There are numerous bluetooth headset manufacturers, but the top three are Plantronics, Jabra and Jawbone. I’ve already reviewed the Jabra Stone and Jawbone headsets, so I thought I’d take a look at the Plantronics Voyager Pro+.

Plantronics Voyager PRO+ Bluetooth Headset

In The Box

Plantronics are quite generous when it comes to the accessories in the box. As well as the standard mains adapter, you also get a continental adapter, a Micro USB charging cable, a car charger adapter and a supply of spare ear buds – more than I’ve seen in any other Bluetooth Headset recently.

Plantronics Voyager PRO+ Bluetooth Headset

Features

The Voyager Pro+ is more than just an everyday headset. It’s aimed at road warriors and heavy users that need a strong, clear and reliable headset. In terms of features, the headset packs a lot in to a surprisingly small shell. The pictures don’t really do much to convey the size of the headset, but I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box.

The Voyager Pro+ features a boom mic which houses dual microphones . The microphones have three layers of noise reduction built in to eliminate background noise, road noise and wind noise. One microphone listens out for your voice, while the other one picks up background noise – clever software then removes these noises from the voice microphone for exceptionally clear audio.

Plantronics Voyager PRO+ Bluetooth Headset

Another handy little feature that’s built in is the voice prompts. These audible alerts will let you know when your battery is running low and confirm when the microphone is muted. It works well, but it would have been nice if it also read out the callers number when you receive a call.

Battery life is also worth a mention here. It offers up to 6 hours talk time and five days of standby, so even the heaviest of uses shouldn’t have a problem with it running out of power.

Design

Not every one will like the design of the Voyager Pro+ as at first glance it looks quite bulky, but when you see it in the flesh you’ll be surprised at just how small it is. The bulk of the unit sits behind your ear, leaving just the earpiece and boom mic visible.

Plantronics Voyager PRO+ Bluetooth Headset

It can be worn in either ear and the microphone is fully adjustable, so finding a comfortable fit isn’t a problem. The number of buttons have been kept to a minimum, both to improve the look of the headset and to keep it simple to use.

Controls & Set Up

There are just 4 buttons on the Voyager Pro+, but they aren’t all that obvious. The answer/end key is exactly where you’d expect it, but the power and volume keys are a hidden away on the main part that sits behind your ear. For the power button, this isn’t really a problem as you’re not really all that likely to turn it off while you’re wearing it, but some people may find the volume keys a little on the small and fiddly side.

Plantronics Voyager PRO+ Bluetooth Headset

They’re located on the top of the headset and are quite close together. You shouldn’t have any problems in pressing the wrong one, but as there are no raised markings, you might struggle to remember which is up and which is down!

Setting it up is incredibly easy. I tried one with the iPhone and pairing was almost too easy. The first time you turn the headset is on it goes into pairing mode, so all you have to do is search for Bluetooth devices on your phone. I wasn’t asked for a Passkey on the iPhone, most other new handsets don’t require one either.

Audio Quality

As you’d expect from Plantronics, the audio quality is excellent. The noise cancellation on the Voyager Pro+ is brilliant, I actually prefer it over the Jawbone (which can sometimes make people sound robotic) The ear gels fit well and are quite open in order to channel the sound into your ears, unlike some ear gels that partially cover the speaker.

I had no problems in hearing the caller or being heard even at 70mph on the motorway. It still worked well with the window slightly open, although road and wind noise were increased, but not to the point where the headset became unusable.

Why Choose

Plantronics have been around for a very long time and it shows in the quality of their headsets. The Voyager Pro+ is well built, easy to use and exceptionally clear. It is by far the best option if you spend a lot of time in the car making calls and don’t want a loud speaker.

There are a few features that I’d have like to have seen on the Voyager Pro+, Text To Speech, Support for music playback being the main two but neither are really that important and neither feature prevents the Voyager Pro+ from being an outstanding bluetooth headset.

Also Consider

Jabra Stone

Jawbone Icon

My Rating

There are already a lot of phones available that use a Micro USB charger; Both the BlackBerry Storm &  Black Berry 8900 Curve, Nokia have the 6500 Classic and the recently released Nokia N97, and Samsung use Micro USB charging on the Samsung Omnia HD and the Samsung Jet.

Fed up of tangled cables?

This is of course great news, but you’re still going to need seperate chargers for any other accessories that you might have, your Bluetooth Headset for example.  You’re still going to need a different charger for each device, and there is still a risk of leaving one behind when you pack for your travels.

Fortunately, there is a solution on its way.  Micro USB chargers are also being adopted by accessory manufacturers, so you’ll be able to use the same charger on your headset as you use on your mobile phone.

Jabra, Nokia and Plantronics are all starting to introduce Micro USB charging to their range of Bluetooth Headsets and Stereo Bluetooth Headsets so I’ve put together a list of our top micro USB Bluetooth Headsets

Jabra

Jabra are well known for their Bluetooth Headsets; they work brilliantly, are simple to use, and most importantly they’re affordable.  They have a wide range of headset available, 5 of which support Micro USB charging. The most popular ones are listed below:

The Jabra BT2050 Bluetooth Headset is the cheapest headset available that uses a Micro USB charger. The headset also has auto pairing so that you can be using it for calls in less than a minute. The BT2050 has up to 4 hours talk time and 180 hours standby time.

