Pros: durable, light, good battery life, comfortable, aesthetically pleasing, small and forgettable while talking
Cons: too loud on low volume sometimes, can't handle very noisy environments, somewhat complex controls
The Bottom Line: I recommend this if you want an affordable, functional, and durable Bluetooth ear piece to free yourself from your phone's strong radiation and confinement.
freetolio's Full Review: Plantronics Explorer 320 Bluetooth Headset
Past Experience
I used to have those corded ear bud hands free earpieces with my old Nokia, Motorola, and Kyocera phones.
Product
The diminutive ear piece comes with a charging cable that has a button-sized power connector with a slim power inverter.
Features
The unit has pretty standard features. It comforms to the Bluetooth 1.2 spec, weighs 2/3 oz, and boasts 240 hours standby and 8 hours talk time. It has a single push button that doubles as a rocker switch.
Functionality
A press of the single button turns the unit on, holding it down for a long time turns it off with a beep. When off, holding it down for a really long time places it in pairing mode a few seconds after it has turned on. Pushing the button until you hear a beep activates voice dialing, pushing the button during a call hangs up. The rocker can be pushed toward the microphone to decrease volume, and away to increase it. Turning the unit off can be hard if the rocker moves and it thinks you want to adjust the volume when you are just trying to push it in. The unit functions well in medium to low-noise environments with voice dialing on a Motorola KRZR k1m. Battery life is good even for someone making 2 hour calls each night, and range seems to be good up to about 15-20 feet (it will give you some warning beeps if it is getting out of range). I find that the volume sometimes cannot go low enough for me, and I have to pull it out of my ear a bit. Being able to use it on either ear is nice since one may hurt after a long period (such as on a car trip). The unit is a breeze to use on the road, and closed window road noise is no problem (although the person you are talking to will likely notice it).
Durability
I did a load of laundry this past weekend with the headset in my shorts pocket, and the blue light was stuck on. However, I left the ear piece in my hot car and by the end of the day it was working as fine as the day a bought it. This is astonishing to me with my knowledge of the rampant meekness of hot electronics. I saw complaints by other reviewers about the silicone hook wearing out, I play with mine all the time and it is nowhere near disintegrating after nearly a year of use (I suspect some people may be chewing on it repeatedly). Also the hinge it is on works fine too.
Overall
I don't think this is the fanciest Bluetooth ear piece out there, and it doesn't rank with the kind with jawbone microphones for noise filtering that run over $100. However, it is a reliable little device that just works and does what it needs to without issue. If you will talk outside in any wind, get a fancy noise-filtering one, but for an average user in home or car get this baby, and you won't be disappointed.
Enjoy affordable, easy-to-use wireless freedom for Bluetooth phones with the Plantronics Explorer 320 headset. Its comfortable enough to wear all day,...More at eBay
Extremely lightweight design for all-day wearing comfort Up to 8 hours talk time and 100 hours standby Noise-canceling microphone for superior sound q...More at Amazon Marketplace
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