The one I bought was total junk. The furthest I could have the phone without dropping the connection was in my hand. Even then I had to stand still. There are many products Apple makes well......this was not one of them.
Pros: minimalist earpiece lets you hear and talk on phone voice calls or PC/Mac voice chats without any wires. Designed specifically for the iPhone, easy pairing, and on-iPhone battery monitoring. Includes travel charging cable and special charging/synchronization dock for itself and iPhone. Acceptable talk time on rechargeable battery.
Cons: Sound quality and battery life are nothing special for the relatively high price, and static-free range is only okay; small earbud without ear hook may not be stable or secure in your ear. Though it includes nice dock, lacks advanced ambient noise filtering or wall charger included in top competitors priced at similar or lower levels.
Sounds like the cons outweigh the pros. Don't know how that ended up with a B review. I think most found third-party alternatives to be better in quality. Apple doesn't need to make Bluetooth accessories when the third-parties have it covered. Explains why Apple cut back on iPod accessories.
I think Apple has replaced far more of these than it has sold. I am personally on my third one and I just hope if it gives out it's before my AppleCare expires.
My first one had WAY too much static. My second lost 75% of its volume for no reason. This one is OK so far but I've only had it about a month.
The fit was also an issue but I ordered an earhook from Motorola and it holds it in place when I'm driving, which is the only time I wear it. I've also had issues with the range. If I wear it in my left ear and put the phone in my right pocket, it loses the connection. I need to keep both phone and earpiece on the same side.
I'm actually surprised they didn't drop this earlier because it's not up to the standards one expects from Apple.
I cant understand how they ot away with this particular bit of kit... I am an apple devote but this piece of gear never worked... i even changed phones only to find that it never could connect with the blue tooth earpiece. Interestingly the thing does connect with my nokia phone...go figure that one... anyway in truth hands free phoning in a car is dangerous so i just put the thing aside and continue to love all things Apple
With the 3.0 update I'll be able to plug the left earpiece into my Plantronics 855, it'll be interesting to hear how it stacks up vs wired headphone's.
I've been using cellphone's fairly heavily for 16 years now, I haven't noticed any ill effects.
An interesting experiment would be to make a Bluetooth headset disguised as a cellphone, as a control and a real cellphone that is indistinguishible from it, get a group of people to make a one hour call on them then answer a questionaire on percieved health effects.
You could hide the true nature of the test by saying you are testing for something else.
The results would be interesting to say the least.
It is even better when the self-important jackasses think they are so important that they continue their conversations in the BATHROOM and then FLUSH during their phone call! Just proves how stupid these earpiece idiots are! I am sure the people on the other end lose all respect when they are forced to listen to them do a number 1 or a number 2 and then flush!
Do you really believe these people talk on cell phones because it makes them feel more important? And you feel people feel even more important if they talk in the bathroom? And come on, how else would important people talk in the bathroom, without a earpiece? How would they unzip or wash their hands?
...the iPhone BT headset discontinued. It wasn't really a game changer.
Yes, people who have those blinking blue headsets in their ear look dorkish. And, yes, I was one of those dorks, though I always carried my headset in my pocket, until I needed it. My big beef is that they are so easy to lose if they aren't in your ear.
I had a Plantronics Voyager, after about 5 others which were all garbage. The Voyager was the first good BT headset I had. Too big though.
I recently got another Plantronics Voyager 815, which is better because you no longer have that ear loop. It hangs on a lanyard so you don't need to keep it in your ear, and you don't need to stuff it in your pocket. Best one yet, and you don't look nearly the dork when using.
I don't think you need to know how to spell to work at AppleInsider. It seems to be a common practice in their articles. They apparently don't have any proofreaders either. Ruins their credibility when they publish such a poorly written article.
When other companies discontinue products, they are considered massive failures and gloated upon. But when Apple discontinues products such as the G4 Cube, Firewire iSight, iPod Hi-fi or Xserve RAID, it is rationalized as Apple's vision and innovation. No matter what Apple does, it is never wrong.
Yes, the cult is led by the 19 year old perfect master...
We should be glad Android is coming or Apple would force even more proprietary standards on us and "innovate" at an even more glacial pace. Google's really putting a blowtorch to their arse.
Haven't you all heard that these headphones are being replaced with an upgrade for the new June iPhone. The new iPhone will have no controls on it; all the controls will be on the headphone set. The new iPhone will also talk to you. The 3G shuffle was just the beginning.
My big beef is that they are so easy to lose if they aren't in your ear.
Lose, break, or not be able to get to in time to receive an incoming call. I've broken too many bt headsets carrying them to consider not wearing them.
