Donning Bluetooth 2.0, noise reduction and echo cancellation, Sony Ericsson's HBH-610 loop style headset certainly grabs Jørgen Sundgot's attention - but can it hold on to it?
Sony Ericsson, fine purveyour of Bluetooth headsets, is at it again. With the HBH-610, the company improves on its popular Akono HBH-608 model, lining up a star-studded range of features including Bluetooth 2.0, echo cancellation, automatic volume adjustment and even noise reduction. So, with such a portfolio of impressive-looking features, does it deliver the goods? Let's find out.
At only 20 g, the HBH-610 is not only comfortably lightweight but also delightfully small - more so than all previous Sony Ericsson headsets, and even many competitors. Despite its minute size, however, ergonomics are well-preserved with clear and distinct buttons; a multi-function button and two separate volume up/down controls are easily found and manipulated. Profiles supported include both Headset and Handsfree, as could be expected.
Unfortunately, comfort is another issue. As all Sony Ericsson headset, the HBH-610 favours a loop style design which - at least in this incarnation - isn't comfortable when worn over longer periods of time. As most loop designs do, the HBH-610 also tends to flap, and as such is best suited for nothing more than quick walks and stealthy rubberband wars around the office.
This is perhaps even more unfortunate seen in light of the automatic volume adjustment and noise reduction capabilities of the HBH-610, which do a good job of minimizing the amount of interaction required whilst at the same time enabling use in moderately noisy environments. Furthermore, Bluetooth 2.0 should make for a better and less interference-riddled experience when used in tandem with similarly enabled handset; unfortunately we had none at hand, but the HBH-610 still performed well above average with regard to reception and voice quality.
As for battery life, the headset expectedly fell short of Sony Ericsson's claims of 6.5 hours of talk time and 13 days of standby time with 1/4th - 4 hours and 8 days is more like it, in our experience. Lastly, on the note of design, beauty is - as always - in the eye of the beholder, but we have to admit we find the glossy finish of the HBH-610 to be quite appealing; perhaps an ideal match for
the Sony Ericsson K750i given its black and silver colour scheme?
Availability
The Sony Ericsson HBH-610 is now available in markets worldwide, selling in the €115 EUR range.
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