NextLink Bluespoon Bluetooth headset

"No, the thing in my ear is not a hearing aid. No, I am not hearing challenged. This is my new wireless headset". Believe it or not, since I got NextLink's Bluespoon Bluetooth headset, I say these words at least 5 times a day. Not because I like to repeat them or like to show off, but simply because people are curious about what is stuck in my ear. The answer is - the tiniest and most lightweight Bluetooth headset available on the market today.

Specifications:

• Weight: 0.335 oz (9,85 gr)
• Dimensions: 1.77” x .98” x .98” (45mm(L)x25mm(W)x25mm(D))
• Talk-time: 4 hours up to 5 hours 45 min.
• Standby-time: more than 200 hours
• Charging-time:90 min.
• Hardware: CSR (Bluecore 02 - Class 2)
• Software: Headset Profile v1.1
  

The device is called Bluespoon since it closely resembles the shape of a tea spoon, without the handle. It is a little bigger then a US quarter and very light - only 0.335oz (9.5g). For comparison, an average Bluetooth headset weights from 0.7oz (20g) to around 1oz (30g). The entire construction of the headset feels very sturdy and durable. As a test, I intentionally dropped the device several times, and its operation or physical structure was not affected at all. The only part of the device that can be removed or bent is the spring which holds it in your ear. In total, provides 4 springs - two advertised as "hard", and two "soft" ones. I used the "spoon" with a "hard" spring for several days, but found that it caused excessive discomfort in my ear after several hours of use. I switched to the soft spring, which is a lot more conformable. All you have to do in order to change the spring is pull it out and plug the other one in. The headset is designed to be worn in the right ear only. We hope that Nextlink will be able to offer a 'left ear' version of the headset, in the future.

The device has 2 small dimples like buttons. They are not clickable, and are activated by a soft touch of your fingers. Since the buttons do not "click", the user does not receive feedback if they activated the button or not. Another issue is the positions of the buttons - on the outside of the headset. The problem becomes obvious if you have had the headset in your ear for more then 2 hours. At that time, I am already starting to experience moderate discomfort and if I had to answer a call or adjust the volume for instance, I would have had to push the headset against my ear which actually causes pain. In my opinion, the buttons should have been put on the side of the headset, so when you have to "push" them, you can hold the headset with two fingers.

There are also two LEDs, which light up in blue or red color. The blue beams light every 20 seconds in stand-by mode and every 10 seconds while you are talking. The red is used to notify you of low battery.

The box that I received from Nextlink included Bluespoon, charging cradle, power supply, CD-ROM with interactive user manual (very useful), a printed user manual and three extra springs. According to the manual, the headset has to be charged first for 8 hours prior to use. It took 1h to fully charge mine, so I did not wait the whole 8 hours. The pairing process went flawlessly - just hold down the two buttons on the headset for around 7 second (until they both start to blink) and start the pairing process from your phone.

The headset is relatively easy to operate. You can answer a call by pushing any one of the buttons. To start voice dialing, hold down one of the buttons for one second.

The cradle that comes with it is also very small. In order to charge the device, you put it in the middle of the cradle, and swing the blue clamp over it to hold it in place. The red LED on the cradle should come on. Most of the times this procedure worked well, nevertheless I had several instances in which the light would just flicker for a second and then turn off. In such cases, I had to swing the clamp back, remove the Bluespoon from the cradle and put it back again. Usually the second time the charging process would start properly.

Dislike Jabra's FreeSpeak headset, the Bluespoon's volume is not independent from the volume of the phone. In other words, if you increase the phone's volume, the headset volume also increases. I find this as an added convenience for the uses and I think every headset should have this feature.

Another problem that I ran into was several mysterious abnormalities - the headset would not power off, volume could not be adjusted, inability of invoke voice dial etc. After Nextlink advised me to reset the device, the problem went away. The same glitch appeared the next day again and after another reset the headset went back to normal operation mode. I have not experienced any problems since.

It took me good 2-3 days to get used how to put on the headset. Once it is in place, you almost forget about it. Unfortunately, after several hours my ear would start to itch and feel some discomfort. Usually, after 3 hours I have to take out the headset for an hour, otherwise I would actually start to experience pain. I hope the engineers at Nextlink will be able to use some type of cushioning material for their next product, rather then the plain (although sturdy) plastic, which the current headset is made of.

Since the headset slips in your ear canal, it blocks most of the outside noises. The spring securely holds it in place; I could not get it off with any type of head movement. I had to actually pull it out. This is an advantage for people whose daily duties involve sharp movement activities such as jogging, running etc.

Sound Quality
The Bluespoon produces superb sound for its user. It sounds loud and clear. Since the headset sits in your ear canal, it blocks most of the annoying ambient noises and all you hear is the voice of the other party.

Outgoing sound is also clear most of the time. Unfortunately, if there is louder background noise, such as radio, TV or people talking around the user of Bluespoon, the other party will have a very hard time comprehending his words. In order to remove the protrusible microphone, the designers of Bluespoon made it so sensitive, that it easily picks up not only the user's voice but the background clamor as well. For instance, I was not able to use the headset in BestBuy or other busy stores. Another situation where the caller was not able to hear me well was when I was driving on a highway at more than 65 miles per hour, due to the noise inside the vehicle

This is one of the first headsets that was actually able to achieve 30 feet operation range in open spaces. Nevertheless, when I use it in my apartment, the range of operation is restricted to about 15 feet when moving, and around 25 feet when the user is standing still, which is the best range we have seen in a Bluetooth headset so far. I did not notice any sound distortion when moving around the room within 15 feet. On the other hand, if you loose eyesight between the unit and the phone (wall, refrigerator or other solid object blocking the view)and you continuously move around sound distortion appears.

This was also the first headset that I was able to use through a wall. As you can see from my sound/range tests, I left the phone in one room, and went to the adjacent one which was separated by a drywall. The total distance between the BlueSpoon and the T68i was around 15 feet. The sound produced was clear with not distortion or static.

Battery Life
BlueSpoon's battery life is very impressive. It is the longest we have seen in a similar device. With a fully charged unit I talked for 4 hours and 20 minutes, before the battery died. Stand-by time was around 220 hours with no airtime. If you talk for 40 minutes a day, you can get around 2 days of stand by, which is very decent. It takes around 1.5 hours to fully charge the unit.

This is one of the most impressive gadgets I have seen lately. As any other product, is has its pros and cons. The product is very small and lightweight. It has the best talk/stand-by times we have seen so far. It attaches securely and fits perfectly in the user's ear and can be worn without any feeling of discomfort for 2-3 hours. On the other hand, it has to be used in relatively quiet environments.
The sound produced by the unit is very loud and clear.

The price of the unit is relatively high - around $270 US, which is 3 times the price of Jabra FreeSpeak unit. If size and battery life matters to you the most, then the purchase of a Bluespoon will be well worth it.