headset (bluetooth)

mcavoy33 · Jun 24, 2011

I got my first pay check today. I need to invest in some safety equipment. I need to get a blue tooth headset for my phone. Dispatch can never hear me, my phone sucks, I can barely hear them.

But more importantly, I need my hands free while I'm driving.

Anyone got any good recommendations? I really don't want to spend $100 for the ones that you see at the truck stops. I'm cheap. But I do need to invest in one.

Anyone got any recommendations, keepers or brands to stay away from?

b2boggs · Jun 24, 2011

I like the blueparrott b250-xt. Good sound both ways.

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TeamCaffee · Jun 24, 2011

You can buy cheap headsets and buy several a year or buy a good headset such as the Blue Parror that will last several years

chefdennis · Jun 24, 2011

I too use the blueparrott B50-xt. There is a newer upgraded model from Blueparrot and it is suppose to be really nice, but I would buy the B250-XT again...

LDB · Jun 24, 2011

In your situation you may need to buy one least expensive to start with and save up for a really good one when it has to be replaced. Good luck.

mcavoy33 · Jun 24, 2011

LDB said:
In your situation you may need to buy one least expensive to start with and save up for a really good one when it has to be replaced. Good luck.

This sounds like an unfortunate plan.

Dakota · Jun 24, 2011

Also, bypass the truckstops and go to Amazon.com
I've bought many electronics Gps's, ipod's etc and saved a ton and depending on who you order it from shipping could be free

Dakota · Jun 24, 2011

If you must get one quicker try Bestbuy or some store with a good return policy. From what i've heard alot of bluetooth at truckstops are owned by someone other than the truck stop, so if you buy it at one Pilot you can't return it at the next, something to check when you buy it I guess.

Turtle · Jun 25, 2011

I've spent $100 several times on a Bluetooth headset. I've had two different kinds of Jawbones, half a dozen different Motorolas, Plantronics and several others, all told probably 12-15 different headsets in all price ranges, easily $1000 or more over the years. The ones with the little 2 inch boom that rests on your cheek to cancel nose work great as long as your face is as smooth as a baby's bottom, but as soon as you get two days of beard on there the noise canceling stops working. I'd get those where I'd have it on my cheek to where they could hear me fine, but the part that goes in my ear wouldn't be in my ear, and when I get it in my ear where I could hear them, they couldn't hear me. Driving down the road with a cracked window, forget it.

Finally, I abandoned "small, sleek and stylish geek" and went for "utilitarian spaz" with a BlueParrott® B250-XT. It's an over-the-head design with an over-the-ear speaker and a boom mic. You can roll down the window and people will never know it. I've gotten fuel several times while standing next to a big truck with the engine and reefer blaring away, and people had no idea I'd even gotten out of the truck. That's impressive. It's got a 16 hour talk time and about a 6 day stand-by time on a charge. It looks and feel cheap, but it's not. I've had mine for two years. It's about $70 or $80 depending on where you buy it, and for my money, considering all the money I've spent on these things, it's worth twice the price. Because it works.

The other Blue Parrot is the BlueParrott Xpressway™, which is essentially the same as the B250-XT insofar as noise canceling and talk time and stuff, but it comes in interchangeable designs where you can wear it with the same over-the-head design as the B250-XT, or a behind-the-neck design, or an on-the-ear earloop design. It's about $20 more than the B250-XT.

LDB · Jun 25, 2011

Where are you finding $7x? Your link is $119.95 for either one. The Expressway says it pairs with two phones at the same time. Does it autoswitch or do you have to press buttons etc. to get it to swap phones? It appears it is not nearly as competent as the Plantronics for dual phone use but perhaps it isn't clear on that.

Turtle · Jun 25, 2011

LDB said:
Where are you finding $7x? Your link is $119.95 for either one.

Well, the links were to the product pages at the manufacturer, I didn't mean to indicate that I was recommending buying it at full price from them.

But, here's price comparisons for the BlueParrott B250-XT headset

And for the BlueParrott Xpressway headset

I've seen the B250-XT for $70 or $80 at truck stops. At the Love's in Lufkin, the B250-XT is $69.99, but after a 30 rebate, so ya gotta buy it up front for $99.99. I think it's without the rebate at either the J or the TA, I can't remember. I know some Walmarts and Meijers carry them for the lower price.

The Expressway says it pairs with two phones at the same time. Does it autoswitch or do you have to press buttons etc. to get it to swap phones? It appears it is not nearly as competent as the Plantronics for dual phone use but perhaps it isn't clear on that.