Perhaps there are some that think wearing a headset is dorkish, but then, there are those who walk around with tattoo riddled bodies, metal studded body parts, sporting a dirty, torn wife beater type of fashion sense.
So, on a scale of 1 to 10, wearing a headset doesn't even count towards making someone stand out in a crowd. I'm not sure why it bothers anyone, but characterizing those that wear a headset as "self-important" sure seems to me to convey a sense of inferiority... probably deservedly so.
Wearing a helmet made of aluminum foil has dramatically improved my iPhone BT reception, with the added benefit of boosting my importance, making me highly recognizable as one of those significant people with whom other people must stay in constant contact. Moreover, the additional radiation appears to have given my face a nice tan. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a doctor's appointment to see about the peculiar lumps and boils that have erupted along my jawbone.
People also got worked up about smoking: turned out they were right. About the CFC's and the Ozone layer: right again. Lead in gasoline: again. Abestos... I could go on.
In each case the people who showed early concern were labeled alarmist.
If you pick and choose your examples you are not going to reach a logical conclusion. The basic principle when you introduce a new chemical to the environment or a new exposure burden to humans should be precautionary.
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
Do you drive into the night with your headlights off? Why not?
We are driving into the night of chronic microwave exposure. All studies showing no harm are short-term (a decade or less), when we know that cancer is often a 20 to 30 year disease. Some disturbing trends are just now starting to crop up. It's early days, perhaps they are not that significant.
We don't know, but ignorance is a very poor argument in favor of anything.
I seem to recall the biggest fuss in the US about removing lead in gasoline was more a matter of timing. It had to go first and foremost because it would poison the catalytic converters but engine manufacturers had to scramble to figure a reliable redesign to compensate for the removed lead. And what kind of substitute could you use on older existing engines.
Asbestos was bad and figured to be bad pretty quickly. In some products, however, the replacement was made dangerous in other ways. As a matter of fact I argue that the hysteria over asbestos has had some very negative effects and caused some people and regulatory agency's to do some very stupid things. Early on many people removed it themselves or had people remove asbestos insulation improperly and exposing themselves to far more then had they let it lay. As a matter of fact if its not crumbling or disintegrating often times it is actually better to leave it. Especially if it is not going to be disturbed you can leave it or cover over it. As an example you can cover over asbestos sheeting with new insulation and siding and will save money by not removing it and help the environment by not releasing those microfibers into the environment and exposing countless people to them.
Dupont who jumped on the cfc bandwagon very early on was a big supporter about removing Freon (R-12 and r-24) from the market. What we in the heating and cooling business found funny and a bit suspicious was that there patents on Freon were expiring and that they had new refrigerant ready to go but needed a reason for people to switch. See at the time the new refrigerants were considered slightly more environmentally friendly but were far more inefficient (25-35 percent) and manufactures were reluctant to use them because they required new designs and the development of new material for hoses and such that the knew stuff would not destroy.
I don't think any of those things compare to the scare of the cellphone radiation. As others have pointed out you are constantly bombarded by radio waves and radiation from your monitor and Electromagnetic fields from a multitude of sources. I would also point out all those people in the 50's and 60's that sat right in front of those old tubed tv's that put out a lot of radiation. Somehow they managed to survive countless hours of exposure from those old radiation kings. But using a little common sense regarding cellphones and cordless phones would probably be a smart thing. I think that is notion many people should apply in there lives. Eating at McDonalds occasionally is OK eating three meals a day there not so much. Etc, etc I think you get the idea.
I have been using a cellphone on a daily basis since 1989. I had to it was required as part of my job. The first phone I used was this big bag phone that had a full three watts of power versus .5 watt most handhelds output now. If using a cellphone causes tumors or cancers then unfortunately I will be finding out soon.
I also wonder if using a laptop in my lap for so many years helped to contribute to son's autisism. Has anyone measured how much radiation a laptop puts out?
When other companies discontinue products, they are considered massive failures and gloated upon. But when Apple discontinues products such as the G4 Cube, Firewire iSight, iPod Hi-fi or Xserve RAID, it is rationalized as Apple's vision and innovation. No matter what Apple does, it is never wrong.
This is because those other companies otherwise lack Apple's vision to begin with.
When Joe Blow pulls off to the side in the Tour de France, it's probably because he's exhausted and has had enough. When Lance Armstrong pulls over it's probably to take a leak or snap a few photos.
We give Apple the benefit of the doubt because they're NOT Dell. Or Gateway. Or xyz company. Apple gives you reason to believe that discontinued products are either the springboards for something better that's just around the corner or it's just about trimming the fat.
