INTRODUCTION
Wireless
Bluetooth headsets have been becoming more and more
popular lately with the introduction of safety legislation
requiring the use of a headset or handsfree telephone
device while driving in the car. Freedom Input has
released a rebranded version of the Cardo Scala-500
Bluetooth headset that aims to get in on some of this
market share.
WHAT’S HOT
The Freedom Headset is a simple
design with significant flexibility. It comes with
an ear-loop mounting hardware, glasses frames clip,
as well as a clip-on holster and neck strap.
The silver and dark grey design is
unobtrusive, while the light weight and thin ear-loop
make it comfortable to wear.
WHAT’S IN
THE BOX
Inside the box we’ve got the AC
adapter (European plug), the Freedom Headset, ear-loop,
glasses frames clip, neck strap, clip-on holster,
car adapter, charging cradle, and documentation.
PRODUCT FEATURES
The headset has one large
button on the outside and a volume control on the
back side (closest to the back of your head when
mounted) that also acts as a power switch when held
down. The volume control is a small plastic rocker
switch. Pressing the switch in does nothing unless
you hold it down for a certain period of time. This
protects against accidental powering off. To turn
it on, hold down the power button for about 7 seconds. Keep
holding it down for an additional 3 seconds to set
the headset into pairing mode. Pressing it again
and holding it down for 3 seconds will shut the headset
off.
While in pairing mode,
you can use your Bluetooth phone to search for the
headset and initiate a pairing. The PIN number
is 0000 when requested. After a successful pairing,
the headset will return to the normal operational
mode and you’ll be able to answer incoming calls
using the large silver talk/end button on the outside
of the headset. You can also initiate redial
by holding down the talk button on the headset for
a couple seconds.
If
the headset is on your right ear, pushing the rocker
switch up will increase the volume and you’ll hear
a beep which will get louder as you repeat. Switching
it down with decrease the volume. Holding the switch
up or down will not continuously increase/decrease
the volume, you have to do it one by one.
The large silver area seen above
is the talk/end button. It’s very easy to press and
doesn’t mash against your ear. The smaller silver
beveled inset is not a separate button. That’s just
for decoration. The dark grey areas are rubberized,
which does a great job of protecting against scratches
should you drop the headset accidentally.
The Freedom Headset is quite a bit
bigger than the Bluespoon AX, but the size and weight
are still quite acceptable.
The plastic holster has a little
clip that’s useful for attaching to a pocket or belt.
The
battery life of the headset is very good with 9
hours of talk time and 7 days standby in the Lithium
Polymer battery. Charging time only takes about
2 and a half hours, but it only came with a car
charger so you’ll have to leave it in the car or
else get a third party charger. Speaking of which,
the charging cradle has a nice clip-in interface
with buttons on the side to release the headset,
but the way it sits in the cradle is a bit loose
and the charging conduits don’t always connect
just right. This is especially true if you’re trying
to recharge while driving as a bumpy road will
interrupt the charging process.
In
actual use, the Freedom Input Headset works very
well. The incoming audio is clear and loud. It’s
easier to hear than if I were to hold my imate
JAM up to my head. The range seems to be better
than my smaller Bluespoon AX and Bluespoon digital
as I can walk behind walls without getting too
much crackling at all. The Freedom Input Headset
also has a "WindGaurd technology" method
of protecting the microphone from external noise.
I wouldn’t use this headset while on a motorboat
though since the ear-loop mounting interface is
not very sturdy. In other words, it only hangs
over your ear and if there’s alot of wind or movement,
the headset can flop around a lot. On the plus
side, the thiner rubber ear-loop makes it easy
to mount and remove the headset.
HELP SUPPORT
The Freedom
Input website doesn’t give a whole lot of information
regarding support of this product. Actually, it doesn’t
give you any support information. There’s only
an email address.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
The
Freedom Headset requires a connection with a Bluetooth
enabled device that supports the Handsfree or Headset
profiles within the Bluetooth 1.1 or 1.2 specifications.
BUGS AND WISHES
There’s
not much that can go wrong with Bluetooth headsets
these days, but there’s still room for improvement.
First of all, while this is a perfectly acceptable
size, it could be much smaller. Next would be digital
signal processing and noise reduction for louder
environments. And finally, I’m not too crazy about
the ear-loop mounting system. The method on this
headset is pretty easy to mount and un-mount, but
I think I like the in-the-ear method better. The
trade off with easy-to-mount interface would be the
easy-to-fall-out potential.
PURCHASING
The
Freedom Input Bluetooth headset is priced at about
$79, but is not available to customers just yet.
You can contact Freedom
Input for availability.
PROS
Lightweight
Easy to
mount ear-loopLong battery
life- Rubberized
body - Many accessories
CONS
No USB
chargerHeadset
can flop around with movement
| Value |  |
| Ease of Use |  |
| Features | |
Overall |  |
OVERALL
IMPRESSION
The Freedom Input Bluetooth Headset
works quite nicely. I liked the long battery life and
rugged rubberized body. Since I’m used to the Bluespoon
AX and Bluespoon Digital though, the size was too big
for me. I’m also not too keen on needing a cradle to
recharge the device. Of course, if you’ve read some
of my other reviews I am a strong believer in integrating
wireless Bluetooth headsets with mobile phones themselves.
In other words, I’d like to be able to un-clip the
headset from the phone and put it in my ear to talk.
Enough of these separate devices. At any rate, the
Freedom Input Headset is going to be a good choice
if you tend to drop your electronic devices. It’s not
small enough to lose, yet not too big to be obtrusive.
Originally published on Pocketnow on March 17, 2005. More Reviews articles from the Pocketnow archive.