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Functionality
We tested the Plantronics Pulsar 260 Stereo Bluetooth headphones with Motorola's new RAZR maxx Ve mobile phone and a Motorola RAZR V3c.
When first taking the headset out of the box, charging takes three hours. Charging takes less time subsequently. In our tests, the Pulsar 260 battery lasted through the day during normal use of the headset for music and phone calls. We charged the device after a day's work, and it never gave us problems. Of course, the Lithium ion polymer battery is not replaceable, which we've been griping about with pretty much every Bluetooth headset. Users will have to buy a new device once the Pulsar 260 battery wears out over time.
Pairing is as simple as holding down the mute/play/pause button at the same time as the power on/off/pairing button on the pod until the indicator button flashes red and blue. At that point, users should follow the directions for pairing any Bluetooth device with their mobile phone.
The headset worked well with the RAZR maxx Ve mobile phone, once we got used to the quirks. We used the device to listen to music and to answer phone calls.
The call control button on the Pulsar 260 headset cord worked extremely well to switch from music playback to an incoming call. When pressing the button, the music automatically pauses and the headset switches over to the incoming call. Upon pressing the button at the end of the call, the music picks up where it was. There is a minor delay in the process, but not long enough to detract from the quality of the experience.
The call control button worked well to answer and end calls when we weren't listening to music.
We ran into a few problems when listening to music outside of the call experience. Primarily, Plantronics engineers must have assumed that users would turn the device upside down to use the track-forward and track-back buttons, because when the Pulsar 260 is clipped to a shirt pocket or hanging from the lanyard, the buttons are backward. Track forward is on the left and track back is on the right, the opposite of the way they should be.
Beyond the dyslexia dilemma, the buttons functioned rather intermittently for track forward and track back needs - often making annoying beeping sounds instead. When holding the buttons down, they rewinded or fast-forwarded tracks - also intermittently. The volume buttons and mute/play/pause buttons worked flawlessly.
When one track moved onto the next, the headset emitted a double-beep sound, which would probably be annoying for someone who enjoys the fidelity of music.
When testing the Pulsar 260 headset with my RAZR V3c, I was impressed that phone calls worked in stereo. Other A2DP headsets did not work the same way. The headset otherwise worked the same way as it did with the maxx Ve phone when it came to phone calls, but it did not work in playing audio. Again, buyers should make sure their phones are compatible with the proper profiles before buying the headphones.
The Pulsar 260 pod may also be connected to powered speakers through a conversion cable. This is one feature that we can give Plantronics a lot of credit for. It allows users to convert their mobile phone into a mobile iPod-like device. With the Pulsar 260 hooked up to a powered speaker system, users will experience whatever quality they are used to while playing an iPod or other MP3 player with the same system. Of course, their phone must be within close range of the device to get that type of quality.
Sound Quality
We'll stick with the maxx Ve tests for this section, since it addresses both music and phone conversation concerns. Music sounded as good as it would with any average wired headphones, but then, the Pulsar 250 headset is essentially wired - maybe that explains it.
In general, sound is good. The bass is not missing - a plus - but it does seem electronically muffled - a minus. The high- and mid-tones sound full, and with them the bass is a complement.
We downloaded three tracks we felt represented most users onto the maxx Ve phone to test the device. Among them were songs in the hip-hop/R&B, classic rock and madrigal/classical genres. The hip-hop song, "Dum Diddy," by Black Eyed Peas, sounded terrible. The muffled bass sound very much detracted from the listening experience with this song. Still, the sound lapse was very similar to the way the tune would sound with average wired headphones. "I'm Free," by The Who, sounded almost perfect. The bass acted as a complement in the classic rock song. There was a slight tinny sound that kept the listening experience from reaching pure perfection, however. Trois Chansons' "Viver Vou N'estes Qu'un," the madrigal, sounded very nice. But, there was a slight electronic buzz sound while listening to that piece.
Phone conversations earn more of a "C" grade - an "F" grade if there's any background noise. Why Bluetooth headset makers don't automatically use noise cancellation technology for their microphones is beyond our comprehension. It was clear that no such technology was considered for the Pulsar 260.
When in a quiet room, we could hear the person speaking with us on the other end of the line in stereo, which was fantastic. They could hear us as well, but not without some interference. Add any background noise, whether the highway rolling under us while we talked and drove or a running faucet and a saute pan sizzling away as we cooked and the sound quality degraded severely for the person on the other end. Still, unless the background noise interferes with the user's ability to hear, then it will not interfere with the user's end of the conversation.
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