Build and Construction:
Build quality appears to be excellent with a solid feel where you
would expect it and soft rubber where you need it. The
plastic used feels expensive with switches, connectors and buttons
all feeling solid. The appearance color is silver and
black. The connector for power is along the bottom
front of the unit and mates with a connector in the charging
adaptor. The adaptor supports multiple charging
sources. These include the regular wall charger, a variety
of handset power units and an adaptor that allows you to recharge
the unit with a AAA battery. When a call comes in the
adaptor vibrates and you can accept the call by pulling the
headset out of the charging adaptor. The adaptor also
includes a clip like a pen for holding the unit is a pocket.
Comfort: Comfort is
always subjective and I must admit that I am biased toward ease of
use with glasses since I am always taking them off or putting them
on. This headset comes with three ear gel sizes for inner
ear insertions and a loop for optional stability. The way I
found most comfortable was to use the small soft gel insert
without the ear loop. I found this headset to be very
comfortable and I was able to put on or take off glasses without
any problem. In a match up with the Flamingo unit, it is a
close call. The Flamingo is a little more comfortable but
not a match for sound quality. Frankly the difference in
comfort is almost too close to call. Unlike the Flamingo it
offers the ability to switch ears making ear fatigue less of a
problem. The Flamingo is right ear only. Given the
pros and cons of each I would call it a draw on comfort. The
owner's manual claims the headset can be worn without the ear loop
by selecting the right sized insert. I was able to be quite
comfortable with the small gel. Different ears may have a
different experience.
Visual size comparison between HBH-610, D640, Flamingo and
D510.
Connectivity: Pairing
is easy. You put the unit into pairing mode by turning it on
and then holding the power button until the LED flashes red
& blue. You then use the code of 0000 in your phone
device to establish the pairing. I had no problem pairing it
to a BB 8700 and a BB 7290. In a post on the BlackBerry
Forums a user indicated that he had problems with the unit
disconnecting on him. I have been using it for about a week
and not experienced the problem. The unit will go into a
sleep mode if left idle long enough or if it is taken out of range
from the handset but one can re-establish the live connection by
just pressing the answer button quickly. On powering it on,
it instantly connects to the handset. I have not had it drop
a connection while in use and I found in my distance test it had
one of the best ranges I have seen in any unit. It is
sensitive to placement relative to the handset and does not like
the handset to be on the left hip if the headset is in the right
ear and vice-versa.
Visual size comparison between HBH-610, D640 in holder and
Flamingo.
Distance
Test.
Sound Quality:
Outgoing sound quality was very good. incoming sound quality
is also very good to excellent. I found incoming sound to
generally be clear and full. Callers said that this was the
best sounding headset they had heard (generally when my calls were
made from a quiet to moderate environment). However, I will
let you be the judge in the sound shoot-out I had between 6 units,
first in a quiet environment and then in a noisy
environment. Noise cancellation is minimal but you can still
hear the person making the call, it is just that you can also hear
the background which you can't hear on a headset with good noise
cancellation. Volume level was very good, rarely needing
more than a 1/3 volume setting.
Quiet Sound Tests using 8700:
Plantronics
D640
Plantronics
D510
Plantronics
M3000
nXZEN
5500
Sony
Ericsson HBH-610
Flamingo
Noise Cancellation:
Noise cancellation is only adequate. In every test you can
hear the background noise but it never overpowers the speaker and
in some ways is less obtrusive than some sets that achieve noise
cancellation at the expense of audio quality in other
environments. The D510 was clearly superior in this
category. I have not yet tested in windy conditions.
Noise Tests using 8700:
Plantronics
D640
Plantronics
D510
Plantronics
M3000
nXZEN
5500
Sony
Ericsson HBH-610
Flamingo
Plantronics
D640 in Car
Plantronics
D640 very Windy Conditions
Ease of Use: The
unit is easy to use with just two buttons, one being a nice round
large button for connecting, disconnecting, powering on & off
and pairing. The second switch is a rocker switch for volume &
mute. I find the unit easy to use and comfortable. It
is small but very ergonomically designed so you don't have to
struggle to find the right button to use when you need it.
Other Comments: So
far, this unit appears to be the best in meeting my criteria due
to its small size, high comfort level, excellent sound quality for
both the sender and the receiver, good range and good battery
life. The D510 has better noise cancellation but is not as
comfortable for an eyeglass wearer. It appears to have
better sound than the Flamingo though noise cancellation is not
quite as good. A user has notified me that the holder issue
is known by Plantronics and they will send you a replacement that
solves the problem if you contact them. My quick fix may not
be needed for later production runs. For my quick fix, see
below.