And why the hell should anyone care about being nice and fair to other companies?? It's not a balanced situation; there is no need to feign some kind of fake objectivity in order to appear more diplomatic. That's quite insincere. This whole fucking industry is half-asleep anyway. Without Apple we'd still be in the Dark Ages of computing. And the fact is, there is only ONE Apple. They're a unique phenomenon. I'm certainly inclined to give the best and brightest the benefit of the doubt until I'm given reason to do otherwise.
Comments
Pros: minimalist earpiece lets you hear and talk on phone voice calls or PC/Mac voice chats without any wires. Designed specifically for the iPhone, easy pairing, and on-iPhone battery monitoring. Includes travel charging cable and special charging/synchronization dock for itself and iPhone. Acceptable talk time on rechargeable battery.
Cons: Sound quality and battery life are nothing special for the relatively high price, and static-free range is only okay; small earbud without ear hook may not be stable or secure in your ear. Though it includes nice dock, lacks advanced ambient noise filtering or wall charger included in top competitors priced at similar or lower levels.
Sounds like the cons outweigh the pros. Don't know how that ended up with a B review. I think most found third-party alternatives to be better in quality. Apple doesn't need to make Bluetooth accessories when the third-parties have it covered. Explains why Apple cut back on iPod accessories.
I think Apple has replaced far more of these than it has sold. I am personally on my third one and I just hope if it gives out it's before my AppleCare expires.
My first one had WAY too much static. My second lost 75% of its volume for no reason. This one is OK so far but I've only had it about a month.
The fit was also an issue but I ordered an earhook from Motorola and it holds it in place when I'm driving, which is the only time I wear it. I've also had issues with the range. If I wear it in my left ear and put the phone in my right pocket, it loses the connection. I need to keep both phone and earpiece on the same side.
I'm actually surprised they didn't drop this earlier because it's not up to the standards one expects from Apple.
I cant understand how they ot away with this particular bit of kit... I am an apple devote but this piece of gear never worked... i even changed phones only to find that it never could connect with the blue tooth earpiece. Interestingly the thing does connect with my nokia phone...go figure that one... anyway in truth hands free phoning in a car is dangerous so i just put the thing aside and continue to love all things Apple
I've been using cellphone's fairly heavily for 16 years now, I haven't noticed any ill effects.
An interesting experiment would be to make a Bluetooth headset disguised as a cellphone, as a control and a real cellphone that is indistinguishible from it, get a group of people to make a one hour call on them then answer a questionaire on percieved health effects.
You could hide the true nature of the test by saying you are testing for something else.
The results would be interesting to say the least.
It is even better when the self-important jackasses think they are so important that they continue their conversations in the BATHROOM and then FLUSH during their phone call! Just proves how stupid these earpiece idiots are! I am sure the people on the other end lose all respect when they are forced to listen to them do a number 1 or a number 2 and then flush!
Do you really believe these people talk on cell phones because it makes them feel more important? And you feel people feel even more important if they talk in the bathroom? And come on, how else would important people talk in the bathroom, without a earpiece? How would they unzip or wash their hands?
perminently discontinued to the dismay of some costomers.
What happened to spellcheck?
Yes, people who have those blinking blue headsets in their ear look dorkish. And, yes, I was one of those dorks, though I always carried my headset in my pocket, until I needed it. My big beef is that they are so easy to lose if they aren't in your ear.
I had a Plantronics Voyager, after about 5 others which were all garbage. The Voyager was the first good BT headset I had. Too big though.
I recently got another Plantronics Voyager 815, which is better because you no longer have that ear loop. It hangs on a lanyard so you don't need to keep it in your ear, and you don't need to stuff it in your pocket. Best one yet, and you don't look nearly the dork when using.
What happened to spellcheck?
I don't think you need to know how to spell to work at AppleInsider. It seems to be a common practice in their articles. They apparently don't have any proofreaders either. Ruins their credibility when they publish such a poorly written article.
When other companies discontinue products, they are considered massive failures and gloated upon. But when Apple discontinues products such as the G4 Cube, Firewire iSight, iPod Hi-fi or Xserve RAID, it is rationalized as Apple's vision and innovation. No matter what Apple does, it is never wrong.
We should be glad Android is coming or Apple would force even more proprietary standards on us and "innovate" at an even more glacial pace. Google's really putting a blowtorch to their arse.
My big beef is that they are so easy to lose if they aren't in your ear.
Lose, break, or not be able to get to in time to receive an incoming call. I've broken too many bt headsets carrying them to consider not wearing them.