I don't have the Expressway (I have the other one), so I can't confidently comment on any of the details, but as far as I know, headsets with Multipoint Connection are passive devices and it's the controlling device (multiple phones, or a phone and computer, or a phone and VoIP dongle) will simply send data to the headset as needed, since the headset is connected to multiple devices at the same time. Whichever phone rings, that's the one that will be talking to the headset. I don't think you can receive phone audio from two different phones simultaneously, but you might be able to receive phone audio from one phone and MP3 audio from another at the same time. Depends on how you pair it with the devices. But the way Multipoint Connection (a Bluetooth 2.1 thing) works is, whichever of the devices needs the headset will automatically use it, with little or no user interaction.

LDB · Jun 25, 2011

I got one 2-3 years ago that paired with both phones but if you last used it with phone A and phone B rang you had to push the mob and another button together to switch it over. Sometimes before it would switch and lock the call would go to voicemail. I don't recall what brand it was but not these or Plantronics. I probably should go to the 250 with the over the ear design to offset my hearing "opportunities" due to bad decisions when younger.

Turtle · Jun 25, 2011

The 250 doesn't have Multipoint Connection. It'll pair with multiple devices, same as your old one, but you have to force it to change devices. Normally, it'll just automatically connect to the last device it connected to. So if multiple phones is a big thing, you may want to look at the Expressway, instead. My Nokia stereo headphones have Multipoint Connection, and I have it connected to the phone MP3 audio, as well as the computer, but not to the phone audio, as the BlueParrot is much better for phone conversations when moving down the road.

Both the 250 and the Expressway have the over-the-ear speaker, so both are hearing aid friendly. The 250's boom mic is on a very bendable boom, more like a pipe cleaner wire, whereas the Expressway's boom mic doesn't appear to be quite as adjustable, but after touching one and playing with it briefly, my chief concern about the Expressway boom mic was alleviated. It's flexible, adjustable with no spring back, same as the 250. If I were to get another one today, I'd get the Expressway, simply because it's a little sleeker and you have the three options of how to wear it (behind the neck is one I'd never do, tho, those types of headsets drive me crazy). But if I needed one right now, and the 250 was the only one available, I'd grab it and not think twice about it.

scottm4211 · Jun 25, 2011

Does your phone have a headphone jack? When I need to be hands free I just use the earbuds with built in mic that came with my iPhone.

Turtle · Jun 25, 2011

scottm4211 said:
Does your phone have a headphone jack? When I need to be hands free I just use the earbuds with built in mic that came with my iPhone.

Yeah. Most all of 'em do, I think. I plug my Nokia stereo headphones into it for extended listening to save the battery on both the phone and the headphones. But for handsfree phone calls while working on the van or driving down the road with a lot of background noise, I prefer my noise canceling wireless headset to be, you know, noise canceling and wireless.

When I'm parked, the Nokia headphones can be used for phone conversations, but the microphone is in the headphone can itself, so to others it sounds like I'm on a speaker phone calling from a crawl space. The Garmin sounds the same way when used as a phone. So do earbuds with a mic on the wire. The BlueParrot's boom mic is placed at the corner of your mouth, nearly touching your face, and all people on the other end hear is me.

highway star · Jun 25, 2011

I tried pairing my Expressway to both my phones. After a couple of instances of it not working right, I gave up on it. Could've been something I was doing wrong, I don't know.

The Expressway has almost no boom adjustability, so be careful with it. I was sick with a bad cough a while back and talking aggravated it. I would cover the mic and pull it back a bit and ended up breaking it. I find.... wow... Oh, sorry... I'm watching motocross and they showed the 30 second card girl from behind, a bit distracting... Anyway, I find the battery life is way, way better on the Expressway than the B250.

Rocketman · Jun 25, 2011

highway star said:
I tried pairing my Expressway to both my phones. After a couple of instances of it not working right, I gave up on it. Could've been something I was doing wrong, I don't know.

The Expressway has almost no boom adjustability, so be careful with it. I was sick with a bad cough a while back and talking aggravated it. I would cover the mic and pull it back a bit and ended up breaking it. I find.... wow... Oh, sorry... I'm watching motocross and they showed the 30 second card girl from behind, a bit distracting... Anyway, I find the battery life is way, way better on the Expressway than the B250.

Pervert.

With "that" said.

Highway liked his expressway so much that I bought one too. The option of hanging it from your ear is completely worthless as the unit is just too big and heavy, it falls sideways and the boom falls away from your face...so it's useless. The other option is the hard plastic over the head contraption. The way I use it is with it turned down so that it doesn't actually go over my head but around the back of my head. It's ALOT more comfortable to me than the over the head system on the B250.

I have asked a few people about the sound quality and everyone seems to like it and they say it sounds the same as the B250 did.

Mcavoy, I would recommend the same as everyone else. Get one of the Blue Parrots. If you have to go with something else, I would probably get the Planatronics Voyager Amazon.com: Plantronics Voyager PRO Bluetooth Headset: Cell Phones & Accessories I had the older version of that for a while before I bought the Blue Parrot and I liked it ok, but the sound quality wasn't anywhere near the BP. Of course, they may have improved some too.