Bose Bluetooth headsets: Good enough for the masses

Rumor has it that United States President Barack Obama and his Secret Service agents use Bluetooth headsets provided by Bose.

This is not surprising considering that the brand had a close relationship with the US Defense Department—developing combat helmet headsets that block out noise—and has been known in the industry for its innovative and high-quality consumer products.

The Bose Bluetooth headset is no different. The P8,500 trapezoidal device is no bigger than an AA battery (4.5 cm long and 1.1 cm thick) and weighs even much less (13 grams).

But unlike most wireless headsets that use hooks and earbud tips that put unnecessary pressure on the sensitive parts of the ear—especially for those who take them off only during sleep and shower—the Bose device instead uses a silicone-like contraption it calls StayHear tip that anchors comfortably in the right ear.

Secure grip

This is interesting as the earbud tip sticks inside the ear, creating a secure grip that allows the wearer to move around freely, even run or do violent shakes of the head (if the conversation warrants it).

The Bose Bluetooth headset is also easy to operate: On top of the device lies the large button for initiating and ending calls as well as the volume control. At the bottom is where the power slider is located.

The buttons are easy to distinguish from one another, preventing one from accidentally hanging up on a call while adjusting the volume.

At the back of the headset are LED status lights that indicate Bluetooth connection (the blue light) and battery that flashes green, yellow or red, depending on how much power it has left.

Bose touts two specific features for this particular headset. First is its ability to automatically adjust volume on both ends, so that when a user is in a quiet room or in a crowded train station, he may hear and be heard equally well.

Noise cancellation

Bose’s other flagship feature is noise cancellation that diminish noise to a fairly good level. One may have a hard time adjusting on occasions when this writer is positioned in front of an electric fan or in places where there is a strong wind blowing.

To reduce the noise, the Bose Bluetooth headset employs the Triport technology that manages acoustics and speech reproduction. There’s also the Adaptive Audio Adjustment that Bose employs to measure the incoming speech and background noise, and then adjust the device’s voice levels automatically.

The microphone of the Bose Bluetooth headset is housed in a special compartment that has been designed to pick up what people are saying and reject the external surrounding noise.

One will notice that, in the package, Bose has included two extra StayHear tips (in sizes small and large). Unfortunately for the lefties, this device is really designed for right-handed individuals. Fortunately for the lefties, Bose recently announced that it would soon come out with a version for left-handed people.