Apple iPhone Bluetooth Headset: light and simple, but fails to deliver iPhone’s full potential

“Apple’s first accessory for the iPhone is its minimalist Bluetooth headset. It’s light, simple, and attractively designed, but also lacks features of comparably priced devices and fails to deliver the full potential of the iPhone,” Daniel Eran Dilger writes for AppleInsider.

“The solid form of the device works in either ear and acts as a directional mic to pick up sound very well; callers remarked that they could hear me as well or better then when talking directly into the iPhone. The earpiece was less ideal, with occasional interference and lower volume than I would prefer, particularly when in a noisy environment,” Dilger writes.

“There’s no way to listen to music or to live podcasts in Safari over the headset, meaning headset users have to restrict their use of the iPhone to simply being a phone, unless they play the iPhone’s music through its built in speaker or through their vehicle’s audio system. Otherwise, listening to music requires putting in earbuds and taking the headset out,” Dilger writes.

“That makes the biggest consideration for potential buyers whether they feel wireless headset operation trumps listening to music. Ideally, Apple will release A2DP Bluetooth support for the iPhone and offer a stereo Bluetooth headset to match, delivering the best of both worlds,” Dilger writes.

More, including large photos, in the full review here.

41 Comments

  1. 45. play youtube videos etc right from safari
    46. more ringtones
    47. voice recording (cmon my 2 year old razr does that)
    48. froot loops dispenser
    49. preloaded with every family guy and 24 episode
    50. winch strong enough to tow my atv
    51. waterproof
    52. works with a stylus
    53. face reocognition
    54. fingerprint scanner

  2. Thanks for all the laughs folks. I actually got one of those new Apple bluetooth earpieces, and to be perfectly honest, I don’t like it. It has a lot of static interruptions when I am talking, and even moving the phone into my left trouser-leg pocket (with the headset in my right ear) causes it to drop out a lot. I simply find it unusable.

    And besides, the included stereo white earbuds work perfectly fine, and I can listen to my music and podcasts in between calls (as ChrissyOne mentioned, talking on the phone is probably what I do least by percentage of time use).

    oh well. MDN: “figures”

  3. “Why would want to listen to music in only one ear? I’m puzzled.”

    Not everyone has an iPod/mp3 player plug-in in their car and in most states your not allowed to cover both ears when driving. Also some people (not me) walk around all day with that bluetooth thing in their ear. A little casual music would be nice for them.

  4. “Also some people (not me) walk around all day with that bluetooth thing in their ear. A little casual music would be nice for them.”

    Wouldn’t this be a giant battery drain? I have no idea, I’ve never used any bt gear.

  5. After reading this stupid review, I was as mad as a teetotaler at a speakeasy! What part of the elegant simplicity of the iPhone Bluetooth earpiece does Mr. Dildo not understand? If you want stereo music, use your earbuds. But if you want a simple, tiny, lightweight and unobtrusive Bluetooth earpiece, this looks very attractive.

    For some reason, Mr. Dildo expected the iPhone Bluetooth earpiece to do everything listed by other posters above. Huh? It has one simple function, Daniel: to frickin’ talk on the phone! Is that so hard to understand? If you want all the junk you whined about, then get some other Bluetooth earpiece fer Chrissakes. But if you look at the review linked in the article above, you will notice a comparison photo between the Apple Bluetooth earpiece and a Jabra device that looked like a hearing aid designed by the Soviet commies in the 1950s. Apparently, he didn’t get a key point here: Steve Jobs wanted a light, minimalist design, not a 10 lb. PC laptop stuck to your ear. But I guess he wanted the version that would be designed by Microshaft.

    Some schmucks don’t get it. As my old man once said, those who can do, and those who can’t teach gym. To that I add, and those who can do neither become self-important pundits who write whiny reviews about Apple products.

    What a schmendrick!

  6. @ ChrissyOne

    “Middle Management Douchebag Couture” FTW! That made my day. But those aren’t the only offenders of good taste. Don’t forget general posers. They are even more annoying. It’s like they’re all walking around like, “I have to keep my headset in at all times because I’m so important that I might be getting a phone call from the Oval Office at any minute. Nevermind that the most important thing I actually ever say is, ‘You want fries with that?'”

    MW: “love” as in, “I love ChrissyOne!”

  7. @ Woody

    Sometimes in the middle of a real life, face to face conversation, and I’ll have my iPhone earbuds in and I’ll interrupt the person, and hold up a finger, tap on my pants pocket, look blankly into the middle distance and say “Yeah… a large? Would you like a super-size fry…? Ok, that’ll be 7.48, pull around please.” …and then go right back to talking to them.

    Seriously, if you wear a giant bt earpiece all the time, you must realize that you look like you’re working the drive thru.

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