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The best bluetooth headsets
By Marianne Schultz and Nick Guy This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. When readers choose to buy The Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. If you're hopping on and off the phone throughout the day, or if you're typically talking on the phone while driving (despite the safety concerns), the Plantronics Voyager Edge is the best Bluetooth headset for most people. After putting in 50-plus hours of research and testing more than 15 models over the past three years—including 12 hours of testing and three new models for the latest update—the Voyager Edge continues to lead the pack with its combination of stellar sound quality, long battery life, excellent Bluetooth range, and comfortable fit.
Plantronics BackBeat Go 2 Bluetooth in-ears: sweat resistance, six-month sleep
Plantronics was proud to present its BackBeat Go Bluetooth in-ear headphones last year, but it's also aware improvements are always welcome. To that end, the company's ready to show off its second iteration: BackBeat Go 2. P2i moisture resistance and reworked internals for improved sound back up the sporty wire-behind-the-ear design and fit stabilizers -- look out, Jaybird. Not only does the hardware remember up to eight devices, but a DeepSleep mode shuts it down if you walk out of range without turning the power off, allowing it to sleep for up to six months. The internal batteries squeeze out about 4.5 hours of playtime for music, and an optional SKU with a microUSB charging case can provide about two and a half refills. As you'd expect, an inline remote keeps you in control of your playlists and calls, while DSP enhances incoming and outgoing sound. Ears perked? The headphones will be available starting today at various retailers in your choice of black or white priced at $80 for the headphones and $100 with the charging case.
Plantronics Voyager PRO UC senses your Bluetooth wants and needs, softly whispers in your ear
We know, that headline makes it seem like the Plantronics Voyager Pro UC is going to seduce you, and well, after spending sometime with the headset yesterday at D: Dive Into Mobile we're thinking it may actually be pretty hard to resist. While it's not as snazzy as the Jawbone Icon or the Jabra Stone, its ear piece and ear hook contain capacitive sensors that know when you've got the device on your ear or in your hand. So, not only can the headset automatically switch a call or song from your phone to the headset when you put it on, but even if it's paired it won't ring the headset unless it's actually on your ear. That means if you've got it paired but have it in your pocket or across the room, you'll be able to pick it up on your phone without a problem. On top of that, the Pro will come with a USB dongle and Voice Alerts software, which integrates with Microsoft Outlook. When configured, the software will read the subject line of an email sent by certain specified contacts into your ear. We told you it was seductive! Sadly, the Voyager Pro UC won't actually be out until early next year and we don't know anything on pricing yet, but in the meantime check out some more pics of the device below. %Gallery-109572%
The Engadget Show returns, this Saturday, May 22nd with Sprint's Evo 4G, Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch, and an Engadget editors Q&A!
Guess what humans? It's that time again -- the Engadget Show returns this Saturday, May 22nd at 5pm... and it's shaping up to be a killer! First up, we'll have an exclusive interview with Adobe's CTO Kevin Lynch (taped at the Google I/O conference), which is sure to be both informative and wildly entertaining. What's more, Josh, Paul, and Nilay will be putting the new HTC Evo 4G through its paces live onstage, then they'll be joined by our very own Chris Ziegler and Laura June for a hard-hitting round of Q&A with the audience. That's right, it's your chance to ask the Engadget editors anything, live and in-person, plus much more (see instructions in the bullet points below). And as usual, we'll have some rocking 8-bit music from minusbaby and visuals from notendo and plenty of those good 'ol Engadget Show shenanigans. You like giveaways? Well then, this is your lucky week (if you attend). Many of you will be walking away with shiny new Voyager Pro headsets, courtesy of Plantronics and we've got tons of Engadget t-shirts to hand out! Oh, and did we mention we're also giving away a brand new iPad (courtesy of The Little App Factory and bundled with all of their software titles)? Well we are, alongside a handful of other goodies. The Engadget Show is sponsored by Sprint, and will take place at the Times Center, part of The New York Times Building in the heart of New York City at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues (see map after the break). Tickets are -- as always -- free to anyone who would like to attend, but seating is limited, and tickets will be first come, first served... so get there early! Here's all the info you need: There is no admission fee -- tickets are completely free The event is all ages Ticketing will begin at the Times Center at 2:30PM on Saturday, doors will open for seating at 4:30PM, and the show begins at 5PM You cannot collect tickets for friends or family -- anyone who would like to come must be present to get a ticket Seating capacity in the Times Center is about 340, and once we're full, we're full The venue is located at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues in New York City (map after the break) The show length is around an hour If you have a question for the editor Q&A, email your question to showquestions [at] engadget [dot] com, or hand the question in to us at the venue by 3:30PM. You must hand in the query on an index card or piece of paper when you pick up your tickets. If you're a member of the media who wishes to attend, please contact us at: engadgetshowmedia [at] engadget [dot] com, and we'll try to accommodate you. All other non-media questions can be sent to: engadgetshow [at] engadget [dot] com. Subscribe to the Show: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V). [Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (M4V). [RSS M4V] Add the Engadget Show feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.
Plantronics Explorer 395 Bluetooth headset review
At Engadget, we're used to playing with premium Bluetooth headsets like the Jabra Stone and Jawbone Icon, so it's only natural this $49.95 Plantronics headset would lower our expectations, but turns out it's not bad for the money. For starters, the actual earpiece looks much better than the renders we saw, with a retro look that we quite liked. We're also promised easy operation with few buttons -- the silver paddle-like button (with LEDs underneath) for phone calls and Bluetooth pairing; the black volume button on one side with five incremental volume steps; and the ridged power slide switch on the other side. You'll find a micro-USB port at the end of the silver button, followed by the ear plug underneath and the mic on the other end. Enough with the list of features -- read on to find out how well this headset performs.%Gallery-91753%
Plantronics goes chrometastic with Explorer 395 Bluetooth headset
Who says Bluetooth headsets aren't cool any more? Not Plantronics. Today, the California-based company released the Explorer 395 earpiece -- a $49.95 earpiece in both black and bronze flavors, and aimed at first-time Bluetooth users. How so? You get dedicated buttons for volume, power and phone call, which puts the confusing single-button-operated headsets to shame. Being a budget line, there's no fancy noise-cancellation technology offered here, although the 0.39-ounce weight and five-hour talk time (seven days of battery on standby) seem to give a good bang for the buck. Still, at the end of the day it's all about real-life appearance and audio quality, so we'll hold our judgement until we get a review unit later this week. Stay tuned.
Plantronics unveils Pulsar 260 stereo headset
Plantronics unveiled its newest stereo Bluetooth headset this week at CTIA, the "Pulsar 260." This wearable wonder is of the around-the-neck type, and comes with the pendant plus earbuds for taking calls form that nearby Bluetooth handset as well as stream stereo sound from any nearby A2DP stereo Bluetooth source. The new Pulsar 260 iPod shuffle-like (first generation, at least) design has integrated volume and track skip buttons for that Bluetooth music player / phone with built-in control functions supplied by AVRCP to boot. Sweet. Look for it in stores now for about $110.
