Blueant X3 micro Bluetooth Headset

I have waited for some time to pick up a Bluetooth headset. Most have been miserable, or had small, battery-sized rectangles of plastic attached to the earbuds with cords, which seemed to defeat the purpose. The S9 Motorola MOTOROKR seemed a reasonable solution to this problem, and in many way it is. In other ways, the technology, at least in this form, just isn't ready yet.


SOUND: EXCELLENT
While the sound itself is clean and crisp, it is the fact that the notes are being delivered wirelessly, and yet sound this good, that make it remarkable. When everything goes right, the S9 truly does produce sound equal to corded earbuds, and far superior to the little white plastic ones shipped with new iPods.

And they are loud. Again, not as loud as a good pair of wired earbuds, but loud enough to hurt at the highest level, which is a first for any wireless device I have used.


CONNECTION: DECENT
The good news is that if the device remains stationary, the sound quality is clear and uninterrupted from just over to 20 feet away. Working out, I simply place my Samsung Blackjack somewhere nearby and never loose a beat.

Unfortunately, walking around is another story. I have found that if I place my phone in my jacket, keep my hands out of my pockets, and don't bump into anything, they keep the signal very well. Should any of these rules not be followed, or should I be foolish enough to slip my phone into my jeans, or stand near a powered device (lamppost, street light, bus, etc.), or breathe deeply, the signal goes Rice Krispies; Snap, crackle, pop, silence (Silence was the shy, lesser known of the Rice Krispy Elves).

However, once I got onto the subway here in Washington D.C., they were perfect. No loss or degradation of the signal at all (Though my music was interrupted as several people wanted to know what the hell the thing was and what it did). And when I sat down, shedding my laptop bag and jacket without the usual five minute tangled-in-headphones dance, anything negative I could say about the device simply vanished from my mind. I was in love.


EASE OF USE: DECENT
Connecting the device is frightfully easy; turn your device on, hold down the power button on the headphones until the light flashes blue, and discover it with your music player. Worked the first time and never lost the connection since.

Once connected, you then have to contend with the buttons on either side of the headphones. They are slightly raised, but so small that you would have to know how to read brail to be able to distinguish the plus and minus signs from each other. They require only the softest touch as to avoid jamming the headset through your eardrums, but offer no tactile response, so you never really feel confident with where the buttons are and how they will respond.

However clumsy, you do have a lot of control from the device. The left side allows you to play/pause a song, and to advance forward or backward through your playlist, while the right side raises and lowers the volume, and has a dedicated button to answer and end phone calls.


COMFORT: (UPDATE: DECENT) - PREVIOUS: POOR
They work, but they sure aren't fun or comfortable to wear. A long bar of rigid plastic ends in slightly forgiving arms that are too short and meant for a head slightly smaller then mine. In time it should stretch a bit, but right now it pinches and the earbuds do not sit correctly in my ears. And even if the did fit perfect, I think they would still be somewhat uncomfortable.

UPDATE: You know that guy who never reads instructions, despite being a bit of an idiot, because he is also an arrogant jerk? Yeah, that's me; I was wearing the damn things upside down. I did this twice in public before I was happily reading another review here and came across "...but they begin to hurt the tops of my ears from resting there after a few hours."

And I thought, "Top of my ears? *long pause* Dammit."

They actually fit fine and, while still not terribly comfortable, are much better when worn correctly, by people who are not idiots.


CALLS: DECENT
Nothing spectacular here. They work, people can hear you (though report that you sound thin and echoed) and you can hear your caller very well, albeit only from one ear. And as my Blackjack does not support voice commands, I have no idea if that works through the device.


BATTERY: EXCELLENT
Seems to last forever, charges quickly, and can be juiced with a standard mini-USB plug. Nice.


DURABILITY: POOR
Despite Motorola's claim that this device is sweat-proof, it is not. The buttons on my device stopped working after only a few days of use, a problem that seems to be cropping up with a worrying number of users. That alone makes this product impossible to recommend to anyone.

UPDATE: After working my way through Motorola's technical support line, I was finally provided an answer to why my device is no longer working. It wasn't the sweat; according to the nice woman on the phone it was because I had "overcharged" the headset. The rest of the conversation went like this:

Me: "So, what you are saying is that you can only charge it for a limited time or it will die, unlike any other rechargeable device I have ever owned, or heard of or, you know, existed?"

Nice Woman: "Yes sir, you should only charge it for two hours at a time. But we will gladly replace the defective headset."

Me: "Will the new one come with a timer so I don't fry it's absurdly delicate wiring as well?"

Nice Woman: "No."

So there you have it. You can own a sweat-proof wireless headset with excellent sound and easy operation, just so long as you never, ever charge it for more then two hours. And while I will stick to this absurd schedule of monitoring my new S9's charging time because I like the thing that damn much, you should not buy one. How the S9 ever got out of the testing stage and onto shelves is simply beyond me.