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BlueAnt V1, first cellphone earpiece to use Bluetooth 2.1

blueant_V1.jpg

I like using a Bluetooth headset when I use my cellphone. What I don’t like is noise, or having to take off the headset to figure out how to turn up the volume or or voice dial. The BlueAnt V1 headset uses a very nifty voice interface that lets you ask the headset "What can I say?" and the headset will answer you with a list (i.e. pairing, voice dialing, answering calls and such) just like one of those automated call services. And because I hate to read instructions, I can ask the headset to teach me, and the BlueAnt V1 walks me though its functions.

But what good is all this cool technology if you call a taxi from a noisy club and they can’t understand you? The V1’s solution to that is a dual microphone with their Voice Isolation Technology that separates your voice from background noise. The effect is better voice with echo cancellation — even shielding you from wind noise. And the Bluetooth 2.1 spec is a nice improvement for simplified pairing. The V1 is Firmware upgradeable, has three charging options (car, phone and USB) and it can pair with eight devices. It weighs less than an ounce, and its battery has five hours of talk-time and 200 hours standby, which should get you though even a long weekend.


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Comments

Girl Games

Very awesome - I'm a HUGE fan of blueant - I had the X5 headphones - and can say that blueant makes quality products. Maybe the X5's were a bit new for their time, but the fact that they built them with all the right features (mini-usb charging, collapsible frame, 2 rechargeable batteries included, etc)

Can't wait to hear more about this headset.... now only if it had a stereo companion.....

good set

V1 replies with "Call Terminated" whenever I receive a text / picture / email with my Sprint Instinct, this is very annoying and needs to be resolved!

nice one

I work with Sensory, the company that created the software behind the V1's VUI. Since the product's launch I have been testing it out and love it. The way it simplifies the pairing process is great. Right out of the box the headset talked me through pairing with my phone. I did not even look at a manual. Also, it makes it easier for me to make and take phone calls in the car. Previously, I had to fumble with my phone to dial numbers or look at the display to see who was calling. Now, the V1 will tell me who is calling and I can say "accept" or "reject" and I can speak into the headset to initiate a call. Very cool.

Voice Control feature works well, yet BlueAnt (or Sensory) made some really poor choices about default unchangeable presets.

Sad that such ground-breaking technology would be restricted by dumb default presets. If you have an iPhone 3G like me, you'll probably hate them too. Every time I call my wife I have to say, "Call Voice Mail" because she's set to speed-dial #1, and BlueAnt/Sensory failed to consider that some users don't have or want speed-dial #1 set to voice mail. And plopping the GOOG-411 present at #5 is completely presumptuous... they should have used slot #9, if at all (I have an iPhone 3G with Google Maps and Google Search, why would I want to pay for a call to GOOG-411??).

Hopefully idiocy won't prevail and BlueAnt/Sensory will provide a firmware update [the] that sets the matter straight, changing the speed-dial presets to 'Call Speed Dial 1', 'Call Speed Dial 2', etc., and either moving GOOG-411 to speed-dial 9 or better yet leave it out.

Hey Bluedude -
I saw you copied and pasted these comments a few places so responding to you here too. I do work with Sensory who created the software behind the V1's VUI so think I can help.

Just to clarify, the V1 does not take anything over. You don’t have to use any of the preset voice dials on the V1 and you can have your iPhone exactly as it was.
To get the V1 to call voicemail simply put your voicemail in slot 1. There was some reasoning behind this, actually. Voicemail is the #1 most commonly preset dial for handsets and vendors that preset this virtually always use slot 1. That’s pretty much industry standard when built in.
Instead of saying, “call voicemail” to dial your wife, simply move her to speed dial 4 and then you can call her by saying “call favorite” and if you don’t like that, move her to speed dial 6 and say, “call speed dial 6”.
Also, you are mistaken about speed dial 5 being taken over by GOOG-411. You can put any speed dial you want into that slot and it will still work on your handset AND you can still say “call GOOG-411”.
As far as visual voicemail, Google Maps, etc., the whole idea of the V1 headset is to allow you to access commands and information without having to grab the phone to look at it while driving. “Call GOOG-411” lets you call any business in the US by voice with no charge and the “call voicemail” command gets you into your voicemail to hear it without having to pull over the car to read it.

I agree, I should be able to set my own "Call X" prompts. Plus the firmware update is useless to Mac owners. I'll pass until they figure out there's more than Windows out there and that people want control of the devices they purchase.

Mike

Yes Thats is a good idea. Thanks a lot

If you have an iPhone 3G like me, you'll probably hate them too.

Beth,

I appreciate the staff of the maker and software support following the posts of those that send their complaints to many locations. Sometimes those are competitors trying to head off a product that competes or makes their product insignificant.

I agree that a bit more flexibility in the programming would be nice, as in an interface on a PC and MAC to be able to change around the interface internally with out waiting for a firmware fix.

However, if I can use voice tags and tag anything I like and shut off the preloads then it makes it a mute point and you can program the entire show then.

I for one will be trying this with my Treo 680 and if the new Palm that is of Nova ilk is worth what all the prerelease and unveiling say it will be as in Earth Breaking, Breath Taking, Wow, then I will continue to use it with the new Nova once I purchase one of those.

Keep up the good work. It is greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Cary

It is greatly appreciated.

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