio Plus to one lucky reader.  Head over to this forum thread to find out more, plus details on how you can answer (hint: it’s very, very simple); entries will be accepted up until the end of the month.  Good luck!

Unless you’re a telemarketer, you’re unlikely to think the Plantronics Voyager PRO discrete.  While rivals like Aliph’s Jawbone PRIME have aimed for compact and jewel-like with their design, Plantronics have definitely put function over form.  Behind the ear sits a large battery, linked via a flexible rubber arm to a protruding boom arm; since it’s your outer-ear that holds the Voyager Pro in place, the earbuds are picked for their comfort rather than their tenacious grip.  Plantronics bundle two different sized ear-gels together with some more traditional foam earbuds.

Hardware controls are minimal, basically comprising a large multifunction power/pairing/call-answer/call-end key and a small volume rocker.  A status LED lives above the main button, putting it right behind your ear; I’m not a fan of blinking LEDs on headsets to begin with, but this seems a particularly out-of-the-way place to site it.  Because of its positioning, the multifunction key requires a firm grip on the headset; I had mixed results stabbing it with a single finger.  A microUSB connector serves to recharge the battery.

Surprisingly, despite its bulk, the Voyager PRO proved comfortable to wear.  Tipping the scales at 0.6oz, but spreading that weight across the whole ear, you could realistically sport the Plantronics all day without tiring of it.  While the flexible arm is intended to make glasses and sunglasses-wearers comfortable, we still prefer an earhook-free headset.  I found the rubber arch to be too bulky to hug the ear enough so as not to rub or nudge glasses; of course, those with bigger ears will probably appreciate how accommodating it is.

I paired the Voyager PRO with a number of test handsets, and experienced roughly 20-25 feet of usable range; that of course is cut down significantly if you put your phone into a pocket or purse.  Meanwhile runtime – estimated at up to 6hrs talktime or up to five days standby – proved just as impressive as the sizable battery might suggest.  I managed full, busy days of use with several hours worth of calls without ever hearing the battery warning tone; even if I had, Plantronics claim it takes just 90 minutes to rejuice from the supplied AC power supply.

For those six hours you’ll get amazing sound quality.  The upside to a lengthy boom microphone is improved speech pickup, and to that Plantronics have added their AudioIQ2 technology together with noise-cancellation systems.  Together, they add up to highly impressive voice isolation, both for the wearer and whomever they’re talking to.  Walking around noisy, windy, crowded streets of Rome, callers couldn’t perceive any difference to when I’d spoken to them from our flat.  Unlike some noise-cancellation tech I’ve tried in Bluetooth headsets, the Voyager PRO works its magic without simultaneously mangling, compressing or robotizing your voice.

Whether it performs better than the Jawbone PRIME is a difficult question.  My back to back testing suggested that, in everyday situations, callers couldn’t tell the difference between the PRIME and the Voyager PRO.  I felt the Jawbone deals with direct wind-noise a little better than the Plantronics, while the Voyager Pro has the edge on natural voice clarity.  Its processing produces a louder, more defined sound, versus the PRIME’s smoother tone.  For most people in most environments, though, we don’t think there’s much to differentiate the technology.

Update:  Vincent has just called me from a crowded bus in Rome, whispering “like a tiny mouse”, and there was no perceivable difference in his voice, nor identifiable background noise.  The only thing different was that he didn’t sound as hyperactive as usual – quite a pleasant change!  There’s a photo of the bus environment in the gallery below; the Voyager PRO may not tick the aesthetic boxes, but the audio quality can’t be understated.  Chris Davies

Plantronics told me that Voyager PRO is targeted to a specific market: hardcore business users.  The gamble is that those users are willing to sacrifice style for comfort and, to some extent, performance.  The Voyager PRO certainly offers superlative audio quality and – for non-glasses wearers at least – it’s comfortable enough to wear for long periods, but like I’m simply not convinced it offers enough over the Jawbone PRIME to balance its obtrusiveness.  The price tag of $100 is a lot of money and while the Jawbone PRIME costs $29 more, I reckon there’s more flexibility with it; I have a feeling most consumers will feel the same way.

We were able to catch up with Plantronics at MobileFocus, but they were very hush-hush about something, and we assume that this was it.  In my recent Bluetooth-testing binge, I’m getting more and more excited at the prospect of a new stylish and feature-rich headset to try out.

Plantronics is best known for their mobile and home-office Bluetooth headsets. They have something up their sleeve, and judging from the pictures, it’s going to be big.  Check out Plantronics’ teaser site here.

Remember, you can still win a Tokyoflash Radio Active Active Reactor watch – no longer available to buy – in our current giveaway, together with two runner-up prizes of any watch from the company’s current catalog.  Head over to the competition to find out how to enter!

