The Australian Bluetooth experts pack noise cancellation into the tiny headset. Could it handle the busy, wet streets of New York? Find out in our BlueAnt Z9 review.
Review summary of the BlueAnt Z9:
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 The BlueAnt Z9 isn't a bad Bluetooth headset, but needed to be much better to make its mark in the crowding lineup of high-end, enhanced ear pieces. With its small size, it makes a compelling argument, and it is much smaller than the more capable Aliph Jawbone. Still, we think its size holds it back, as the microphone's placement so far from our mouths seemed to be problematic for the sound quality. At $100, the Z9 isn't an expensive option, but if you're around serious background noise, you might try something that gets a little closer to your lips. Release: July 2007. Price: $100.
Pros: Small and light. Easy to use. Big buttons. Voice isolation works.
Cons: Large earbud didn't stay in easily. Calls sounded muddy. Disappointing sound overall.
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Full BlueAnt Z9 Review:
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Design - Very good
The BlueAnt Z9 is not the tiniest Bluetooth headset we've seen, but it is very small, and follows the recent boxy styling cues of the Nokia BH-800. The earbud is a bit large, so we had trouble holding the headset in our ears without the earloop, but with the transparent loop the hold was fine. We would have liked a smaller bud for a tighter fit, which may have also improved the sound of the device, especially in our outdoors tests.
We especially liked the integrated clip on the Z9. The swivel for the earloop rests on a metal clip, which made keeping the Z9 close at hand much easier. Nice touch. The device has three buttons, two of which are dedicated (mostly) to volume. Buttons were nice and large, and easy to press without flicking the headset from your noggin.
Sound - Good
To be honest, we were disappointed with the sound quality on the BlueAnt Z9. We recently had a very good experience with the company's SuperTooth Light, so we know that BlueAnt takes sound quality seriously, but the Z9 sounded muddy and garbled on our caller's end, and a bit distant on our end. Indoors, the device sounded better when we spoke loudly. But just above a whisper, in our quiet office, the device had trouble picking us up. Outdoors, we tested the BlueAnt Z9 in a light drizzle with almost no wind, but background noise, and especially wind noise, was an issue. Turning the voice isolation feature to its "max" setting did help, but produced a more compressed sounding call. The BlueAnt Z9 fared best in our driving tests, with the windows up and the radio turned down, speaking in a normal speaking voice. Overall, we think the problem isn't with the audio technology on the device, but rather with the placement. The microphone just wasn't aimed properly at our mouths, and perhaps wasn't close enough to catch the best sound coming from our faces.
Calling - Very good
For calling options, the BlueAnt Z9 accomplished every task we threw at it, including conference calls, call swapping and voice dialing. Each task requires a morse code of long or short button presses, but the most basic functions are fairly intuitive. The headset paired quickly with our Apple iPhone and our Palm Treo 700p. We managed a conversation that lasted more than 6 hours, which is more than the 5.5 hours BlueAnt claims. Not bad for such a small device.
Odds and ends
The BlueAnt Z9 comes with an AC adapter and a very short USB cable. We like the included USB cable, which serves only to charge the phone via a USB port, a nice convenience on the road, though why the device uses a proprietary connector instead of a standard mini-USB plug is a mystery.
Price and availability
The BlueAnt Z9 will start selling for $100 () in July 2007.
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