ARTICLE: HOLY OW! BATMAN,
EAR PAIN FROM WIRELESS HEADSETS

lemonroe's Full Review: Jabra BT150 Wireless Headset (Many People have issus with headset comfort)

I recently got a RAZR v3t and decided to get a Bluetooth headset for it. I saw the Jabra BT150 in Target for $29 and figured I would give it a shot.

After initially cutting myself (and stabbing myself with scissors, but that was my fault) trying to open the plastic box ... I swear, that thing is reinforced better than Ft. Knox ... I liberated the device and also found the wall charger and manual. They recommend that you charge the device for 2 hours before use. No problem. The connection slides right into the device with no hassle whatsoever, and lights up a solid blue to let you know it's charging. I used that time to get familiar with the manual and figure out how to use it (I'm software-savvy, but not so hot with hardware).

The manual is great, and comes in Spanish and French in addition to English. It's very to-the-point and easy to decipher. I was easily able to "pair" the device with RAZR V3t, and turned it on to call my husband. He said, "Oh, yeah. I knew you were on a headset or something. You sound like you're talking in a bucket." Drat.

Design/Comfort. Good Lord, this thing is PAINFUL. It consists of two pieces: the device (with built-in raised earpiece "nub") and the swivel earhook. It is not an earbud, but a rather large, raised, round 'bump' with speaker holes in it. The swivel earhook is large enough to wrap around your ear, and also swivels 180 degrees so that you can use in either the right or left ear. I had to keep switching ears in mid-conversation because the ear hook hurt the top & back of my ear cartilage so badly! It starts out not being so bad, but after ten minutes or so of wear, your ear turns red and begins to hurt like crazy. The up/down volume buttons are easy to feel when you use it, but you're not sure if you're actually mashing them correctly. It's difficult to distinguish if you're actually raising the volume at all because the volume is not very high to begin with, especially when driving. I'm replacing it due to the pain. I don't have abnormally large ears or anything, and I've also read that other BT150 users have not been able to wear it for very long as well. It was a great price, and it also showed me how awesome a Bluetooth headset is! I'm one of those people who can never find her phone in time to answer it, so my family actually encourages me to use one.

Operation. It's easy to turn on & off, but you have to HOLD the button down to turn it off until you hear the "sound off" alert and/or see that your phone displays the message that you've been disconnected. If you simply press and hold the button, it will automatically redial the last person you called. You can press & hold the button BRIEFLY to end the call, too, but I found myself powering off the device more than I actually ended calls (and therefore had to re-connect - GRRR!). One extremely annoying thing is that when the device is connected, the blue light flashes at you constantly, even if you're not using it! Great for people who really want to call attention to themselves while they're walking through the market; not so great for people who'd like to NOT act like they're showing off. I have long hair, so it was easier for me to hide it, but the flashing was still unbelievably annoying.

Connectivity/Sound. I previously mentioned sounding like I was talking into a bucket. I heard that from a few people, but no one ever complained that I was unintelligible. Forget about walking outside ... the slightest breeze will render this device unusable. I had to cup my hand over the entire thing to keep my listener from going deaf. I had to dash into a store or my car quite a bit.

The sound is not great. It's fine if you're sitting at a complete stop in your car or at your desk/home, but not when you're rolling along. I have had to PUSH the earpiece into my ear in order to hear the person I was talking to, doing two things: (1) defeating completely the purpose of having a HANDS-FREE device, and (2) effectively shutting off the device ... twice ... as the on/off blinky button takes up a lot of the surface. So unless you're lucky enough to own double-paned windows in your Mercedes S-class, it's not a good recommendation to use while driving (and if you have about $100K for a car, I seriously doubt you'd be buying this headset anyway). Range-wise it's pretty good. I can park it in my office and walk around the house, but it really doesn't like walls that well. I would recommend keeping it in a central openspace area if you're going to be walking around a lot while using it.