BlueAnt Wireless Pty. Ltd. won two awards for the design of its X3 micro Bluetooth Headset, and if BlueTomorrow.com gave awards for design, we would add a third to the Australian company's trophy shelf.

The product looks awesome, and we don't use the term lightly. It comes in several different colors and has a spectacular adjustable USB power cord that can be twisted and molded in any which way. The fact that it charges using USB ports is fantastic. It is easy to use with one multifunction button and two volume buttons that almost remind us of the iPod's control wheel. Plus, it comes with a car charger which is great.

The X3 micro gets all of its advertised times and ranges: Up to 7 hours of talk time, up to 180 hours standby, an incredibly short 1.5 to 2 hours recharging time and a 30-foot (10 meter) range.

With all that, BlueAnt's X3 micro appears to be the perfect Bluetooth headset, and that's what we thought as we took the device out of the box. But then, we used it. Unfortunately, this is a BIG "but."

BlueAnt's X3 micro sounds poor, and we don't use that term lightly either. Our voice was almost indeterminable to our friends on the other end of the phone and their voice was only a small bit better on our end. Forget about using the device while driving -- it just can't happen.

To us, it doesn't matter how cool a Bluetooth headset looks or how easy it works, if it doesn't sound good, it's not worth as much as it's selling for. This is a shame, because BlueAnt obviously put a lot of work into the design of its X3 micro. Hopefully, the company will spend as much time as it spent on design on sound quality, and maybe even a noise cancellation microphone, in the next version of this headset.

BlueAnt's asking price is $69.99 for its X3 micro -- relatively inexpensive for Bluetooth headsets. Go for it if you're into design, we definitely give it two-thumbs up in that category. But if you care about sound quality as your number one concern, like we do, we give it two thumbs down.

What's in the Box?

Keep reading for more detail about how BlueAnt's X3 micro Bluetooth headset performed during our reviewer’s tests.

Next

• Introduction
• Setup, Battery Life, Pairing, Style and Comfort
• Functions, Sound Quality, Range and Conclusion