Welcome! On this thread, we talk about headsets that work with the iPhone, after the introduction of iPhone OS3.0. I'll start myself with the units I have in hand and how they perform on my iPhone 3G.

For the mono telephony BT headsets, I have tested and own these:-



Pairs and discovered by the iPhone without much fuss, well...since the iPhone 2.0 days. IIANM, Caller ID is not passed to the little LCD screen on the set itself. Size is the second largest in the mono/single-ear headsets in my collection, but plenty comfy. Occasional call drops, but call when connected, is clear. Volume rocker switch is easy to access and press.



Pairs and discovered by the iPhone without much fuss too since the 2.0 days. The smallest of the single-ear headset I have. But because of its size, the circular part that clings to your ear tend to not clutch nicely to ears and tend to pop off. Volume rocker switch is small as well, making it hard to adjust on the fly.



Initially having difficulty pairing with the iPhone. Had to reinitiate pairing a couple of times before the pairing sticks. Audio pickups are below average, and sound received on the other side is poor. Headset is largish, hence tend to droop or weigh down on your ear after a while. Foam covering tend to crumble after long usage, probably because of sweat absorption. Volume rocker is in the form of that circular symbol around the Logitech logo, and stiff/hard to press. AVOID AT ALL COST!



Pairs and discovered by the iPhone without fuss, a welcome change from the crappy Mobile Freedom. Small in design but feels nice on the ear. Build quality is cheapish however. TWO-button control instead of the traditional 3 may confuse user (volume up, volume down, pair/power button now has its own unique combination presses on these two buttons). Great audio reception and sound comes out great as well on the other side. Fits the ear comfortably with that earplug.



Pairs and discovered by the iPhone without fuss. Elegant design. Glows red around the mic mute ring. Comfortable on the ears. Great audio reception and sound comes out nice on the other side as well. A good fit into the ears thanks to its design. Not too heavy and feels just right on the ears. You may want to save this for the PS3 alone, as the headset is more worthwhile using it on the PS3 with its High Quality setting, unavaillable other than on the PS3 itself.

Now let's dive into the STEREO side of the Bluetooth headset/headphones. First up:-



Versatile in the sense that you can use the provided earphones or supply your own. Pairs and discovered by the iPhone with no fuss. The blinking blue light may be a tad annoying. And since the sound quality is dependent on the earphones you use, it varies. As for the quality of the transmission itself, compared with the other two I'm about to list, shrill and tinny. Built like a cheap oversized clip. Buttons hard to push and tiny. AVRCP function on the iPhone works only for Play/Pause/Stop and answering calls.



Lightweight and clips onto your ears. Pairs and discovered by the iPhone with no fuss. Great build quality and looks exceptionally sleek. Comfortable as well, you tend to forget it is there. Price RM269. Audio quality transmission is excellent. AVRCP functions on the iPhone works only for the Play/Pause/Stop and answering calls. Audio/tunes fades out as calls comes in. Sound quality is full and equivalent to Sennheiser PX series. Volume up/down buttons as well as pressing the toggle In to pause/stop may takes getting used to, but using these babies in public and look like an almost normal person (not like a dork!:p) is worth the hassle. Call quality is excellent and sound received on the other side is great as well, receiver did not realise I'm talking on a BT headset at all.



The headphone to get for the uncompromising audiophile out there. Sounds awesome and full body, surprising on a BT headphone. Pairs and discovered by the iPhone with no fuss. Awesome build quality. AVRCP works only for the Play/Pause/Stop and answering calls. Price RM699. Volume up/down buttons as well as the pause/stop button may take getting used to for its size, but for the audio quality it gives, I'll learn it! May be a little too obvious/showy in public when worn because of its size. Call quality is excellent as well, and sound received is great, receiver did not think I was on a BT headphone. LEd blinking on the side may annoy others.

If there is anything else I remember, I'll edit them in later. Please add your experiences with your own Bluetooth headsets/headphones, but for me, for the day of light travel and remaining inconspicuous, the Sony DR-BT140Q is my choice. For the days of not wanting any audio compromises, BT50 is the way to go. For days where I would need to answer calls hands-free, I still use the wired iPhone cable I have, but if I had to choose between the single-ear mono headsets, I'd go for the Aliph Jawbone. But since it is not in my possession right now, I'll pick the Mobile Express. But most if not all the time, I tend to have and use the wired hands-free cable to my iPhone

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Jun 25 2009, 03:32 AM

hi stringfellow.. just want to ask.. i never use a bluetooth headset before.. never!! in my entire life even the phones before i got myself an iphone.. so i want to ask how do u pair it with iphone? since i might want to get one..for driving purpose only..
thx in advance

Hey there!

The general rule is you need to make the headset discoverable by the iPhone so that it could find it. Once that is done, you need to pair the headset to it, so that the iPhone only channels the audio to it.

The instruction to do so will come with the headset. More often than not, to make the headset discoverable, you would press and hold the power/answer call/play button a designated period of time (xx seconds, or until LED blinks if it is fitted with LEDs) to enter Discoverable mode. Once that happens, go to the Settings screen on your iPhone, turn Bluetooth on, and it will scan for all devices that it can discover and initiate the pairing. Some headsets pair automatically, others require a specific pairing key(either you can designate a 4-digit number, or the headset itself has its unique pairing number) to be entered on the iPhone before pairing is complete. Once that is done, you can start using the BT headset. If it is a headset, all calls will diverted to the headset when you press the Answer call button, if it is a Bluetooth Stereo headset/headphone, you can answer the call with the Answer Call button AND listen to audio from your iPhone wirelessly in stereo.

