Coffee Dharma

BlueAnt V1

Posted on 08. Nov, 2008 by Rob in All, Older, Review

Many of us are familiar with the world of Bluetooth technology.  Headsets are available in just about every color and size combination imaginable.  Many of the headsets available in the U.S. are similar in feature and price range.  There are two that stand out from the pack with their own touch of uniqueness.  Aliph’s Jawbone II and BlueAnt’s V1 are proving to be a level above many of their competitors.

When I started shopping for a headset I was looking for three things:

1. Call clarity/noise reduction
2. Comfortable fit/styling
3. Easy and intuitive UI

The Jawbone is the industry leader when it comes to noise reduction and styling.  I leaned hard towards this headset because of the reputation but I started to realize the noise reduction was 90% of what the Jawbone had going for it.  I don’t work in construction or on Wall Street so noise reduction, while important, was not quite at DARPA approved needs.  The styling of the Jawbone is incredible as well but not important enough to sway me.

BlueAnt is known for a few high quality headsets (Z9, Z9i) and the V1 is no exception.  The V1 is styled very similar to the Z9 but with a pinstripe exterior.  I have to admit that at first glance I was not terribly impressed with the look of the V1.  Sound quality is very close to the Jawbone and with it’s custom ear canal buds you are sure to get a clear sound.  The button locations are simple and easy to use.  The headset includes multiple ear buds, optional foam bugs, chargers for home and car, a manual and quick guide.  When it comes to features though the V1 leaves all others in the dust.  BlueAnt has created a powerful tool with the V1 by making it fully voice controlled.  You can speak multiple built in commands to the headset to do everything from make calls to check battery levels.  Even upon first use I found a manual was not needed as speaking, “Teach me” activates an easy tutorial on using your headset.  You can always get a refresher on available commands by saying, “What can I say?”.  The built in commands, which include “Check battery”, “redial”, “call (home, office, speed dial, numbers)”, “call back”, “accept”, “ignore” and much more, are easy to use and easy to understand.  The true power of the V1 was found by speaking, “Phone commands”.  By speaking this command I can easily access my BlackBerry’s built in voice commands as well!  I can access my entire address book this way making the device truly hands free.  I don’t know if this option will work with all devices.

If you’re looking for a Bluetooth headset that offers a lot more than much of the competition I highly recommend checking out the BlueAnt V1.  It’s the “flying car” of headsets.

Tags: Blackberry, BlueAnt, Bluetooth, Review, Tech, V1