Nokia BH-701 Review
As one of the biggest manufacturers on the market, Nokia snatches any opportunity of showing us that there is always a chance something to be thought up in an impressive and outstanding way. The company backs this with its Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-701 - Uniquely practical as they call it.
The headset has a completely different way of attaching by ear-loop, which makes it look as much modern accessories as a bluetooth ear-piece. The combination of this and the beautiful and delicate chain in the sales package, shows that it is designed mainly for the ladies.
Unique outward appearance in combination with elegant style – that is, in short, how we would describe this device.
Besides the device, you can find in the standard sales package:
* The sales package we tested contained BH-701,USB charger CA-100 and User guide.
BH-701 comes in a small silver-black deluxe package and if it was not the brand Nokia on it, we would easily mistake it for a piece of jewelry. The moment you start opening the box, you notice the accent on luxury and aesthetic beauty. By removing the silvery cover of the box you can see it is on levels. The device is on the top and beneath it the chain, the charger and the rest of the things of the delivery package. Made of white and silvery plastic and stainless steel ear loop – the headset clearly stands out against the background of the black fabric where it is placed.
Design:
On the front of the device stands out amultifunctional button for control and on the side you can find ascroll key for volume control. A LED indicator is placed on the upperside part, which lights in three different colours – green, red andblue, depending on the status of the headset.
The controlbuttons are designed very nicely and it is very comfortable and easy topress them without too much force. The volume control is achieved bythe scroll key, which is used in many other models of Nokia. However,unlike them it has short motion and almost no tactile feedback. And itcannot be pressed in to mute the microphone. Reaching the min/maxvolume is indicated by a sound in the headset. When you press themultifunctional button it leads to simultaneous pushing of the wholedevice, further inside the ear and in this way you adjust itinvoluntarily.
There is asemi-transparent soft surface around the ear-piece and it is necessarybecause it goes inside your ear to set firmly. We have a similarsituation with other headsets of Nokia (BH-800/801), but unlike them,the ear-loop is not optional here and it is always attached to theheadset and you have to put it around your ear.
Functionality:
With BH-701, as well as with BH-301 there is no pairing mode, but the device is ready for this as soon as it is activated. If the device was connected with other phone before that, it can be put into pairing mode by holding down the multifunctional button until a blue light indicator starts flashing. Besides this, everything is done by the usual way and you are again prompted for the code 0000.
The headset has standard controls - answer / end calls, voice dialing, transferring calls to the phone and back, and by combination of buttons you can clear all the pairing settings or reset the headset. Our attention was attracted by the fact that the functionality is almost identical with BH-301 excluding the slight difference in the controls.
Performance:
The volume of the sound in the headset is low and in a little bit noisier environment, you won’t be able to hear very well. The quality is good and there is no echo, the voices sound realistically with no distortion.
The volume of the sound on the other side of the phone line is good and it is above the normal level, but the voices are not very realistic and they are a little bit high-pitched.
We also tried the performance of the headset in noisier environment, with loud music or with wind, which are situations most of you will experience.
While trying to make a call surrounded by a loud music, you have to speak up in order to make a understandable conversation with the other side.
If there is a slight wind there is no problem to make understandable conversation, but when the wind is getting stronger the headset can’t manage with the noises and the other side can’t understand you.
According to the product specifications the device lasts up to 6 hours of talk time and up to 160 hours of standby time. We have tested these specifications and after the test, the device dies after 5 hours and 50 minutes, which is very close to the official specifications. This is a better achievement than models like BH-700, BH-801 and BH -301 which achieved almost the same result in this test.
The test for the signal range of the device where the quality of the connection stays unchanged, BH -701 surprised us with its achievement of 31.1 meters (105.3 feet), which is one of the best results of all Nokia devices we have ever tested. One of the models that has almost the same result is BH -600.
Comfort:
Attaching BH-701 to your ear is easy, even with one hand. Put the ear loop behind your ear and adjust the device to the most comfortable position. If you want to move it to your other ear, just remove it and attach it to it in the same way. Because the ear loop is made of stainless steel you can feel pleasant coolness when you attach it. I suppose this coolness will hardly be so pleasant if the weather is colder.
The attaching of the device to your ear is not very stable and when you make abrupt movements with your head you feel as if it would fall down. Even if it comes out of the ear, it stays attached to it by the ear loop and it is very unlikely to fall down. Because of the specific character of the attaching, we recommend you to test it before you choose it. The secure hold of the device mainly depends on the shape of the ear (where the ear loop is attached) and the shape of the auditory canal (where the earpiece goes in). If you wear earrings, you should be careful not to catch on them when you remove the headset.
It is very rare such stylish and designer models as BH -701, at the same time, to be pleasant to wear. When you attach the device for the very first time to your ear you feel really comfortable with it and it still feels comfortable even after you wear it for 2-3 hours. One of the reasons for this is that the headset weighs only 13.3 grams and it is really difficult this weight to cause you any discomfort. If you do not use the device for a longer time you can hang it up on the metal chain delivered together with the device. When you hang it up correctly, you should hear typical click. The holding clip is secure enough and you should not worry that you will loose it or it will fall down. When you need to use it again, you simply have to pull it from the chain and to attach it to your ear.
Conclusion:
If you want to draw the attention of the people around you or just to stand out from the crowd you can do it with the Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-701. Even better news is that you do not have to give up the comfortable and easy-to-use controls in exchange of the unique design of this model. We are deeply convinced that the beautiful and innovative outward appearance will mainly suite the ladies and they will fully appreciate it. By choosing BH-701, you not only get Bluetooth headset, but you get a small beautiful piece of jewelry.