Apple carved out its usual little niche of news and rumor this week, starting with a system update (1056) then surprising everyone with confirmation that Steve Jobs wouldn’t be presenting at the next MacWorld and, from the year after that, neither would Apple at all.  Still, that hasn’t stopped the rumors as to what they might be announcing: a $499 budget Mac mini is one suggestion, together with the perpetual talk of a netbook.  SlashGear will be at MacWorld, live-blogging the keynote announcement, to bring you all the details as they happen. 

Less impressive was the MacBook trackpad driver update, intended to fix stability issues on Windows but falling pretty flat.  As for the iPhone 3G, it and its iPod touch PMP cousin are getting a new Metal Gear Solid game (but don’t get too excited, it’s really just a simple point-&-shoot) and the Dev Team are promising a 3G unlock by the end of the year.  Future graphics capabilities for the devices were also questioned this week, as Apple bought up 3.6-percent of mobile graphics experts Imagination.  Still, if it’s the current iPhone you’re after, it looks like you’ll be able to pick it up from Walmart come December 28th.

Elsewhere in mobile devices, Samsung confirmed it would be launching an Android-based smartphone in Q2 2009 for Sprint and T-Mobile USA, while Sprint themselves debuted the U300 dual WiMAX and EVDO modem.  Motorola’s 2009 line-up for Verizon leaked, suggesting the manufacturer may not have lost its design mojo after all, while Sling finally announced a release date – December 30th – for their BlackBerry SlingPlayer app.

In notebooks and netbooks, there was news at both ends of the scale.  NVIDIA and Qualcomm both demonstrated their ultraportable platforms, with the latter’s perhaps somewhat more ambitious, while Lenovo’s massive dual-display ThinkPad W700ds graphics workstation sucked the air from the lungs of designers all over.  Meanwhile Dell’s Studio XPS 13 teased with its part-leather casing (and gave hints to the MacBook Air-challenging upcoming Dell Adamo). 

Here at SlashGear, our HP Magic Giveaway found its winner, but don’t despair if you weren’t lucky: there’s still time to enter our two new giveaways.  If you’re in the market for a set of high-quality headphones, we’ve two of Sleek Audio’s customizable SA6 in-ear earphones – one with the company’s lossless wireless adapter – up for grabs.  Meanwhile, if it’s hands-free Bluetooth you’re looking for, how about six – that’s almost $900-worth! – of Plantronics’ Discovery 925 headsets?  We’re accepting entries up until midnight central time on December 23rd, so act fast!

Find out how to win after the cut!

The headset is part of a promo for a new Plantronics website called Laws of Style.  Visit the site and delivery a friendly fashion ‘citation’ to any mis-dressers on your list, even those wearing a dippy blinking blue light strapped to their head. Check it out – it’s nothing if not an amusing distraction from real work.

As more and more States implement cellphone bans while driving, the potential penalty for not using a hands-free kit – both in financial and in safety terms – keeps getting higher and higher.  The winner of this SlashGear giveaway will not only get a top-spec headset for their own use, but enough to give out to family and friends this Christmas. 

Entering the giveaway is simple.  All you have to do is register in the SlashGear forums and leave a comment in this forum thread telling us what cellphone and what carrier you’re using.  Entries have to be in by midnight CST on December 23rd, and the winner will be picked at random.  Full rules are below.

Remember, the SlashGear HP Magic Giveaway is still accepting entries, but the closing date is approaching fast.  Find out how to take part here.

Rules

Competition is open to residents of the US over the age of 18.  Family members of Plantronics and SlashGear are not permitted to enter.  Competition entries are only accepted via the specified SlashGear forum thread; entries left in the comments section of this, or any other post, will not be recognized.  Entries should be submitted before midnight central time on December 23rd; one entry per person.

The winner will be announced on SlashGear and contacted via email; they will be expected to respond within 24 hours else their prize may be forfeit and another winner selected.  Editors decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.  Winner agrees that their name and details of their entry may be used for promotional purposes by, but not limited to, SlashGear.

Prize consists of six Plantronics Discovery 925 Bluetooth Headsets.  There is no cash alternative and colors may vary.  Should this prize become unavailable, SlashGear and Plantronics reserve the right to substitute another prize of equal or greater value.

First off, the 5 hour battery life isn’t quite accurate; V said he got almost 4 hours from the thing. Second, the VFrame boom design is a wind noise hazard, but it apparently wasn’t that bad as he didn’t knock it much. Also, fitting the 925 was apparently a task of its own since it didn’t have an ear hook, but instead opted for the in-ear design that worked in a weird way with those odd looking gel ear insert things.