Jabra BT2050 Bluetooth Headset

Next up is the Jabra BT4010 Bluetooth Headset. It weighs just 9g so is extremely comfortable to wear and has a small LCD to show you the remaining battery life and connection status. The headset can be worn in the ear (as pictured below) or you can attach an ear loop to it and wear it on your ear. Battery life on the BT4010 is slightly better than the BT2050 with upto 6 hours talk time and 150 hours standby time.

Jabra BT4010 Bluetooth Headset

My favourite Bluetooth Headset from Jabra is the JX20 Pura. As well as being one of the nicest looking Bluetooth Headsets, the JX20 Pura is crafted with titanium and features auto pairing, removable ear hooks, digital sound enhancement and comes with a Desktop charging cradle that can be connected to your PC using a Micro USB cable to charge it while you’re working. The software in the headset can be updated, so you can be confident that it will always be fully compatible with your phone. The JX20 Pura weighs 13g and gives up to 6 hours talk time from a single charge.

Jabra JX20 Pura Bluetooth Headset

Nokia

Nokia have probably the largest range of Bluetooth headsets available, but Micro USB charging has only found its way into 4 of their top end headsets at the moment.  They are compatible with all Bluetooth enable handsets, but you might be able to take advantage of a few more of their features when you use them with a Nokia phone.

The Nokia BH-703 Bluetooth headset can be worn in the ear or over the ear (using the optional ear loop as shown below). It features digital signal processing for improved audio clarity and has touch sensitive controls for handling your calls.  If your phone supports it, you can swap calls, place calls on hold and activate voice dialling all without having to touch your phone.  The BH-703 weighs in at just over 11g and gives upto 6 hours of talk time and 160 hours standby time.  One of the great things about this headset is that it will charge fully in about an hour.

Nokia BH-703 Bluetooth Headset

The Nokia BH-803 Bluetooth Headset is another stylish headset with a hi-gloss black and chrome finish.  It looks good and is designed to compliment most of their more recent handsets. In terms of features, it has pretty much everything the same as the BH-703 but is slightly smaller.  Battery life is the same too, with up to 6 hours of talk time and 160 hour stand by.

Nokia BH-803 Bluetooth Headset

The Nokia BH-804 is Nokia’s Premium Bluetooth headset. It’s made from lightweight aluminium and comes with a coordinating charging stand. Controls are simple, one button to answer/end calls and activate voice dialling and another to adjust the volume.  The headset is considerably smaller than the BH-703 and BH-803, and it weighs an incredible 7  grams. Charging time is around an hour and this will give you about 4 hours talk time or 120 hours standby.

Nokia BH-804 Bluetooth Headset

Plantronics

Not so many people have heard of Plantronics, but they are one of the biggest names in the world of headsets.  Their main product range tends to be call centre equipment, but their knowledge in call handling means that they create some fantastic Bluetooth Headsets.

The Plantronics Voyager 835 Bluetooth Headset packs in a lot of extra features over the Nokia and Jabra headsets. I don’t know about you, but my biggest pet hate with Bluetooth headsets is wearing them on a windy day and being completely drowned out by the noise of the wind blowing over the microphone. Plantronics have solved this problem by building in 2 microphones that (in conjunction with wind noise reduction software) eliminates wind and background noise. The headset is also a Multipoint Bluetooth Headset which means you can pair and connect to two phones at the same time (What is Multipoint).  When a call comes in on either phone, you’ll be able to answer it just by pressing the answer button on the headset, with out having to mess around disconnecting one phone and connecting to the other. The headset weighs 13g and a full charge will give you upto 5 hours talk time and 120 hours stand-by time.

Plantronics Voyager 835 Bluetooth Headset

The Plantronics Discovery 925 Bluetooth Headset is more of a fashion headset, but having said that it still has a lot of great features. It sits in the ear rather than hanging off it and has a boom microphone to increase your voice clarity.  The headset comes with a stylish carry case that also charges the headset. You get 3 different sizes of ear bud included for a comfortable fit. Despite its size, the Discovery 925 still boasts up to 5 hours talk time and up to 170 hours stand-by time. The Discovery 925 also supports Multipoint and can be connected to two phones at the same time. (What is Multipoint)

Plantronics Discovery 925 Bluetooth Headset

Last but not least is the Plantronics Voyager 510 Pro. This is probably the most advanced bluetooth headset that we currently sell.  It’s aimed at people that use their headset a lot and that need the best call audio possible.  It has an adjustable boom mic with 2 noise cancelling microphones and windsmart technology – a more advanced version of the wind noise reduction from the Voyager 835. Rather than sitting on or in your ear, the Voyager 510 Pro actually sits behind your ear, which makes wearing it extremely comfortable and reduces the chance of it falling off significantly. The headset features auto pairing, voice prompts and multipoint technology. The battery in the Voyager 510 Pro will give you upto 6 hours talktime and 120 hours stand-by time from a single charge. This headset comes with a micro USB mains charger, micro USB charging cable and a micro USB car charger making it the perfect choice if your phone also uses micro USB charging.

Plantronics Voyager 510 Pro Bluetooth Headset

The number of devices that use micro USB charging is increasing all the time, so this list will grow over time.  Don’t forget though that this isn’t all of the Bluetooth headsest that use micro USB chargers, just our favourite ones by each of the top 3 manufacturers.  Check out our Bluetooth Headset pages for our full range.