I'm in the phone industry (but I don't work for any bluetooth headset maker). I got a pair of these free from Altec before the product release. I like these better than competing models from Motorola, Jabra, Samsung and other brands. I have owned all of them. Reasons:
1) The non-rigid wire connecting the two allows for compact folding, and pocket stuffing. Most other brands don't offer that.
2) Sound quality is great, music sounds good.
3) Phone calls are great. With two ears to hear the call, I can hear people even when I am in a very noisy environment. The microphone isn't as good, so they may have problems hearing me if it is VERY noisy. Beware, many other brands of bluetooth stereo headsets only use one ear for phone calls - that's stupid and makes it relatively hard to hear.
4) Buttons do not get pushed by mistake. Jabra was terrible on this issue.
5) No stupid blue light show to make you look like a geek idiot. Jabra also was bad on this issue.
5.5) Overall, these are relatively discrete. You don't look like you have two big cans on your ears.
6) The charging plug type is Micro B USB, which may be new to you, but all new cell phones will standardize on this plug type in the 2010-2012 time frame.
Negatives include:
a) The earbuds fall off in your pocket, on the street, etc. I used a drop of superglue so as to prevent losing these. I recommend you do the same.
b) As others have stated, don't sweat into them. I don't use for exercising, so not a problem for me.
c) Caveat: Bluetooth inserts a small lag, which doesn't matter at all with phone calls or music, but with video can cause the audio and video to be slightly out of sync. Doesn't bother me, but be aware.
If you want these for sport, consider the Motorola S9s, which are better with sweating. If you want to see a competing product that I also like a lot, which lets you use any headphones you like, but converts them into Bluetooth, check out the Sonorix C3. Plantronics 903/R US BackBeat Headphones
Altec's BackBeat stereo headphones offers near-invisible stereo wireless headphones that can be paired with Bluetooth enabled devices, including A2DP-capable music players capable to streaming high-quality stereo output to Altec's Bluetooth-enabled headphones. This model does not include a Bluetooth transceiver to deliver A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) capabilities when connected to any player that has a standard 3.5 mm audio output jack. If such a device is needed to, for example, listen to Internet radio off a computer, then the Altec Lansing 906/R US BackBeat Headphone with Dongle is recommended.
You get the following in the box:
- Stereo headphones
- with one pair of silicone ear buds (still trying to find a source for replacements)
- Charger working through a USB Micro connection
- English/Spanish manual, pretty good, actually
My review will first discuss features that I deem important then, I will close with a brief evaluation.
Headphones:
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While not 'high end', they deliver a reasonably good quality sound. Some may have issues with headphones that go 'in' the ear rather than covering the ear. I know that I do but I seem to tolerate these quite well for as long as the volume is kept low.
On the positive side, the 2 headphones are connected with a stereo cable that goes on the back of the head. This makes the entire assembly nearly invisible when worn, especially if the person who wears them has hair :). The microphone seems to be integrated in the headphones body and it seems to work well because no one asked me to speak louder while on the phone, using the BackBeat.
The main concern is 'anatomy'. I have a big head and big ears and setting the earphones was not easy in the beginning even though the telescoping and swiveling adjustments do allow for some flexibility in wearing. I find that the more I get used to them, the easier it is to wear them. Again, a positive, once set, their extremely light weight makes for a very comfortable wear, so comfortable they almost 'disappear', unless they fall off.
Pairing and maintaining connections:
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- I had no problem pairing the headphones with a Blackberry and a Motorola Razor. It all works as the manual advises. When pairing the the phone, the headphones' password is always '0000' and it can't be changed.
Controls:
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It may take some getting used to but, here are the simple conventions:
- Phone controls are mostly on the left-ear headphone
- Music device controls are mostly on the right-year headphone
- Rising tones usually mean that the feature is enabled/set/increased while falling tones mean the opposite
When connected to a phone you can answer the call, hang up, reject the call while listening to music, mute, raise/lower the volume, check the battery charge.
For music features you can pause play, advance or go back one track (not tested by me yet), increase/decrease volume, enable/disable bass boost, pick up the phone or reject a call while listening. Play resumes after a call ends.
It took very little time for the controls to become second nature.
Performance and other characteristics:
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A full charge completes in about 3 hours and little blue lights indicate the charge is full. Partial charging is possible in less than one hour. Claimed battery life on both devices is about 7 hours and my usage so far tends to confirm this.
A carrying pouch is missing and it's missed. I would have felt much better if one was included because the headphones are small enough to be easily lost. I understand that the design was meant to allow carrying the headphones in a shirt pocket but I would have felt much more comfortable if I could store them somewhere other than a small pocket.
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I hesitate between 4 and 5 stars. The more I use the BackBeat the more I enjoy using it. However, the missing carrying case - not easy to explain on a device within this price range and the lack of information on where or how to obtain spare ear buds call for a small deduction. With only a few small improvements, Altec could have a big winner in this product.
The lack of a Bluetooth transceiver was not a factor when rating this product even though I WOULD recommend the higher end model which adds a lot more versatility for only a few dollars more. - Backbeat - Bluetooth Headset - Wireless Headphones - A2dp'
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