Now some of the new features of a headset is its ability to pair with multiple sources, but it can only allow one source at a time, to channel its audio to the headset.

Guys..

Any of you tried to use the iphone with bluetooth stereo headphones? I cant seem to skip or fast foward to next track. Play, pause and volume button works on the bluetooth headphone control. Any idea?

I tried with HBH DS205 and jabra bt3030

jabra bt8030. headphone which doubles as a speaker. excellent sound quality, especially the bass. problem is, its too bulky. put it on your head and you look like an alien...lol. but definitely worth it for the speakers feature.

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Sennheiser MM200, easy to pair with iPhone with os3. People mistaken it as a MP3 due to the big control. Just a few days old, to me the vocal is clear but lack a bit of the bass, still prefer my wired Dr. Dre Monster over this.

How can I forget this little bugger! Probably because it is in the living room, while the rest of the stuff are in my room. Presenting the Sony Rolly, it is an MP3 player, but most importantly, it pipes audio through any Bluetooth source into itself,.........and channel it out through its winged speakers,.....and it DANCES!

Pairs and discovered by the iPhone without fuss. As you can see from the size, a PERFECT companion Bluetooth speakers for the iPhone! Once paired the audio that is playing through it is analyzed by the Rolly and the end result is the motion routine that it does based on the beats of your song. A slow song? A slow dance. A fast country number? Watch it zips and spins and rolls at crazy intensity! You cannot help but to fall in love with this little guy! The two rollers on the sides allows movement in 360 degrees, and the pulsating LEDs changes colors according to the song moods to convey the message of the song. Leave it on the floor and tap its "head" twice and it goes into Motion Mode. Hold it in hands , and it detects that motion and goes into either single or dual speaker mode, depending on whether you hold it horizontally in your hands or vertically. In horizontal mode, just roll the Rolly forward to forward to the next song, and roll it backwards to rewind, roll it clockwise to increase volume, and anticlockwise to decrease volume. In vertical mode, hold the Rolly like an egg, and to twist the top roller anti-clockwise to go to the next song, and twist it clockwise to do it otherwise. To increase volume, twist the bottom roller near to the opened speaker wing, anticlockwise to increase, and clockwise to decrease.

Superb aural separation, loud and never breaking the sound, and voice received for calls are heard from the receiver is clear. It unfortunately does not have a mic, so you cannot place a call via Bluetooth on it, only listen to audio piped in from your iPhone.


That is the fault of the current Bluetooth profile on the iPhone/iPod Touch. It only allows Play, pause and volume button at this moment. To FF/RWD, you will have to tap those on the iPhone screen itself. The AVRCP profile does not allow those function to work on your BT headphones.

EDIT: Hey , nice to see you big boss Crxr! Long time no see!

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Jun 25 2009, 12:22 PM

just like da one i used to use...

Sony HBH DS970



nice n sleek..battery wun gv up tat easy..
but its kinda old now...planning to get a new one...maybe the Sony DR-BT140Q shud be fine..

Uh.. since we're on the subject of BT. How 'bad' is it for battery conversion? As it is, with 3G + Push + Wifi on, I'm having MAJOR issues with batt!

Just wanna study this to see if I really need a BT *grins* It'll definitely come in handy when I am out at roadshows for work but otherwise I guess I could just do away with missing a few calls ! *grins*

Battery endurance is severely reduced on using BT stero headphones since you'll probably be using that to listen to your songs. In mono- or single ear headsets to take up calls, unless you talk for a very long time, the impact on battery endurance is minimal. BT is left on standby/sleep when not answering calls and only taxes the battery when you press the "Answer call" button.

I've tested BT on stereo, and could never get through the day before the battery dies down on me. Things are a little bit better with my Mophie Juice Pack but still critical. Don't expect to go through the day with 3G or push notification on.

@stringfellow,
hMmm.. in that case, perhaps I should consider looking into getting a BT headset Act, I've got this v old Nokia (dun have the model number on me) but I can't seem to pair to my iPhone; heck! I couldn't even pair it to my old Nokia phone!

agreed...
i leave my 3g off since im in wifi covered zone mostly..
when on da move, then i'll switch 2 3g...
with BT on, 3g off, wifi on, da battery is at acceptable levels...

@string,
my bad...left tat part out...

This post has been edited by harmeet15: Jun 25 2009, 02:14 PM

@harmeet15,
Eh. he oredi said RM269. Scroll up to read again

@Tink

Keyword: Old

@Harmeet

RM269. No thanks to you got reminding me about the stereo BT earphones you mentioned when we meet that day. You poisoned me! Lucky it was free, I used leftover points in my Sony Membership card for that from my Z purchase.

@stringfellow,
Since U haf so many BT's, mind passing me one to use a trial unit? *grins* Ok... so it's "old" hence it doesn't work huh?! Damn!

Can. Which one you want? I don't really use the single-ear headsets.

I am using Sony DRC-BT15 with my iPhone.
the set does come with a earphone but i changed the earphone to my favourite earphone, Westone ES3X.
Only use this set to listen to my music.
Cant really use it outside as the ES3X cuts out 26dB of ambient sound, not very safe to use outside.

My ES3X :


Sony DRC-BT15 :


Very nice combo!

that is a mean little device i tell u...
classy n yet sounds good...
style meets substance...

u been poisoning us too long...now its payback:P

@stringfellow,
I don't care which one; as long as the sound quality is good and it fits into the ears well? Maybe the Logitech Mobile Express or the Sony Ericsson HBH-660

guys.. i want to buy one.. prefer the ps3 BT.. i check in sony.com.my but nowhere to be found.. where can i buy it n how much the price?
any other BT highly recomended for me?.. only use it for driving