2 lightweight phone headsets with clear sound

I do not enjoy taking calls on my smartphone. Holding it up to my ear

feels like I am speaking into a chocolate bar. Meanwhile, using the

speaker phone feature is like talking through a handheld transistor radio.

The Gadget Zone

Voyager 5200

Fortunately, Plantronics makes a range of Bluetooth-connected wireless

earpieces/headsets that allows me to avoid both of these situations, The

result is comfortable, crystal-clear telephone audio that keeps my hands

free, and my ears from ringing.

Plantronics Voyager 5200 is a rechargeable single-ear earpiece with a

small boom microphone built in. It can pair via Bluetooth to two phones

at once, and answer calls from either one.

When a call comes in, the Voyager 5200 announces it in my ear. I then

either say “Answer” or “Ignore” and the Voyager 5200 handles the rest: I

don’t have to tap the earpiece to make it function. But I can tap the

Voyager 5200’s voice button to check the earpiece’s battery level,

connection status, or call Plantronics’ Vocalyst service to hear emails

and newsfeeds if I so wish.

The Voyager 5200 also has a red 2-in-1 button to activate ‘virtual

assistants’ such as Apple’s Siri or Microsoft’s Cortana; more powerful

noise-cancelling technology than Plantronics’ earlier Legend wireless

earpiece, and three times more range (up to 30 metres from its Bluetooth

connection point). That’s a lot of performance in a very small package!

Then there’s Plantronics Voyager 6200 UC Bluetooth-connected neckband

telephone headset with earbuds. That’s right: The main part of this

rechargeable unit (including its microphones) sits around your neck like

an open necklace. The audio is carried to two earbuds connected to this

base.

The Voyager 6200 UC is designed to give users stereo audio and durable

multi-line performance in a convenient hands-free package. Better yet, a

single Voyager 6200 UC can pair via Bluetooth with up to eight devices

and can connect to any two at the same time. This allows someone wearing

a Voyager 6200 UC headset to move easily between their computer,

smartphone, and tablet, while retaining access to two telephone lines at

a time.

Gadget Zone tester Nikki Thomas put the Voyager 6200 UC through its

paces, including using this headset to stay connected to the office

while hiking outdoors.

“It’s perfect — exactly what I need for when I’m walking the dog and

using both phones at once,” Thomas said. “The 6200 UC syncs up nicely

with both of them. The sound quality is excellent. I can even listen to

music and it immediately tells me when notifications come in; and

seamlessly switches between the two phones.”

To find out more about Plantronics Voyager 5200 and Voyager 6200 UC

telephone headsets, go to www.plantronics.com. You’ll never find

yourself talking into a chocolate bar again!