BlueAnt’s V1 – A Bluetooth Headset to Meet a Woman’s Needs
Searching for a Bluetooth headset tailored especially for women, we usually find the manufacturers assumed we meant we wanted it in pink. Not quite what we had in mind.
Domestic CEO’s and Queens of the Carpools, we live in our cars and we keep our antennae tuned for late-breaking news about softball practice, the dog’s latest escape attempt, the status of our college applications, and other critical information that determines our plans.
We don’t care about the color of the device, but we care a whole lot about what it will do. We demand an honest answer to just one fundamental question: How will our new, legally-mandated Bluetooth headsets actually make our lives just a little more manageable?
Finally, our friends at Blue Ant have delivered. Wading through the techno-speak, we get to the one statement that matters: The manufacturer assures, “BlueAnt’s V1 Voice Controlled Bluetooth Headsets introduce the revolutionary BlueGenie™ Voice User Interface…It’s like your own personal help service right by your ear with all the controls in your hand.”
Of course, the specifications matter. Lightweight and comfortable enough for all-day everyday wear, the headset is fully voice-activated; more impressive, it’s also fully interactive. Vendors insist, “the revolutionary BlueGenie™ Voice User Interface allows you to control most functions with the sound of your voice. And the headset itself will respond back to you. With just a push of a button, voice recognition technology gives you all the controls of the functions of the V1 just by simply talking to it.”
At last, something that listens! Neither the kids nor the dog respond so well.
Still, manufacturers’ and vendors’ claims often contain some hyperbole, maybe some poetic license. So we find huge reassurance from the fact that, in April, 2008, Laptop magazine awarded its top prize for Best Cell Phone Accessory to the Blue Ant V1, raving that it represents the future of cell phone and Bluetooth technology. Presenting the award, the magazine’s editors and experts especially praised Blue Ant’s Voice Isolation Technology, and Reuters detailed, “Voice Isolation Technology(TM) uses advanced techniques to extract the user’s voice signal from all other sounds, enhancing and isolating all frequencies that affect voices coming into and out of the headset – resulting in outstanding noise reduction, echo cancellation and wind noise protection.”
Blue Ant representatives list the V1’s special features: Dual microphones enable crystal clear communication even in the noisiest environments; the unit pairs with up to eight Bluetooth devices, and it provides up to five hours talk-time or 200 hours stand-by. The system allows three charging options–USB, car and wall chargers—perfect when we, like hummingbirds, seldom come to rest in one place. And the earpiece, usually the most troublesome piece of any Bluetooth outfit, comes with Comply™ Foam Tips and rubber speaker gels plus two different over-the-ear hooks.
It’s just really a shame it doesn’t come in pink for women.
