Plantronics has great products for mobile professionals and virtual workers

Published January 9th, 2009 by Mike Sullivan

I decided I would take a break from the typical post and do a gadget review that is geared toward mobile professionals and virtual workers. If I get a good response to this, I may try to do a few more. I decided to review a relatively unexciting product, but one that can be a real annoyance if you don’t make a wise selection: the mobile headset. I didn’t want to review an ordinary headset – I wanted a versatile product that could connect to a cell phone, office phone and possibly even something you can “plug into” your computer and use on Skype. 

After having gone through half a dozen headsets over the years, I was resigned to not talking on the phone while driving nor ever talking on a headset while outside due to wind noise. From the chintzy wired headsets to $30 wireless headsets, I experienced nothing but poor voice quality. I finally decided I would have to spend more money and bought a series of $80 or $90 headsets. The quality was better, but only marginally and I was limited to only using the unit with my cell phone. There was no option to use with my office phone or computer.

So, in comes the Plantronics Voyager 510-USB Bluetooth Headset System. At $199, it’s not cheap, but this unit allows the connectivity listed above with fantastic voice quality on both ends. All my other units had to be turned to the right volume and perfectly positioned in my ear with no background noise in order to hear the person I’m conversing with. Not so with the Plantronic headset. Also, wind and background noise are not a factor with the “SmartWind” (don’t you love descriptions marketers come up with?) technology and noise canceling feature.

One of the few flaws the product has is that the unit is difficult to turn on as the power button is very small, requires significant pressure to push and requires that you hold it for several seconds. So there is no way to power up or down while wearing your headset, and is a bit difficult to turn on using only one hand (lesson: turn it on before you start driving). I don’t know why Plantronics did this. I’m willing to live with it though – it is insignificant compared to most headsets’ flaws.

So, if you’re a mobile professional or a virtual worker who spends significant time on the phone or is just on the go quite often, this headset is definitely one to check out.

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