Plantronics M3000 Review (07/07/2004)
Wednesday, 07 July 2004 16:00


So, my girlfriend decides that after months of her old phone burning her ear that it was time for a new one. Of course my first words to her were "SPV E200" to which she replied: "No Alex, I want a phone that doesn't require a degree and a lifetime of patience to use". With a glum look on my face we went shopping and she settled on a Panasonic X70 which came with... yes, you've guessed it, a free Plantronics M3000. Great, I thought, she'll never use it's all mine.

A few days passed and the novelty wore off for her. The headset was mine, so I set about testing it...

The looks are ok, there are two sizes of ear clips (for those of you with funny ears), it has a good battery life, pairing was nice and simple and after a bit of messing about, I discovered you can change the battery...should you ever need to. On the downside the status led flashes green not blue (I know it doesn't really matter but it helps with the overall look/feel to the thing). It's performance with my E200 wasn't great. The ear clips are flimsy and uncomfortable, as is the whole unit actually.

As I write this I'm checking my voicemail. My phone is under the chair and I'm wearing the headset. To be honest I can't make out alot, its crackling terribly. However, with a clear line of sight, it's perfect. This I'm sure is, in part, due to the incredibly poor quality of the E200's Bluetooth capabilities (lets hope there's another update soon eh?). It's pretty damn good on my girlfriend's phone but again a clear line of sight is best. Also, when using with the E200, the answer/hang-up is temperamental and pressing the button twice to redial doesn't even work. Again E200-only problems there but useful to know if that's the reason for your purchase.

To sum up, it's a nice little piece of kit. Looks aren't mind blowing and the lack of a blue led is a bit of a downer. Besides that all you have to put up with is the pain you'll be in from using it for more than half an hour. Current prices are around the £40 mark so it won't break the bank either. If you're a business type who does a lot of driving, you'll be impressed by the quality. If you intend to be wandering around with your E200 in your pocket then don't expect much. At the end of the day it's a good all rounder and from what I've seen it works perfectly well with most devices. Just don't expect miracles when using with an E200. The funny thing is, my girlfriend went from a phone that burned her ear to a headset that hurts it! Women eh? Can't live with them..

Spec:
-Up to 8 hours talk time and 200 hours stand-by time
-Clear digital quality sound with noise-canceling microphone
-Enhanced compatibility - supports both Headset and Hands-Free Bluetooth Profiles
-Multi-function Call Control Button puts control at your finger-tips
-Replaceable battery

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