High-quality photos of Apple's Bluetooth Headset and Duo Dock

[AppleInsider]

Following an unexplained multi-week delay, Apple Inc. this week began shipping its petite wireless Bluetooth headset for iPhone and we've got about four dozen high-quality photos to prove it.

The $129 add-on turned up at several Apple retail stores earlier this week, many of which have since sold out of their initial inventory. Several stores contacted by AppleInsider said they expect additional shipments to arrive in the coming days. However, we luckily managed to snag a couple on our way back from SoHo.

Each Apple Bluetooth headset comes packaged quite elegantly in the same black retail packaging constructed for the iPhone itself. Outside of the imagery on the front and rear of the box, it's otherwise identical to the iPhone packaging.

Inside each box is the Apple Bluetooth Headset, Apple iPhone Duo Dock (for charging the iPhone and headset simultaneously), a User Guide, a warranty pamphlet, two earpads, and a USB travel cable that includes its own Bluetooth headset mini charger (recessed into the rear of the dock connector plug). Therefore, the USB travel cable can also charge both the iPhone and Apple Bluetooth Headset simultaneously.

On the far end of the Apple Bluetooth Headset is a minute MagSafe connector that magnetically secures the accessory to the charging port in either the Duo Dock or the USB travel cable -- there are no pins to bend or break. The headset itself also includes a single LED that glows green when the unit is fully charged or red when not.

When both the iPhone and Bluetooth headset are connected to the Duo Dock at the same time, the iPhone will display the battery level of both the iPhone and the headset on its display screen (last photo, below).

We'll have some initial impressions of the Apple Bluetooth headset in the coming days, followed by a thorough review sometime thereafter.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[emdeesee]

Very nice photos.

Does music play through the headset, or is it only for phone calls?

[Kasper]

Originally Posted by emdeesee

Very nice photos.

Does music play through the headset, or is it only for phone calls?

Only for calls -- couple more shots coming.

K

[thomasfxlt]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[ Digg this story ]

How will that thing stay in your ear? Someone please post a pic of someone wearing one of these. It's a unique design with no ear/hanger.

[SpinDrift]

Originally Posted by thomasfxlt

How will that thing stay in your ear? Someone please post a pic of someone wearing one of these. It's a unique design with no ear/hanger.

The same way an iPod earbud stays in your ear. There are quite a few Bluetooth headsets that have the same earbud only desin, however I prefer the security of having something hooked over by ear (like the Jabra JX10).

[Gee4orce]

AI - please buy a scanning electron microscope, these photos are not detailed enough....

I wonder why Apple wired in the dock cable, instead of just putting a dock connector on the back of it (like the iPod docks) ?

Oh - that other thing in the photos reminds me of this UK advert:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAT4uMdAaww

[thomasfxlt]

Originally Posted by SpinDrift

The same way an iPod earbud stays in your ear. There are quite a few Bluetooth headsets that have the same earbud only desin, however I prefer the security of having something hooked over by ear (like the Jabra JX10).

Really.....

my iPod buds don't stay in my ears at all....guess you have "superior" ears smar@#$>

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by SpinDrift

The same way an iPod earbud stays in your ear. There are quite a few Bluetooth headsets that have the same earbud only desin, however I prefer the security of having something hooked over by ear (like the Jabra JX10).

iPod earplugs don't need to hold any particular direction though.

[mullman]

I picked up one at my local Apple Store today, the last one they had, or so they said.

It's a very nice!

It does stay in ear, and very good sound quality.
My car has BT, so I gave it to the wife for her iPhone - she is thrilled.

[Iwantamac!]

very very nice but..


imagine you are walking along the sidewalk with your iphone and your headset thing in, a man/woman comes past on a bike grabs your headset out your ear and cycles away very fast, never to be seen again?

[eAi]

Originally Posted by Iwantamac!

very very nice but..


imagine you are walking along the sidewalk with your iphone and your headset thing in, a man/woman comes past on a bike grabs your headset out your ear and cycles away very fast, never to be seen again?

They'd have to practically grope your ear drum to get it - much easier with the larger headsets...

[jpellino]

That's so much smaller than my Duo Dock II.

[MarkAllan]

Originally Posted by Iwantamac!

very very nice but..


imagine you are walking along the sidewalk with your iphone and your headset thing in, a man/woman comes past on a bike grabs your headset out your ear and cycles away very fast, never to be seen again?

Having one that hooks over your ear wouldn't help - the cyclist would still be able to make off with your BT headset just as easily, the only difference being that it would hurt you quite a lot more as your ear would probably go with it!

[JakeTheRock]

Originally Posted by Iwantamac!

very very nice but..


imagine you are walking along the sidewalk with your iphone and your headset thing in, a man/woman comes past on a bike grabs your headset out your ear and cycles away very fast, never to be seen again?

