Introducing the Plantronics Voyager PRO
Here in California, we have just a celebrated the first year of the
“Hands-Free Law” where all drivers must use a hands-free device to
speak on their mobile phone. When the law was first instituted last
July, there was a big run on wired and wireless headsets as consumers
were trying to stay compliant with the new law after all, who wanted an
excuse for California’s finest to pull you over and offer you a $20 and
$50 ticket? There was a measurable increase in sales of headsets
devices during this period as well. Many any companies responded to the
new law by offering up more and more solutions for headsets and car
kits.
While some of these devices that have been introduced in the past
year were top quality, many companies tried to make a quick buck by
rebranding some very poor performers. It became harder and harder to
tell who to trust with your after-market headset purchase. Many of the
newer companies released very inexpensive and (in our opinion) very
inferior products to be sold in at your local wireless store or kiosk.
Of course people were buying these because the price was right not
necessarily for the feature set or look – some of these Bluetooth
headsets still sell for less than $10!
At Legit Reviews, we try and only evaluate quality manufacturers who
have a solid history of providing the best for their customers. One of
the companies who have always put out superior products for the mobile
road warrior is Plantronics. Today, we look at Plantronics’ newest
Bluetooth flagship; the Voyager PRO Bluetooth Headset. This new
headset replaces the Plantronics Voyager 510 and comes with a $89.99 price tag which makes it towards the upper tier of Bluetooth headsets, but we expect a fully-loaded and well-functioning device.
On paper, this looks like a very good product. The Voyager PRO features an active DSP that Plantronics calls "Audio IQ2".
This noise reduction system utilizes the Voyager PRO’s two microphones
to help cancel out ambient noise from your surroundings to help project
your voice to the caller you are speaking to. It’s also supposed to
help with the sound quality of the speaker as you are listening.The
Voyager PRO also sports a WindSmart microphone screen to help shield
the microphones from wind noise further allowing the headset to thrive
in less-than-ideal conditions.
While not the lightest headset on the market, the Voyager PRO weighs
in around 17 grams which is even heavier than our beloved but clunky .
The difference between the Voyager PRO and the Jawbone however is how
the weight is distributed across the user’s ears. We really didn’t
notice how heavy the older Voyager 510 was so we expect similar results
for this new headset.
Key Specifications:
- Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR
- AudioIQ2 DSP and eSCO
- Two noise-cancelling microphones
- Stainless steel WindSmart mic screens
- Li-ion battery
- Multipoint technology
- QuickPair Technology
- Micro-USB Charging Connection
- 6 Hours Talktime
- 5 Day Standby Time
- 33-Foot Operation Range
- Advertised Weight: 17.5 grams
The HTC Hero is HTC's third distinct Android handset, demonstrating a further
evolution of that operating systen combined with a little bit of HTC know-how.