However, there are only two buttons on the device which should make it incredibly easy to use. There is the volume button that cycles through three different volumes and then the other button that is used for power, to put the device into pairing mode, and to accept, reject, or end calls. My personal favorite part of this Bluetooth headset is that it apparently only blinks when you are doing something with it to make it blink, it doesn’t just randomly blink every few seconds just because it’s on like every other headset I’ve ever had, which is nice. The only other downside is that it costs $149.99, which is more than the Jawbone, and more than the BlueAnt Z9 which Vincent still contends is the best Bluetooth headset in existence.

[via PhoneMag]

Featuring Plantronics’ AudioIQ technology for clear calls, their VFrame structure, and an overall design more reminiscent of a piece of jewelry than that of a Bluetooth headset, this thing looks amazing. Even better yet, the little case that comes with it, isn’t just a case.

The case also charges the headset while its in your pocket, briefcase, or bag. There are three color choices that open up the headset to both men and women, there is Onyx Black, Alchemy Gold, and Cerise Pink, each with glass beads and a fire-blasted enamel-like finish.

The headset will give you 5 hours of talk time, and I’m sure that standby time is probably around 200 hours or something like that, meanwhile the case provides a long enough charge for another 5 hours of talk time, so with the combo you should be set for a full days worth of talking. They are calling it a “tech-cessory” due to its high technical functionality, extremely clear call quality, yet fashionable appearance, it will be available sometime this month fro $149.99.

[via Plantronics]

The aforementioned nifty design is an active boom microphone section, which not only brings it closer to your mouth but, in the process, answers or ends an incoming call. Buttons on the headset control both music and cellphone sources, and the whole thing weighs just 15 grams.

Nonetheless, Plantronics are promising seven hour battery life with continuous use, or 200 hours standby, and they’ve packed it with audio processing magic which they say improves both music and voice call quality.

The stereo headset will launch in October 2007, priced at around $150, while a mono version – the Voyager 815 – will cost $130.

Plantronics Voyager 855 Product Page [Thanks Thorsten]

Your choices for positioning the Bluetooth receiver were a) use the attached [but removable] belt clip or, b) use the included lanyard and hang it around your neck. Pairing the receiver was apparently easy and the headphones offered up superb sound.

The receiver includes several music functions, and somewhere in the set there is a microphone for taking/making calls. Charging only took about 2 hours, and it lasted playing music for 9, making calls for 11, and standby for about 200 hours.

I like the way it looks, and am sure it has lots of uses, but the Bluetooth receiver and headphones not being integrated into each other makes using it while the device is in your pocket pointless. With the line out cable though, you could use it in your office, house, or even vehicle (if yours has an auxiliary input). The headphones would be useful around the office or house, wherever you would normally use them, but not get more than 33 feet away. Like I said though, using this while your device is just in your pocket is pointless.

Plantronics Pulsar 260 Stereo Bluetooth Headset Review [via chipchick]

The CS70N is the perfect combination of premium audio performance, style and comfort. It has been optimized for both traditional and IP telephony phones and provides office professionals with excellent hands-free mobility for increased accessibility and efficiency at work.

Based on the award-winning Plantronics CS70, the new CS70N features a specially-designed boom and noise-cancelling microphone that eliminates distracting background noise in loud office environments. The CS70N also enables users to talk hands-free and accomplish simultaneous tasks that fill the work day, such as using a keyboard and a mouse, leading a webinar, or move around the office without being tethered to the desk.

The headset is built on digitally encrypted, voice-dedicated 1.9GHz DECT™ technology to provide exceptional audio quality and lower interference with other wireless office devices at a range of up to 300 feet. Furthermore, the unit is discreet and lightweight.

It’s comfortable enough for all day wearing. It has one-touch call answer/end, volume and mute headset controls for ease of use. It also comes with a integrated base and charging cradle for easy access and can run up to 6 hours on a single charge.

Thanks Thorsten [Plantronics]

Now, instead of running cables round a variety of rubber gussets (oh how I love that word!), drop your Bluetooth-equipped cellphone, DAP or iPod-with-Bluetooth-dongle into your pocket and relax in the knowledge that you’re connected.  Both mens and womens ranges will be available, with prices starting from $249.95 for helmets and $340 for jackets.

Plantronics

The packaging comes with a convenient charging and storage system targeted for use in the car. There are visual call indicator and low battery indicator. It’s ultra-light, sophisticated design and customizable eartips for complete wearing comfort.

The Plantronics Discovery 665 will be available for $149.95 (msrp) at major retailers and http://www.plantronics.com in February 2007.
NOTE: Live product shots coming later today.