As you may have seen by the first part of this review, I have had the privilege of trialling a pre-sales version of the Nokia BH-703 bluetooth headset. It is definitely one of the best looking headsets i’ve seen, but has it been compromised for its looks???
In this part of the review, I will look at how easy the headset is to set up with your device and use!
Read on for more!!!
I charged the BH-703 headset using the microUSB cable that came with the Nokia N82 which worked fine and it was full in an hour which is fantastic. One concern I had was the fact that a standard Nokia charger port wasn’t used as this is a very widely available option, but the great thing about this is you could easily charge the headset using a laptop if needed. The fast charge time adds to the convienience.
The headset itself is really easy to set up and use with a compatible device! For the first time you use it, you must hold the multifunction key that is on the face of the headset (shown above) until the status light slowly flashes green. If the headset hasn’t been paired with another device before, the status light will then start flashing quickly blue which indicates ‘pairing mode’.
After you have done this, you must activate the bluetooth feature of the device you want to pair the headset with and search for bluetooth devices. The headset will appear as Nokia BH-703. Select it and enter the code 0000. The headset should then be successfully paired with your device and ready for use. This will be indicated by a slow flashing blue status light.
From now on (when you want to use the headset), ensure that bluetooth on your device is switched on and then turn on the BH-703. It should then automatically connect without any further interaction!
The headset fits really nicely in the ear (as demonstrated by my brother) and is comfortable to use thanks to the two extra earplugs (included) and the earloop. Both help keep the BH-703 stable and will not wobble/fall out of your ear easily. You can wear the headset without the earloop if you wanted, but the device wouldn’t be as stable and may fall out.
It is really simple to interchange the earplugs if needed. You do this by pulling the existing one off and pushing another one back in place - no messing around with clips to keep them secure which is great, and when it is attached, there is no danger of them falling off at all.
Recently, Nokia have decided to take away the traditional volume rocker buttons off their headsets and have replaced them with a touch sensitive surface below the multifunction key. I think this is a really good idea because the user now has a lot larger area to control this function (whereas on previous models you would have to find the volume rocker which could be difficult when in use). One thing that concerned me however was the fact that the area could be too sensitive, or even not sensitive enough. Both would make the volume really hard to control to a comfortable volume.
You can adjust the volume by gently swiping your finger up (to turn the volume up) and down (to turn the volume down) across the touch sensitive surface. You also have the ability to mute/unmute the volume by tapping twice on the surface. You are alerted by little beeps when adjusting the volume – which is great because you know straight away that the headset is responding to the interaction.
I was really impressed by how well the touch sensitive surface worked and how good/accurate it was at controlling the volume. I found that with large swipes of the surface in either direction turned the volume up in steps of 2, and with short swipes (in the centre of the headset) in a step of 1 each time. As mentioned above, when I double tapped the volume would mute/unmute.
After experiencing this method of adjusting volume, I would highly recommend it. It is accurate and gives you a much larger area so that you don’t have to feel around the headset for the appropriate volume keys which could be quite small. I wasn’t expecting to like it at all, but I could control it straight away without any problem.
Obviously, this is my own personal opinion, if you have any questions/comments from your own experience with a headset that controls the volume like this, please comment below!!!
The multifunction key has a range of uses, from turning the headset on and off (by holding it down until you hear a rising/falling tone), redialling the last dialled number (by pressing it twice), ending a call (during a call, press the multifunction key once) and voice dialling (hold down the key until you hear a long tone and then speak).
I managed to get to grips with the combinations really easily, but it may take you a couple of goes to get used to what each of them do. The key, allthough not raised at all, was no problem to find when wearing the headset and is easy to press with good feedback.
All in all, I think the BH-703 is a great headset and a joy to set up and use. This and it’s looks (to me) makes this a very desirable headset to have.
In part 3 of the review, I will look at call quality through the headset in various different situations and whether the headset would perform well in noisy environments. Thanks for reading!!!
Filed under: Technology | Tagged: Review
