Sony Ericsson's HBH-660 Bluetooth headset is ideal for calling on the move, sporting a real innovation: a screen with caller ID. Richard Newman takes it out for a spin.
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Bluetooth headsets are judged very critically by their users, with strong conflicting demands on size, weight, battery life, and performance. Sony Ericsson's latest headset, the Akono HBH-660, balances these remarkably well, fitting leading functionality into a distinctly business-oriented package.
 | The inclusion of an LCD Caller ID display in the HBH-660 only serves to improve its usefulness
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Both the HBH-660 and its sister Akono headset, the HBH-600, take the conventional approach previously employed in the HBH-60, with a small boom microphone, a multi-purpose button for accepting, rejecting, and initiating calls, and understated styling. The HBH-660's volume control is a two-way rocker switch, which offers excellent feedback, though the call button can be hard to press if you have large fingers, or wear gloves.
Physically, the Akono is conventional but satisfying; 22.6 g and compact, but nowhere near the 12 g of the latest Bluespoon entry from Nextlink. The earpiece clamps the microphone to the back of the ear; we soon found this fairly comfortable, despite it initially feeling odd. One possible problem is the attachment of the arm to the main body, which is through a kind of rubbery gromet - this is under constant stress, and may fail or pop out after prolonged usage. Other than this, the headset would be an ideal companion for a day's driving.
With regards to the radio performance of the HBH-660, Bluetooth reception is well above average: over 10 m in line-of-sight, and excellent within more usual distances, dealing admirably with minor obstacles like staircases and wooden floors. However, stick a reviewer's dense head in the way beyond the 1m mark, or put the phone in a pocket on the opposite side of the body, and some (albeit manageable) interference is evident. The delay on restoring the link to the phone when making or receiving a call is negligible, though the beeps emitted at all stages of the process are irksome. Fortunately, the volume control can separately adjust the beep volume and the call volume, though the latter only when actually engaged in a call. The volume control button is also used, by holding it for 5 seconds, to initiate pairing mode, which is uneventful.
The HBH-660's stand-out feature, though, is its small greyscale LCD panel, which sits beside the multi-function button. Pleasantly, this screen does not seem to affect the battery life, which is excellent; a week's occasional usage is no stretch, validating Sony Ericsson's claims of 5 hours talk time/150 hours standby. Furthermore, the sound quality was excellent for both ends of the conversation, even with heavy road or crowd noise.
In normal usage, this screen displays the current battery level and a Bluetooth icon. The screen is also used to indicate pairing mode and volume levels, but the most exciting feature touted is caller ID, dubbed "Info Display". Picture the scene: you're doing exactly what Bluetooth is supposed to enable, leaving your phone in a bag or coat. You get a call - but who is it? With the Info Display, you can at least check.
Curiously, with a Motorola V80 this feature worked perfectly, reporting the phone book name (or number for unknown callers). With an older phone, a Sony Ericsson P800, we had no such luck, seeing only an 'incoming call' icon on the display. Such are the vagaries of technology. Still, this is a very useful development in headsets, and one which makes the HBH-660 a big step forward from its predecessors. In our view, however, the best feature of the screen is that it removes the need for a constantly flashing LED. At last - a discreet headset!
Bundled with the headset is a charger (charging is through a standard Sony-Ericsson connector) and a lanyard that employs the same socket. This is an interesting addition, but not suitable for a business headset such as the HBH-660. A case is still available, but only as an optional extra.
Availability
At the time of writing, the Sony Ericsson Akono HBH-660 is available in North America and most European countries for a recommended price of $160 USD.
Conclusion
The HBH-660 is a solid, high-quality headset, aimed squarely at the high-end of the market. Not the smallest or the lightest, it instead focuses on utility, sound quality, and build, and is a good choice as a result. The LCD is a superb addition, offering a real improvement in usability; hopefully this will spur other manufacturers into offering the same.
- What's positive: Sound quality; LCD display with Caller ID
- What's negative: No bundled case; ear attachment could be better
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Price and availability
The will start selling for TBA () in November 1999.
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