Plantronics Voyager Pro HD
Review
Ok, the following is a review of the Plantronics Voyager Pro HD which is the latest version of the Voyager pro series.
First, the headset feels and looks almost exactly like the previous versions of the Voyager pro. The headset has the large behind the ear portion with the buttons and battery housed in this section. A loop covers the ear with a boom microphone that swings down and an insert with difference sized inserts for the ear. Buttons are in the same position with the power on the back, volume on top and the answer / hangup on the outside edge of the point where the boom attaches to the headset. Previous Voyager Pro owners will not need the manual or sited help to get started. The setup / layout is absolutely the same. The weight as far as I can tell is also the same.
So why upgrade then? Answer, new features.
First and most important, this headset now supports A2DP and AVRC profiles. This means you can hear voice over through the headset both in and out of a call and use the headset for music etc.
Next, noise reduction is improved and the ability to reject outside noise during a call is very solid.
Another nice feature is there are a lot more spoken messages. Power status, talk time, volume min / max and battery alerts are all spoken in English output. Much fewer beep combinations to remember. Simply listen for status.
Another nice bit is the battery status is now displayed on the IPhone's status bar. Swipe your finger across the top where you hear cell and WiFi status now you'll find a new field called bluetooth power and a percentage from 1 to 100 which indicates how much battery you have left. (very nice feature)
Pairing was an absolute breeze using the quick pair feature. Just turn on the phone and enter bluetooth discovery, turn on the headset and connect once the headset appears in the list. No need to enter a code or fiddle with profiles.
Positives
Easy to use, great audio quality for both the local and far end, good battery life, good battery status and nice easy to use audio queues in spoken words.
Negatives
Small delay in response from key presses / VO output. This can be painful if trying to text for example. If you are in a call though the delay is much less pronounced and enables you to work with phone menus like banking easily. VO works well with this headset while in a call.
Design is also not the absolute best for glasses wearing users because of the behind the ear bit. With the straight type oakley jackets though it works quite well and is very usable.
Bottom line, this headset is very solid, industrial grade call quality noise rejection and what you'd expect from the voyager pro line. I'd give the device a 4 out of 5 for a ranking. Delay is less pronounced than the Jawbone so puts this headset over the edge for me as a keeper.
Comments, questions, let me know.