HBH-DS970 Bluetooth Stereo over the Jabra BT620 and Motorola HT820 Headsets
User: Ran Flip, Mar 4, 2007
Pros:
Great Stereo Sound. Easy to use, after you figure it out. Caller ID displays number of incoming call and works fine 95% of the time. Excellent feel with the ear buds and comfortable fit around the neck. Lanyard adjustment is simple.
Cons:
Instruction booklet was horrible; however it was easy to figure w/o it, Poor battery life 4.5hrs. Button design and placement needs to be improved. Caller ID on the unit would be outstanding if it held last 4 calls. Display needs to be larger and brighter
Overall the unit is a great buy. There isn’t much competition in the stereo Bluetooth market right now. I have tested the Jabra BT620 headset also, which gets a 9 out 10 from me, everything works as advertised. The Jabra is a great stereo Bluetooth unit. The problem with the Jabra BT620, it gives you the Sci-fi robot intelligence look. Younger people may like that. The Jabra headset constantly flashes blue while you’re using it. Annoying while driving at night, reflections from the blue strobe. Made me paranoid a cop was pulling me over all the way home.
The Cell phone portion works great with both the Sony Ericsson HBH-DS970 and Jabra BT620 units. I prefer the Sony Ericsson HBH-DS970 because it displays the Caller and its more like the Iriver MP3 player then a Cell phone device. Sony should take a few lessons from the Iriver model iFP-1000 while the stereo Bluetooth market is still wide open. This Sony Ericsson HBH-DS970 is worth owning, great comfort with the ear Buds and adjustable lanyard around your neck. Testing both the Jabra BT620 and the Ericsson HBH-DS970 with the Palm 700wx gave me a good comparison, thanks to Hannip and Sling of Treo central for fixing the A2DP issue with the Palm 700W series.
The Sony has minor incoming call answering issues which are not that important since it works 95% of the time. The Jabra worked 100% of the time, but I prefer the fit and look of the Sony device. The functions and comfort of the Sony over the Jabra are Cleary better. Until someone develops something similar to the Sony Ericsson HBH-DS970 I am avoiding the techno robot look. The Jabra BT620 or Motorola HT820 Headsets are not comfortable on long Airplane flights. Jabra needs a kill switch on the disco light headset. I haven’t tested the Motorola HT820, but a friend tested it and it works just as well as the Jabra with a firmer fit on the head. Gets annoying over long periods of time with the feel of someone gripping your head. He used my Sony HBH-DS970 on his Samsung M1 flip cell and he prefers the Sony ear bud fit, the lanyard necklace fit was preferred. But the sound from the MOTO and Jabra was clearly better then the Sony. A preference over r comfort, and the sound. The Sony HBH-DS970 sound is good enough for the 50yr old guy, "Me". Stereo Bluetooth is still in the early design stages, looking forward to better fitting designs with premium stereo sound.
