Samsung HS850 Wireless Cell Phone Headset

I've had this Motorola HS850 Bluetooth headset for ...

Posted Jan 29, 2005 - I've had this Motorola HS850 Bluetooth headset for a few days now and am generally pleased with it. This is the very latest generation of Moto's headsets and doesn't suffer from some of the weaknesses others have reported about earlier incarnations, specifically the transmission range. While users of previous generations complained that they had to keep the phones in their pocket in order to connect to the headset, I've been able to roam close to 30 feet (the nominal limit of Bluetooth links) from my V710 Moto phone and still maintain connectivity. It helps to have line-of-sight to the phone, but I've had it transmit successfully through a couple of walls, too. That's not to say that the headset sounds too great in these long distance situations. It definitely sounds best when the phone and headset are within an arm's distance of each other. At longer distances the audio quality gets progressively more gravelly, and in fact it will maintain the Bluetooth link even when the audio is completely unintelligible. This is a good thing, I guess, because if you stray too far you can simply move back within range instead of having to reestablish the connection. The audio quality definitely has an effect on the vice recognition capabilities of the V710. I've found that I sometimes have to repeat a command - especially in environments with high ambient noise - and the "digit dial" mode is much less reliable than it was previously, and may need some training with this headset. Name dial mode is more reliable but still takes retries sometimes. The fit on my ear is not as secure as I would like, but mostly the ear hook just FEELS loose and hasn't really been in danger of falling off. I wish it had, like my Jabra headset, a moldable-wire ear hook; instead it's a one-size-fits-all hook using a kind of floppy plastic, and the speaker sits outside and against your ear with a little rubber cushion. It can be configured for left or right ears. That said, it is VERY comfortable and extremely light weight, and yesterday I wore it around almost the entire afternoon, several times forgetting that it was on until an incoming call rang in my ear. While you're on a call the blue LED flashes every few seconds, but you can turn it off on a per-call basis if you think it looks too conspicuous in public. After giving it a couple of hours' initial charge as recommended in the manual, I talked on it quite a bit yesterday, much longer than the phone itself would have run on its own battery power. I haven't run it down completely, so I can't say if it gets the full 8 hours as claimed. One of the great things about using this headset with a Moto phone is that they can share the same charger (though not simultaneously) - unfortunately, you can't use it while the headset is charging. Setting this headset up was extremely straightforward and took about 30 seconds: I put it into "pairing mode", discovered it with my Moto V710 and then used the PIN to pair the two devices. The process of pairing the HS850 with my Mac G4 PowerBook was equally straightforward, and I was easily able to get all the Mac's audio output (in mono) routed through the headset; likewise, the Mac was able to use the headset's microphone for audio input. I'd say that's pretty impressive device compatibility!

96% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

I'm not going to suffer this headset any longer

Posted Jul 14, 2006 - I purchased this headset at the Verizon store along with my brand new Treo 700p and was very excited to finally have bluetooth. This first experience has been so poor that after the 5th day of use I went back to using my old jabra wired headset that I have used with my Treo 600 for a couple of years. I have now done some reading and educated myself more on these headsets, and clearly there are better choices for this price and form-factor. The shape of the ear hook is designed for small ears, and is not adjustable in any way. It is also made of hard plastic so if your ear is not the same shape as the designer's model, you will feel it. Second, the speaker is flush with the surface of the headset, meaning that the whole device is pressing against your ear, rather than fitting comfortably within the shape of the ear. This is also not adjustable, and keeps the speaker well outside the ear meaning when there is any background noise you will find yourself pressing the headset to your ear to minimize nearby noise. This would be a good idea except that the large hang-up button is placed prominently on that side of the headset. None of this would be such a problem if I could actually communicate with the person I'm calling. The speaker volume is weak, and full of clicks and pops from static. I've gotten reports that the sound from the boom mic is tinny when I call. It also lost the pairing once with my Treo when the headset ran out of batteries. Once recharged I had to delete the pairing from the Treo and reconnect the headset. Don't know if that's the headset's fault, though.

95% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Walking around the house this is great! You flip ...

Posted Aug 3, 2006 - Walking around the house this is great! You flip open the boom and it's on...not much of a wait at all. It's light and comfortable. If I'm in the car with all the road noise, I have some trouble hearing. And if you turn the volume up all the way, its too much for the tiny speaker. It distorts and rattles.

95% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Although I have not tried similar units, I highly ...

Posted Feb 24, 2005 - Although I have not tried similar units, I highly recommend this unit. I bought one for myself and my wife, so I've experienced both calls I make as well as heard the voice quality when my wife uses hers. I've had the BlueTooth headset for about a month now and have gotten to experience it's pro's and con's. The 850 is an excellent choice, and I had considered an 810, and an 820. The advantage of the 810 and 850 is that the unit is essentially turned off when the boom is closed, meaning that it is not consuming battery. I chose the 850 over the 810 due to the longer battery life. It takes about 2 hrs to fully charge and indicates it's charged when the light goes out. The unit connected with my Motorola Bluetooth phone without issues, and it re-establishes the connection each time you open and close the boom. This process takes about 2 seconds, so that when the phone rings, by the time you open the boom and are ready to speak, it's on the 2nd or third ring, which is perfect. In my conversations with numerous people, the voice quality is excellent. I was a bit worried that the mouth-to-mike distance would mean the mike was super sensitive and therefore picked up a lot of background noise. The mike doesn't pick up much besides your voice, so clearly Motorola thought that issue through. Because the headset completely covers your ear, the incoming voice is also quite clear. If you don't get the angle quite right (i.e. the mike is not close to the cheek), the outgoing voice is fairly low volume, making it difficult to hear. I like the comfort the unit provides, as it completely covers my ear. Other units which require insertion into the ear have always been problematic, because one earbud simply doesn't fit all ears. The over the ear hanger is quick and comfortable. I do still struggle a bit with getting the angle it rests on just right, and as I mentioned above, it can be hard for the other caller to hear you if it's not positioned right. My only beef with the unit itself is that it occasionally makes funny beeps and it's often hard to figure out why it's beeping. Other con's are more related to my phone/Motorola software than this unit itself. I will mention them, though, because I suspect all Motorola phones behave this way. First, the battery life of your phone is substantially reduced when using Bluetooth. I typically get ~50% of the advertised talk time out of my phone when using Bluetooth. Second, the phone seems to not realize that this is a headset, and thus it doesn't change it's "Theme" in the same way as if you plug in a wired headset. For example, I typical use my phone in "Silent" mode, no beeps, vibrating ringer,etc. When I use a headset, it's usually in a noisy environment, so I would like it to automatically switch to the "Loud" theme. It doesn't do that like it does with a wired headset. So what really annoys me, is when you open the boom to make a call, press the voice dial button and speak a name, if the phone doesn't hear it right, you don't get any prompting that it didn't receive it. You end up in the middle of a street saying "MOM" trying to get the phone to dial your mom. Overall, this is the best headset I ever used, and as long as you plug your phone in to charge every night, you'll have a superb combination.

93% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

Do not buy this headset if you are wanting to use ...

Posted May 3, 2005 - Do not buy this headset if you are wanting to use it with the Treo 650. If you do, the headset take about 8-12 seconds to connect and most people will hang up by then. I thought it was the headset but after dumping the new Treo and getting a Motorola A1000 phone, I can say, "I love this headset!". The convenience is immeasurable. Touch the button on the side once for voice-dialing, automatically answer your calls, and drive and work with both hands while talking. My phone never stops ringing. Before I had to put my customers on speakerphone so I could continue to type, install network equipment or pull network cable through some business's drop ceiling. Now, my conversations are private and I don't have to interact manually with my phone. The only caveat I have with this headset is it's power saving features. Through anecdotal evidence, myself and others have issue with the headset going into some sleep/power saving mode. On occasion, the headset will not pick up a call unless you press the button on the headset - very infrequent and minor inconvenience. Also, it is so natural to wear that you forget that you have to have the mobile phone with you. I'll leave it on my desk while in the middle of a call and by the time I reach the other end of my home or office, I'll remember I don't have my phone with me because the sound quality starts to fade - but we're talking waaaaay more than 30 feet. If I had to buy another one, I'd get the same model.

93% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

I have an 810 and purchased this 850 for my wife. ...

Posted Mar 18, 2005 - I have an 810 and purchased this 850 for my wife. It is a better unit than the 810 in that it is clearer and it holds a charge much longer. My wife uses her 850 at work and wears it almost all day. It is comfortable for her but so is the 810. They are both good products and if one needs a longer charge on the unit, the 850 is the one to purchase.

93% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

This one is a keeper!

Posted Dec 4, 2005 - Overall, I am very pleased with this unit. It is very comfortable and the ear mounting system is the best I've tried. It has never fallen off. I sometimes wear it along with my sun glasses, and even a hat. Except for the average earpiece volume, I would rate this unit at 5 stars.

88% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

I would recommend this headset but with some notes ...

Posted Mar 5, 2005 - I would recommend this headset but with some notes to future buyers. If you carry it in the carrying case, try to keep it in a position that will keep you from putting pressure on the side of the case. I believe this has been my problem with battery life. If you put pressure on the side of the case, the bluetooth light will come on. Constant pressure equals the unit being on a lot. Another thing to be aware of is, if you're cell phone has the voice programming capability built into it, use the headset to program your voice recognition. I programmed using the phone first and then tested using the headset and 4 out of 5 times it did not recognize the name. When I programmed using the headset I had a perfect test.

87% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

No one on the other end realizes I'm on a headset. ...

Posted Feb 10, 2005 - No one on the other end realizes I'm on a headset. Very compact, light, and well-designed. I purchased a Euro version and use my v551 charger since I live in the US. Had no problems. Note that if you use this with a BT v1.2 device, the call quality and battery life will drastically improve for not only the BT headset but also the BT phone.

85% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

I would buy this headset again. It's super easy t ...

Posted Jan 28, 2005 - I would buy this headset again. It's super easy to use, and it's totally sleek. I'm looking forward to seeing if the next generation of sets has perfect sound quality since that's really the only thing this one seems to be missing. The sound, however, is pretty good (again, 4 out of 5).

85% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

I am impressed with the range of this headset. I o ...

Posted Jan 27, 2005 - I am impressed with the range of this headset. I own several Bluetooth devices and the range on this headset when used with my phone (Moto V710) is better than the range I get from anything else (computers, PDAs). I can also connect the headset to my computer to use as a mike and speaker, but the range is diminished. In short, a great headset that I unhesitantly recommend.

83% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

I have purchased 2 of the motorola 850 headsets. T ...

Posted May 22, 2005 - I have purchased 2 of the motorola 850 headsets. They definitely work as advertised. I bought one for myself and was so impressed, I bought one for my boyfriend. We can talk for hours with no drop in signal strength. I have a motorola v551 and the headset does drain my battery. My boyfriend has a motorola razr v3 and it does not seem to affect his battery as much. I recommend this product to anyone who talks on their phone alot. You will not be disappointed.

83% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Overall, I think the Motorola HS-850 is well worth ...

Posted Feb 25, 2005 - Overall, I think the Motorola HS-850 is well worth the price and offers many features and functions thought impossible in the not so distant past. The voice quality and reception are great, styling is great, and the unit is compact and sleek. I tried a Bluetooth headset from a different company and was not nearly as impressed. I onsider this a best buy over all.

83% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

Overall I am very happy with the purchase. I have ...

Posted Jan 22, 2005 - Overall I am very happy with the purchase. I have tried almost every product on the market and find this has a nice balance of features and comfort. Every product is a compromise. This one has the fewest of them.

81% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

This is the best BT headset I have owned. It has p ...

Posted Apr 24, 2005 - This is the best BT headset I have owned. It has perfect functionality with my Moto V551. The battery life is amazing. I haven't run out in a day yet. It is comfortable enough that It talk on it for hours.

77% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review