The headset has a completely different way of attaching by ear-loop, which makes it look as much modern accessories as a bluetooth ear-piece. The combination of this and the beautiful and delicate chain in the sales package, shows that it is designed mainly for the ladies.
Unique outward appearance in combination with elegant style – that is, in short, how we would describe this device.
Besides the device, you can find in the standard sales package:
- Headset strap
- Soft pouch
- Nokia charger AC-3E
- User guide
* The sales package we tested contained BH-701,USB charger CA-100 and User guide.
BH-701 comes in a small silver-black deluxe package and if it was not the brand Nokia on it, we would easily mistake it for a piece of jewelry. The moment you start opening the box, you notice the accent on luxury and aesthetic beauty. By removing the silvery cover of the box you can see it is on levels. The device is on the top and beneath it the chain, the charger and the rest of the things of the delivery package. Made of white and silvery plastic and stainless steel ear loop – the headset clearly stands out against the background of the black fabric where it is placed.
Design:
On the front of the device stands out amultifunctional button for control and on the side you can find ascroll key for volume control. A LED indicator is placed on the upperside part, which lights in three different colours – green, red andblue, depending on the status of the headset.
The controlbuttons are designed very nicely and it is very comfortable and easy topress them without too much force. The volume control is achieved bythe scroll key, which is used in many other models of Nokia. However,unlike them it has short motion and almost no tactile feedback. And itcannot be pressed in to mute the microphone. Reaching the min/maxvolume is indicated by a sound in the headset. When you press themultifunctional button it leads to simultaneous pushing of the wholedevice, further inside the ear and in this way you adjust itinvoluntarily.
There is asemi-transparent soft surface around the ear-piece and it is necessarybecause it goes inside your ear to set firmly. We have a similarsituation with other headsets of Nokia (BH-800/801), but unlike them,the ear-loop is not optional here and it is always attached to theheadset and you have to put it around your ear.
Functionality:
With BH-701, as well as with BH-301 there is no pairing mode, but the device is ready for this as soon as it is activated. If the device was connected with other phone before that, it can be put into pairing mode by holding down the multifunctional button until a blue light indicator starts flashing. Besides this, everything is done by the usual way and you are again prompted for the code 0000.
The headset has standard controls - answer / end calls, voice dialing, transferring calls to the phone and back, and by combination of buttons you can clear all the pairing settings or reset the headset. Our attention was attracted by the fact that the functionality is almost identical with BH-301 excluding the slight difference in the controls.
Performance:
The volume of the sound in the headset is low and in a little bit noisier environment, you won’t be able to hear very well. The quality is good and there is no echo, the voices sound realistically with no distortion.
The volume of the sound on the other side of the phone line is good and it is above the normal level, but the voices are not very realistic and they are a little bit high-pitched.
We also tried the performance of the headset in noisier environment, with loud music or with wind, which are situations most of you will experience.
While trying to make a call surrounded by a loud music, you have to speak up in order to make a understandable conversation with the other side.
If there is a slight wind there is no problem to make understandable conversation, but when the wind is getting stronger the headset can’t manage with the noises and the other side can’t understand you.
According to the product specifications the device lasts up to 6 hours of talk time and up to 160 hours of standby time. We have tested these specifications and after the test, the device dies after 5 hours and 50 minutes, which is very close to the official specifications. This is a better achievement than models like BH-700, BH-801 and BH -301 which achieved almost the same result in this test.
The test for the signal range of the device where the quality of the connection stays unchanged, BH -701 surprised us with its achievement of 31.1 meters (105.3 feet), which is one of the best results of all Nokia devices we have ever tested. One of the models that has almost the same result is BH -600.
Comfort:
Attaching BH-701 to your ear is easy, even with one hand. Put the ear loop behind your ear and adjust the device to the most comfortable position. If you want to move it to your other ear, just remove it and attach it to it in the same way. Because the ear loop is made of stainless steel you can feel pleasant coolness when you attach it. I suppose this coolness will hardly be so pleasant if the weather is colder.
The attaching of the device to your ear is not very stable and when you make abrupt movements with your head you feel as if it would fall down. Even if it comes out of the ear, it stays attached to it by the ear loop and it is very unlikely to fall down. Because of the specific character of the attaching, we recommend you to test it before you choose it. The secure hold of the device mainly depends on the shape of the ear (where the ear loop is attached) and the shape of the auditory canal (where the earpiece goes in). If you wear earrings, you should be careful not to catch on them when you remove the headset.
It is very rare such stylish and designer models as BH -701, at the same time, to be pleasant to wear. When you attach the device for the very first time to your ear you feel really comfortable with it and it still feels comfortable even after you wear it for 2-3 hours. One of the reasons for this is that the headset weighs only 13.3 grams and it is really difficult this weight to cause you any discomfort. If you do not use the device for a longer time you can hang it up on the metal chain delivered together with the device. When you hang it up correctly, you should hear typical click. The holding clip is secure enough and you should not worry that you will loose it or it will fall down. When you need to use it again, you simply have to pull it from the chain and to attach it to your ear.
Conclusion:
If you want to draw the attention of the people around you or just to stand out from the crowd you can do it with the Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-701. Even better news is that you do not have to give up the comfortable and easy-to-use controls in exchange of the unique design of this model. We are deeply convinced that the beautiful and innovative outward appearance will mainly suite the ladies and they will fully appreciate it. By choosing BH-701, you not only get Bluetooth headset, but you get a small beautiful piece of jewelry.
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