They would have to see it from behind you, wcich is rather hard with the small design...

[dontlookleft]

This is messed up. I had a dream about wireless headphones that look the exact same as that (except there were two of course) last night. I was using them at cedar point to listen to music though. haha.

Have there been leaked photos of this thing? Or did I just have some strange dream?

[Dr. X]

Originally Posted by thomasfxlt

How will that thing stay in your ear? Someone please post a pic of someone wearing one of these. It's a unique design with no ear/hanger.

Here is a picture from Steve's January Macworld Keynote address this year:

[pazimzadeh]

Is the headset's actual earbud shape the same as that of the white ones that come with iPods? Because for some reason those fall out of my ears very easily.

update: since Apple claims the headset works on both ears, I guess that means it is a bit different than the iPod ones, because those are designed separately for each ear.

[ryukyu]

The Apple earbuds won't stay put in my ears either.
This is a major concern for me with this headset. It appears that it's the same design, but not offset for each ear as the earbuds are.
That headset just doesn't seem very secure. I'd be interested to hear more opinions as more people get these.

[maclvr03]

Didn't Apple a few years ago want to cut down on their packing to help save the planet or something?. This seems a little unnecessary that is has to be that large for a little bluetooth headpiece?

[Ireland]

Originally Posted by ryukyu

The Apple earbuds won't stay put in my ears either.
This is a major concern for me with this headset. It appears that it's the same design, but not offset for each ear as the earbuds are.
That headset just doesn't seem very secure. I'd be interested to hear more opinions as more people get these.

Totally agree, although this is the slickest headset I've ever seen. The old iPod earbuds were sore to wear resting on a pillow, but walking round they seemed a much much much better fit in my ears anyway.

[GreggWSmith]

Today I was in a call with the wife and using my Samsung sch-200 headset. I had been playing a song through my stereo in my car and when I disconnected the cable the song started playing through the bluetooth headset while in the conversation! Weird but proof that if it should be a quick patch or hack to get it to work.

[fraklinc]

works great with macbook and skype, i never thoght it will be this small thought, it makes you wonder whats next

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by Iwantamac!

imagine you are walking along the sidewalk with your iphone and your headset thing in, a man/woman comes past on a bike grabs your headset out your ear and cycles away very fast, never to be seen again?

Wouldn't that be a problem with any headset?

Originally Posted by eAi

They'd have to practically grope your ear drum to get it - much easier with the larger headsets...

Ear drum? You just yank the bar that's sticking out of the ear. How do you think that's so hard?

[SpinDrift]

Originally Posted by thomasfxlt

Really.....

my iPod buds don't stay in my ears at all....guess you have "superior" ears smar@#$>

No, I just have 'normal' ears. Seeing as earbuds have been around for decades now, if they don't stay in your ears at all, I would suggest there's something wrong with your ears. Perhaps cosmetic surgery could help you?

[Chopper3]

EXTREME CLOSEUP!!!!

Great photos, thank you.

[theapplegenius]

The charging view on the iPhone w/ the BT headset is pretty slick.

[NOFEER]

how does this compare with jawbone, or plantronics
has anyone tried it??

it's big bucks. button is tiny, does anyone have stubby fingers and can try this.

[tsweimer]

I'm wondering if the earbug is of the same size that caused so much pain after having it inserted in the ear after a while? The best thing Apple did for the iPod was redesign the earbuds. I understand it's designed for both ears, I just hope they made it a tad smaller.

[ajmas]

Originally Posted by thomasfxlt

How will that thing stay in your ear? Someone please post a pic of someone wearing one of these. It's a unique design with no ear/hanger.

The original iPod ear-phones don't stay in my ear, so this is no go for me. When I bought my iPod I upgraded to these: http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/tunebuds/ Not necessarily the best headphones, but at least they stay in my ears

[ryukyu]

For those that do NOT like the fit of the Apple earbuds, this feels totally different.
I dislike the fit of the earbuds. They constantly come loose.
I picked up an Apple bluetooth headset tonight and it fits really nicely. Nothing like the earbuds. It almost feels like there is nothing there. I shook my head back and forth rather vigorously and it did NOT move.
When I went into the Apple Store tonight, they had one that I could try on before I bought one. That made the decision to buy pretty easy.
If you are fortunate enough to have an Apple Store close by, then I would encourage you to see if they will let you try one on before buying.
I haven't had too much time to try it out yet, but I did call someone and got their email. Sound was loud and clear on my end.
I just wanted to let people know about fit, as this was a concern for me.

[Paul_T]

Can anyone tell me if the headset is locked to the iPhone?

Love the look of it and it seems to match the PlayStation 3 quite well, so was wondering if the 2 were compatible.

[violo25]

Amazing photos, thanks a lot for closeup...