I just purchased the BlueAnt V1 Voice Controlled Bluetooth Handsfree Headset and I must say so far it has been an amazing experience! I think BlueAnt is proving to be a real contender in the handsfree arena. Lookout Plantronics and Jabra!
This is my 2nd BlueAnt product. The first, also purchased not long ago, is their Interphone helmet mount bluetooth headset which I use while riding my F650GS. Both devices are happily paired with my iPhone 3G and playing well together.
From the packaging, to the easy to understand quick start instructions, the BlueAnt V1 is a class act. The design is simple and elegant. The V1 is comfortable and more feature packed than any other bluetooth headset I’ve seen to date. BlueAnt loads you up with accessories. From 4 different earbuds, 2 rubber gels and 2 foam tips, to the wall charger, a car charger and usb charger. I’m not sure they could have packed this thing with any more goodies!
What about the speech recognition? Ok, the next step is setting up the device. After a quick, full charge, the next step was to pair the headset with the iPhone 3G. BlueAnt made this step so easy, I’m not sure it gets any better than this! They insert a little note into the packaging that says “BEFORE YOU TURN ON YOUR V1 FOR THE FIRST TIME”, on the note, they actually ask you to wear the device during setup. This is because it talks to you and walks you through step by step, waiting for you to complete each step, then moving to the next automatically when it knows you’ve successfully paired the headset with your phone.
After politely and painlessly walking me through the pairing process (which happened quite seamlessly on the iPhone 3G), the device then proceeds to assist you with available voice commands. The built-in male voice is friendly and pleasing to listen to.
This is where it gets cool (as if it’s not super cool already!). From speed dialing home, work, office and even GOOG-411 (GOOG-411 is pre-programmed into the V1), to configuration preferences such as deactivating the blue LED light (so you can attempt to conceal your tech-dorkyness by minimizing the flashing lights eminating from various electronic devices on or about your person) the BlueAnt V1 will assist you during every configuration twist and turn.
The V1 sports dual microphone noise-canceling, this improves the sound to whomever you’re talking to as well as improves the accuracy of the speech recognition. Overall, the command voice recognition, was near flawless. And in a tiny, unassuming device like this, the “V for Voice” in V1 is well deserved.
Sounds great! Does it have any flaws? Well, as great as this headset is, it typically retails for about $119, a little pricey, but quality, usability and prestige are all included in the box with this product that may be worth shelling out some extra clams for.
Limited voice support on the iPhone: Even though the V1 supports a cell phone that takes voice commands, the iPhone 3G does not offer voice control at this time, therefore taking full advantage of the voice features of the V1 is not possible with an iPhone 3G (this isn’t really BlueAnt’s fault but does take away from the “complete” voice control aspect of owning the product). You can, however, still speed dial iPhone Favorites, ignore and answer incoming calls by voice with the headset, so it’s not even near a total loss.
And finally, the phone’s firmware is USB upgradeable (foreshadowing possible future enhancements, bug fixes, new features) and the documentation says to find information and software for this firmware upgrade on their web site, which with a few minutes of digging on their site, I couldn’t even find mention of support for this.
Finally, I think this little guy is great, and my rating is: “Highly Recommended”. The V1 will pair with up to 8 devices (other phones, PCs, PS3, etc). And with potential firmware upgrades, who knows what comes next!
If you have any experiences with the BlueAnt V1 you’d like to share please post as a comment to this article.
BlueAnt’s website can be found at: www.blueantwireless.com
