LG - HBS200 Universal Bluetooth Headset

LG - HBS200 Universal Bluetooth Headset Review



Overall 3.00 of 5 (by 1 user)
 




2009 VIP
PattyTherre
The heart of , NY

Decent sound but made random calls to my friends!

3 star rating

gadget geek, a busy person, technically challenged, a music lover, into easy to use gadgets, fun loving
Pros

    decent range - about 20 feet, fairly inexpensive, easy to pair, decent battery life, stereo sound, easy controls

Cons
    people can hear your convos or music, don't feel secure on the ears, they hurt my ears and head, flimsy design, not great for calls, the set randomly calls people, breakage is a huge issue, heavy on the ears

FEB
22
2009
 
 
 
Warning! Looking for a super techy review of this headset? Keep looking. I am not techy and only can give you details as I know them from a typical consumer standpoint.

Quick View

The LG - HBS200 Universal Bluetooth Headset has some great features but it also has some annoyances that caused me to return it before I ran into more trouble with it. It does have good sound, pairs easily, has a decent battery life, and the mic is passable. However, it's uncomfortable on the ears and makes random calls when listening to music. Also, it is flimsy and I have read dozens of reviews about how the set breaks at a certain spot. I can easily see how that could happen even with careful handling.

About the LG - HBS200 Universal Bluetooth Headset

You can get all the really technical specs from sites that sell this headset. I will tell you what I know and what I found important to me.

This headset is a behind the head type. I needed one that would go over the ears instead of in them as I wear hearing aids at times. I also wanted dual earphones rather than the standard one ear headset (like the Jawbone one my Verizon rep insisted I buy and I returned). This headset was $39.97 on the Verizon site but is somewhat cheaper on some other websites.

Let me say that, before a few months ago, I didn't even now what Bluetooth was and honestly, don't know much about it now. All I now is this headset is wireless and pairs with devices that are Bluetooth compatible.

Pairing
The LG - HBS200 Universal Bluetooth Headset took a while to "fire up" after I charged it but pairing was almost immediate to my LG VX8360 cell phone. I didn't try to pair it with other devices.

Sound
The sound is pretty good. It's loud enough and, while it does lose some bass, it's fine for me. I have a ton of songs on my phone and they sounded great. There is a volume control on the earpiece as well as a skip song feature. The problem is, I had trouble finding the sliders and, if I pushed the wrong thing, my phone would call people. They didn't like that at 3 a.m.

The sound is not as great when using the headset as a hands free device on my cell. I could hear others fine but they tended to hear some buzzing or weirdness on their end. In the wind or outside in really any conditions, the person I was speaking to could hear the whoosh of the wind and that interfered with clear conversation. However, the headset was passable. It cannot be worn while driving a car though because it covers both ears, I was told. Switching from music to calls was easy and the voice recognition functions worked pretty well most of the time.

One bad thing was that people near me could hear my music or even my conversations since the foam earpieces just sat on my ears. I don't think my conversations were easy to actually make out on the receiving end but still. I like to keep private calls...private.

Comfort
Not good. This Princess Leia looking headset relies on a plastic behind the ear clip to hold the foam earpieces in place. They dug into my skull and hurt like heck after an hour or so. Also, the flexible rubber band that connects the headphones is not adjustable and I have a small head so the fit was just not what I had hoped it would be. This headset folds up and is very flimsy. The area where everyone says it breaks is right near the ear and I can see how it could easily snap with even light use.

Features
The LG - HBS200 Universal Bluetooth Headset comes with a charger and ear foams. There is a little manual that comes in the box too but it's complicated - at least for me. I learned as I went along. The right earphone holds all the controls. There is a hold button, volume, skip forward or backward (for songs) buttons, and a switch from music to phone or vice a versa button. The on/off button is also located on the right earpiece. The rechargeable battery is supposed to last 10 hours while in use and  250 hours in standby. I found that the battery lasted about six hours when playing music. I turned the set off after use so I can't speak for the standby time. My main use was for music not calls and that's a good thing because calls weren't great with this headset.

My Viewpoint

I liked the sound quality and ease of use of the LG - HBS200 Universal Bluetooth Headset. Trust me, if I can figure out how to use the set, anyone can. The pairing was painless. But the headset would call people randomly while I listened to music and didn't even touch the earpieces. I woke up my sister and I had no idea how that happened. The headset hurt to wear for long periods of time. I think that is partially because I have a small head and I had to rely on the hard plastic over the ear holders to keep the set on my head. Without those, the set would have fallen right off my head.

The set seems very fragile and, after reading hoards of reviews about how easily the set breaks, I decided to return it and order a Sony over the head type Bluetooth headset. Dorky, yes, but I know it will be more comfortable, the head band is adjustable, and all the reviews are very positive.

My LG - HBS200 Universal Bluetooth Headset didn't break in the two weeks I owned it so I can't say that it would or would not have. Still, there was enough about the headset that I didn't like to justify returning it. I give the headset 3 stars (I will change that rating if necessary when my new one comes and I can compare the two) but I don't want to recommend the set. I had enough little quibbles to take mine back and the breakage issue seems to be a HUGE one that most owners can't escape. The price is decent, I suppose, but there are headsets out there in the same price range that are more comfortable and durable.



I_thumb_down LG - HBS200 Universal Bluetooth Headset is not recommended by PattyTherre

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I_comment_shdw24 Comments about PattyTherre’s Review

 


PattyTherre wrote on May 30, 2009 at 2:19PM

In response to ezzi386's comment from May 25, 2009 at 2:33PM:

With the power on, press the power/talk key for about 8 seconds. It will beep and blink blue and red. You are then in discovery mode and can pair with whatever you're pairing with. I had to do it a few times to get it to blink but it worked fine after that.

ezzi386 wrote on May 25, 2009 at 2:33PM

In response to PattyTherre's comment from Feb 28, 2009 at 10:22PM:

how do you put these headphones in discoverable mode

ezzi386 wrote on May 20, 2009 at 2:21PM

how do you put these headphones in discoverable mode

PattyTherre wrote on Mar 16, 2009 at 7:48PM

In response to GigiandAdonai's comment from Mar 14, 2009 at 10:35PM:

I JUST watched Grease last night. It was on cable and I happened to catch it right at the beginning. Such fun. Bluetooth headphones are lust like normal headphones with wires, expect they don't have wires. lol.

GigiandAdonai wrote on Mar 14, 2009 at 10:35PM

I've wondered about the comfort of a bluetooth. I'm like Frenchy on "Grease." I don't think I could handle wearing something on my ears like that. I hope you find one that works for you and btw: quit making those random calls ;+) he he

PattyTherre wrote on Feb 28, 2009 at 11:33PM

In response to LaurieM's comment from Feb 23, 2009 at 10:17PM:

It woke you up!

PattyTherre wrote on Feb 28, 2009 at 10:22PM

In response to MikeMaroon's comment from Feb 27, 2009 at 12:05AM:

I just got my Sony and the sound for music is a little less crisp but the phone part is better. And it's much more comfortable. I kind of look like I am wearing an old style Walkman headset but whatever. I never claimed to be cool. lol.

MikeMaroon wrote on Feb 27, 2009 at 12:05AM

I bought a Plantronics and am finding that, while I can hear others well, they can only hear me well if it is quiet around me. Thanks for steering us clear of this one!

LaurieM wrote on Feb 23, 2009 at 10:17PM

I need one of these but preferably not one that makes random calls to my friends!


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