Hands-free talking while driving? The BlueAnt S4 is a great solution. Read our full review here.
BlueAnt S4 Overview
Although we specialize in mobile technology, we here at infoSync have no tolerance for DWT and DWC. Driving while texting and driving while calling lead to very bad things, and that's why we're glad the BlueAnt S4 has finally hit the market. This portable, iPhone-sized Bluetooth speaker should be a required gift for all new drivers. What about GPS units that have Bluetooth, you say? Well, the BlueAnt S4 is the first Bluetooth car speaker to promote total hands-free action. However, even if your phone is compatible with Voice Control, the S4 is still roughly 90% hands-free once you factor in turning on the power switch and using the touch-sensitive volume control. But the BlueAnt S4 could be a lifesaver, and for that, we commend it.
BlueAnt S4 Functionality
There's a man inside the BlueAnt S4—let's call him Charles because he sounds like one. When you power on the S4, Charles immediately searches for a paired phone and tells you that your phone is connected. He loves the phrase "BlueAnt speak to me," as it wakes Charles from his intermittent states of hibernation in order for him to perform various tasks. If your phone supports Voice Dialing over Bluetooth, then the BlueAnt S4 will give you maximum hands-free action. However, if your phone does not have Voice Dialing over Bluetooth, then you'll have to manually sift through your contacts to make a call, which is not particularly hands-free.
Of course, you can Redial the last number and Call Back the last incoming call, but without the ability to talk to your phone to initiate a call, you're up a creek without a paddle. iPhone 3GS, Android 2.2, and all Blackberry users will all be in luck, but for those of us who lack this feature, (we tested the S4 on an iPhone 3G) we don't get that hands-free love.
The good news is that even if your phone doesn't support Voice Dialing, the BlueAnt S4 syncs your list of contacts so if you get a call, Charles will announce who the call is coming from. He'll even announce numbers that are not stored in your phone when a call is coming in. If you're an avid Bing user, you can tell Charles to access Favorites, then Traffic, Weather, Information, etc.
Although the BlueAnt S4 supports Bing Navigation and has A2DP for listening to audio of Navigation applications directly from your phone, the S4 really isn't a logical replacement for a decent GPS system. You can also listen to music and podcasts with the BlueAnt S4, but that's what your iPod and an auxiliary jack are for. Plus, you have car speakers, which will surpass the BlueAnt S4, even in a Geo Tracker with stock trim. So, the prime centerpiece of the BlueAnt S4 is hands-free calling, as long as you have a phone that supports it. Even without it, the BlueAnt S4 is practical, but it edges out a standard Bluetooth in-ear headset by a narrow gap.
BlueAnt S4 Sound Quality/Operation
We were concerned about a battery powered Bluetooth speaker that mounts to your sun visor via magnets. Could this thing actually emit decent sound? Surprisingly yes. The BlueAnt S4 eliminated the need to drive around with an annoying little gremlin in our ear, and its wind, road, and background noise reduction really did the trick. To put it this way, it was much better than holding a radiation machine up to our ears and hearing nothing but Charlie Brown grownup voices ("Wah wah wah wah"). Although the BlueAnt S4 can't match a Bluetooth speaker setup that is linked to your car speakers, it's a decent alternative.
The BlueAnt S4 has a USB terminal and comes with a cigarette lighter adapter for charging the battery. The good news is that the BlueAnt S4 has a great battery life, especially in standby mode. It offers up to 20 hours of talk time and 700 hours of standby, so charging was a rare event. We could also have Charles check the battery life for us, as well as toggle the LED light and alter sensitivity of the sound pickup. The BlueAnt S4 ships with two different size sun visor clips and has a two year replacement warranty, which is a very good thing.
BlueAnt S4 Verdict
The BlueAnt S4 is really only worth it if your phone supports Voice Dialing over Bluetooth. That way you'll be able to take full advantage of hands-free interaction behind the wheel. We also think BlueAnt should have added an Audio output for the ability to plug into a car's Aux jack so we could use the car speakers to talk, which would provide a more even spread of sound than a little stationary speaker. Also, how about frequency adjustment, like an EQ? Hopefully we'll be greeted by these features down the line on the next version of the BlueAnt S4, but for now $100 is a fairly decent price if you opted out of the full built-in Bluetooth car package, especially when you factor in the two-year replacement warranty and free firmware upgrades.
Price and availability
The BlueAnt S4 Bluetooth Car Speaker is available now for $100.
|
Archive