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Setting Up The Headset
You can wear Plantronics' Voyager 510 Bluetooth Headset on either ear with extreme comfort, but first, you must select one of three different-sized eartips to fit onto the headset. While the Voyager 510 comes with a Headset Eartip Guide, the guide's diagram is insufficient and confusing. We recommend using your intuition when selecting the proper tip and putting it in place. The eartip has ridges that fit obviously into slots on the headset. Install an eartip into the slots; then rotate it counterclockwise so that it stays in place.
The Voyager 510 can be adjusted for use on either ear with ease. First, hold the half of the headset that fits around the ear steady, then pivot the half that comprises the microphone and eartip from its storage position to the side of your choosing. When you don't plan to use the headset for a while, you can rotate the eartip half of the headset back into its storage position so that it is not awkward to keep the relatively large device in your pocket or purse.
While Plantronics' design is mostly intuitive, we found it was difficult to discern which way to pivot the eartip and microphone half of the headset when we needed to use the headset quickly. During BlueTomorrow.com's tests, several callers had to wait while we fidgeted with the device to fit it into the proper ear. This issue, apparent most while driving, seems like it would fade away with time after getting used to the Voyager 510. If you wear the Voyager 510 constantly, the issue is irrelevant.
Battery Life and Charging
You can start using Plantronics' Voyager 510 after a mere 20 minutes of charging, which is great news for "gadget heads" like us who can't wait to start using our next Bluetooth "toy." To fully charge the headset, however, Plantronics recommends 3 hours.
The headset's LED indicator will light up red while it is charging then blue when it is adequately charged. The indicator, located on the face of the microphone, will blink blue about every 10 seconds during normal use. It will blink red when the Voyager 510 needs more "juice."
The single prong for the charger that connects to the Voyager 510 is even smaller than the single prong on the charger for Bluetake's BT400 G5 Bluetooth Headset, which we also reviewed. We were concerned about the charger connection for the BT400 G5, which seemed like it might wear out more quickly than the connection of other charger prongs on the market. Unfortunately, the Voyager 510's charger connection has us even more concerned, though the charger's lifecycle was impossible to test for this review.
The Voyager 510 got the advertised six hours of talk time during our tests. We weren't able to test the headset's advertised 100 hours of standby time, however. There was never a 100-hour stretch of time during our tests when we weren't using the headset. From what we could determine, you won't be disappointed with the initial battery performance from this device, but since the Voyager 510 has a built-in, Lithium-Polymer battery, it will require more frequent recharging the more you use the headset. In time, the headset's battery life will wear down permanently, and the battery is not replaceable. This is one of the Voyager 510's few disadvantages compared with some other headsets.
Style and Comfort
Comfort is a key highlight of Plantronics' Voyager 510 Bluetooth Headset, yet it is only one of several areas where the headset excels. The style of the headset is the force behind its comfort, and also makes it easy to use with key buttons placed intuitively. The call control button is opposite the eartip that fits into your ear, the volume and power/mute buttons are on the back of the ridge that fits around your ear.
In creating a comfortable and easy-to-use headset, however; Plantronics seems to have compromised size. The Voyager 510 is very large for a mobile headset at about 95 millimeters (3 ¾ inches) long and 54 millimeters (2 1/8 inches) wide in storage position.
The headset is lightweight, though, at about 14 grams (half an ounce), which may also contribute to its comfort. The Voyager 510 does not interfere with glasses frames and fits securely around the ear. It did not fall off the ear during our tests.
Pairing
We tested the Voyager 510 with Motorola's RAZR V3c Bluetooth cell phone. Plantronics includes a special notice for Motorola users in its packaging that explains how users must turn on the phone's Bluetooth radio before they can pair the device. We appreciate the extra step and expect first-time Bluetooth headset and Motorola phone users to benefit from it.
Pairing Plantronics' Voyager 510 with Motorola's RAZR V3c was straightforward. If you're experienced in pairing, you will barely even need to read the Quickstart Guide for the headset.
Pairing is as easy as turning on both devices, holding down the call control and volume up buttons until the LED indicator flashes red and blue, then searching for and selecting the device on your mobile phone. You may need to read over your mobile phone's instruction manual to find out how to pair the devices from the phone's side of the Bluetooth communication. Your mobile phone's program will likely ask for a security code, which you can find in your user manual. Once your phone and headset are paired, the headset's LED indicator should blink blue about every 10 seconds.
During normal use of the Voyager 510, we paired the headset to the phone by a simple press of the call function button. The same button also allows users to make calls, receive calls and launch their phone's voice activation function.
The headset occasionally lost connection with the phone, but there usually was a reason for it that could be fixed quickly or by restarting the phone.
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