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Bluetooth Headset and Special Earbuds
Parrot Hands-free Speakerphone
This is designed to fit over a sun visor enabling almost any Bluetooth phone to be used hands free. The unit is 10.5x6x2.5 and is two tone shiny black plastic and matt black rubberised for the edges and side of the end knob.
This is a kit and you also get a bracket to fit the main unit to your sun visor and two chargers one to go to the cars cigar lighter and the other allowing you to charge from a standard 13amp plug. There is also a ten language manual with the first 12 pages in English.
While the main use will of course be in a car there is no reason why it could not be used in the office enabling you to type or write while having a conversation. In fact during my tests I also used it in the kitchen while I was cooking.
The unit has a speaker on the face capable of plenty of volume. The left side has the on/off push button that needs to be held for several seconds to carry out the request. The right side has a small orange pin hole LED to indicate when it is being charged.
One poor point is that either the car or mains charger goes into the right side behind a rubber bung that just comes out, it is not held in so it will soon be lost. To the right of the main control knob is hang up/cancel (red) button to the left the (green) pick up/confirm button. The rotary button is just above the microphone. All people I spoke to using the device were happy with the sound quality.
The rotary button not only increases/decreases the volume but also allows you to scroll through the menus via spoken commands and you press it to confirm. The only thing you need to do once you have confirmed your language is to pair with your mobile phone. If there are more devices around to pair to, this device has a name of Minikit.
This unit has voice recognition and you can also store contacts so you can tell it to call office, call home or once you have added the words for instance Johns school.
Available from the first link below for £39.95.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000KIHEQ0
http://www.parrot.com/uk/products/parrotminikit
V-Moda Vibe Duo Headset
I have had the pleasure of reviewing a previous set of earbuds from Vibe. I normally have problems with in ear buds as I tend to have unusual ear lobes and in ear is not normally a comfortable experience.
The main thing with these high quality earbuds is that they come with three sizes to fit almost every size of ear. They come in chrome, red or Nero (black), I was sent the latter.
The quality of lead and the fittings make the most of whatever the input from the 3.5mm fitting, little things like the moveable clip make this a quality product. It also comes with a high quality leather pouch. I am told the plug also works without modification on the iPhone whereas other headsets need an adapter.
These come from the USA and have a $99.99 price tag available from the Apple store or from Amazon. Doing my Internet searches found then in the UK at a best price Of £55 from the first link below. Given that the UK is normally ripped off with exchange rates I consider that this price is quite acceptable, remember the $99.99 will need sales tax added so it's about correct. The second link gives a very detailed list of the abilities and ranges of this quality product.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000K5WW1U
http://shop.v-moda.com/p-35-vibe-duo-w-control-playback.aspx
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