Perhaps there are some that think wearing a headset is dorkish, but then, there are those who walk around with tattoo riddled bodies, metal studded body parts, sporting a dirty, torn wife beater type of fashion sense.
So, on a scale of 1 to 10, wearing a headset doesn't even count towards making someone stand out in a crowd. I'm not sure why it bothers anyone, but characterizing those that wear a headset as "self-important" sure seems to me to convey a sense of inferiority... probably deservedly so.
People also got worked up about smoking: turned out they were right. About the CFC's and the Ozone layer: right again. Lead in gasoline: again. Abestos... I could go on.
In each case the people who showed early concern were labeled alarmist.
If you pick and choose your examples you are not going to reach a logical conclusion. The basic principle when you introduce a new chemical to the environment or a new exposure burden to humans should be precautionary.
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
Do you drive into the night with your headlights off? Why not?
We are driving into the night of chronic microwave exposure. All studies showing no harm are short-term (a decade or less), when we know that cancer is often a 20 to 30 year disease. Some disturbing trends are just now starting to crop up. It's early days, perhaps they are not that significant.
We don't know, but ignorance is a very poor argument in favor of anything.
I seem to recall the biggest fuss in the US about removing lead in gasoline was more a matter of timing. It had to go first and foremost because it would poison the catalytic converters but engine manufacturers had to scramble to figure a reliable redesign to compensate for the removed lead. And what kind of substitute could you use on older existing engines.
Asbestos was bad and figured to be bad pretty quickly. In some products, however, the replacement was made dangerous in other ways. As a matter of fact I argue that the hysteria over asbestos has had some very negative effects and caused some people and regulatory agency's to do some very stupid things. Early on many people removed it themselves or had people remove asbestos insulation improperly and exposing themselves to far more then had they let it lay. As a matter of fact if its not crumbling or disintegrating often times it is actually better to leave it. Especially if it is not going to be disturbed you can leave it or cover over it. As an example you can cover over asbestos sheeting with new insulation and siding and will save money by not removing it and help the environment by not releasing those microfibers into the environment and exposing countless people to them.
Dupont who jumped on the cfc bandwagon very early on was a big supporter about removing Freon (R-12 and r-24) from the market. What we in the heating and cooling business found funny and a bit suspicious was that there patents on Freon were expiring and that they had new refrigerant ready to go but needed a reason for people to switch. See at the time the new refrigerants were considered slightly more environmentally friendly but were far more inefficient (25-35 percent) and manufactures were reluctant to use them because they required new designs and the development of new material for hoses and such that the knew stuff would not destroy.
I don't think any of those things compare to the scare of the cellphone radiation. As others have pointed out you are constantly bombarded by radio waves and radiation from your monitor and Electromagnetic fields from a multitude of sources. I would also point out all those people in the 50's and 60's that sat right in front of those old tubed tv's that put out a lot of radiation. Somehow they managed to survive countless hours of exposure from those old radiation kings.
I have been using a cellphone on a daily basis since 1989. I had to it was required as part of my job. The first phone I used was this big bag phone that had a full three watts of power versus .5 watt most handhelds output now. If using a cellphone causes tumors or cancers then unfortunately I will be finding out soon.
I also wonder if using a laptop in my lap for so many years helped to contribute to son's autisism. Has anyone measured how much radiation a laptop puts out?
Just some thoughts.
Jim
... No matter what Apple does, it is never wrong.
Well, I like apple a LOT but i think that's a little extreme.
When other companies discontinue products, they are considered massive failures and gloated upon. But when Apple discontinues products such as the G4 Cube, Firewire iSight, iPod Hi-fi or Xserve RAID, it is rationalized as Apple's vision and innovation. No matter what Apple does, it is never wrong.
This is because those other companies otherwise lack Apple's vision to begin with.
When Joe Blow pulls off to the side in the Tour de France, it's probably because he's exhausted and has had enough. When Lance Armstrong pulls over it's probably to take a leak or snap a few photos.
We give Apple the benefit of the doubt because they're NOT Dell. Or Gateway. Or xyz company. Apple gives you reason to believe that discontinued products are either the springboards for something better that's just around the corner or it's just about trimming the fat.
And why the hell should anyone care about being nice and fair to other companies?? It's not a balanced situation; there is no need to feign some kind of fake objectivity in order to appear more diplomatic. That's quite insincere. This whole fucking industry is half-asleep anyway. Without Apple we'd still be in the Dark Ages of computing. And the fact is, there is only ONE Apple. They're a unique phenomenon. I'm certainly inclined to give the best and brightest the benefit of the doubt until I'm given reason to do otherwise.