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FEB
21
2008
LG - HBS-200 Headphones —
I recently acquired one of the latest media player mobile phones, and after learning that it could not be use with standard headphones without a special adapter, I set out to research my options. There were plenty, but what intrigued me the most was this new concept of bluetooth stereo. The idea of being able to listen to the music on my phone wirelessly and be able to have a hands-free conversation if needed with the same device was so appealing that I found and purchased the LG HBS-200 bluetooth stereo headset. So far I have been extremely pleased!I primarily use these when working out, and the design of the LG HBS-200 is very comfortable. They have the behind-the-neck design with over-ear speakers. Sometimes that style can become uncomfortable or unsteady, but these headphones have a unique soft rubber 'wing' that goes between the top of your ear and the side of your head and comfortably clamps the headphone to your ear. This balances the tension with the strap that's behind your neck resulting in a comfortable fit that doesn't leave any part of my ear sore after an hour of working out.
The sound quality was a concern for me, not knowing anything about bluetooth stereo before this purchase, but it's been much better than I expected. Though an audiophile would find many imperfections and minor hissing, I just hear nice rich deep bass and decent highs. I can turn the volume up high enough to drown out the noises of the gym with very little deterioration of sound quality.
As far as usability goes, this headset is a little confusing but as good as your going to get for a device this versatile that's designed to be operated on your head where you have to feel for the buttons. Everything is on the right ear, the volume control is easy to find and there's basically one button plus a jog switch for music and one button for phone operation. It takes a second for a button press (besides volume) to take effect, but that's probably just my phone. The part that gets confusing is that the only way the headset can give you feedback is through a blue/red light that has numerous combinations of blink speeds that have all different meanings as far as whether the headset is on or paired with your phone. When I'm trying to use the phone, I just keep pressing the phone button until I hear the voice prompting me for a voice command, which seems to work pretty well.
Battery-wise, the phone has a rechargeable battery that uses the same charger as LG phones, which was a major plus with me as I'm using the LG Chocolate 2. Battery life is as good as the phone itself, likely the same quality battery is being used.
Finally, if I could change anything about this phone, I would change two things: The jog button for advancing tracks takes some getting used to, and I noticed that when I'm jogging (which is very high impact) I can hear it rattling in my ear. Also, the phone button, when pressed for one second rather than a quick click or several seconds, will dial the last number you called, which most of the time is going to be a surprise since the phone is likely in your pocket or purse. I realize this could come in handy, but if you're trying to turn the headset off and you accidentally let go too quick, you'll end up fumbling for your phone to hang up before the call goes through.
LG - HBS-200 Headphones is recommended by jasonw754
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