The Blueband-R headset is the hottest on the market today and a drooler for any tech-junkie who wants the benefits of wireless headphones and a bluetooth headset all in one device. Only available in Hong Kong and scarcely scattered throughout the U.K, these headphones are tough to come by in North America. Thanks to the help of GetItNext though, they can easily be found and purchased online. The maker of the Blueband-R, iTech, has gained recent popularity worldwide with their wide range of bluetooth headsets and their very cool/one of a kind bluetooth virtual keyboard for PDA's and cell phones. If you're on the hunt for other hot bluetooth items I would recommend checking out 2007 Hottest Holiday Bluetooth Devices where Ron lists some of the hottest bluetooth gifts for christmas.
Overview
The Blueband-R headset is a unique product that combines quality wireless headphones with all the functionality of your typical cell phone headset. The behind the ear style headset connects to your cell phone via bluetooth and if your cell phone has mp3 capabilities and supports the A2DP profile (found in many new mp3 phones) you can listen to your music wirelessly with the headset. If your phone does not support mp3 then don't panic because with the help of a bluetooth dongle you can have your iPod of other mp3 player wirelessly connect to your headphones. By purchasing iTechs BlueCON G5/nano bluetooth adaptors you can also control your iPods music using the controls located on the right ear headphone. You may also use the BlueCON 35 adapters but with these is that you lose the controlling functionality but of course you can save some money by going this route. The major downside in terms of dongles is that you must purchase an iTech dongle since it is the only type that is compatible with the headphones. For most headsets and such the universal "password" to connect the devices is 0000 but in the case of the Blueband-R the code is 8888 which only iTech dongles have as well. Do not worry about your cell phone though as all bluetooth cell phone should be compatible with the headset.
Dongle
When originally choosing a dongle I decided to go with the cheaper option which was the BlueCON 35 but i found this was a poor choice because with the dongle constantly being strained as it hung off my iPod it wore away the inner wire to the point that it would no longer function after about 2-3 months. I found that it was a pain as well as it always seemed awkward in my pocket. If you do choose to go with this dongle I would recommend you add support to the wire with tape to avoid the same problem. After running into this problem I purchased the 5G and it has given me the option to use the controls on the headset. It also charges both the iPod and the dongle at the same time saving much fuss and outlets. I would highly recommend going with the 5G or nano version if you will be using your headset with an iPod.
Headphone Use
I would first like to point out that listening to music without wires is something you just can't live without once giving it a try. Being free from wires with the Blueband-R made using wired headphones just a pain and it made me feel chained down. Being wireless, the battery life was great with about 8 hours of use and the charge time usually took only 2 to 2.5 hours. Powering off the headphones also turned off my iPod which greatly saved me time to do it manually by pulling it out of my bag, pocket, etc. The headphones offered about 10 metres + without any obstructions but with walls and other barriers it went about 4-6 metres. The control features on the right headphone also made listening to music wirelessly a much better experience with pause/play, fast forward/rewind, previous/next song and of course volume control.
There was a price for being wireless and this was that the sound quality was not as good as wired headphones. It is not very noticeable but to an audiophile these would not be the best choice for listening to music. The volume also suffered since the headphones relied on battery power but the echo cancellation and noise suppression worked well to reduce outside noise and help with the volume problem. The headphones are also slightly larger and heavier than your typical "muff" style headphones but after seeing them in person they are not bad at all. The real problem with the weight is that it can hurt the top of your ears after being worn for prolonged periods. All in all though, the wireless freedom from using these headphones makes these problems truly minor for such a large trade off.
Headset Use:
What really makes the Blueband-R headset unique is its ability to connect to a cell phone with its almost invisible built in microphone located on the right headphone. When I say nearly invisible I mean that it took me almost an hour to figure out that the small hole hidden behind the ear comforter was the microphone. This greatly influenced my decision when choosing between the Blueband headset and the Plantronics 590A which has a protruding mic that extends out but is always visible. For a microphone that is so well hidden and not protruding the sound quality from the other end has always been rather good where in some cases many of my friends could not tell that i was even using a headset.
When a call comes in and you are listening to music the headphones will make a beeping sound and when you press the dedicated multi-function button it will pause your music and transfer you to the call. When you click the button again at the end of a call it will bring you back to your music, just where you left off. This pain free process makes the Blueband-R an extremely easy to use bluetooth headset.
Pros:
- Easy to set up
- Long distance range
- Noise-Cancelling
- Fold up to save space
- Flexible for comfort
- Microphone hidden
- Controls for iPod and volume
- Up to 8 hours of battery life
- Rechargable
Cons:
- Slightly heavy and large
- Hindered sound quality
- Need to continuously charge
- Weight strain on ears
- Not loud enough on max volume
