Review: Plantronics Discovery 655 Bluetooth headset

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	Review: Plantronics Discovery 655 Bluetooth headset	By Jennifer Hooker, Friday 5 January 2007

GALLERY

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This lightweight, attractive headset piles on the style with a narrow waist and sleek lines, as well as an assortment of chargers, but does it remember to include some substance?

Review summary of the Plantronics Discovery 655:

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The Plantronics Discovery 655 headset boasts a lot of style, but unfortunately, not much substance. The fashion conscious will appreciate its slim lines and lightweight, comfortable feel, but serious chatters will be miffed when they hear the static and muffled voices during their conversations. We were also disappointed by the uncomfortable keys and confusing, multicolored indicator light. The final nail in the 655's coffin is its lousy battery life, which will turn away many chatterboxes. Release: December 2006. Price: $150.

Pros: Great, attractive design; excellent comfort and stability; lots of bundled charging options

Cons: Mediocre call quality; poor battery life; uncomfortable buttons.

Poor

Mediocre

50%
GOOD

Very good

Excellent

Full review of the Plantronics Discovery 655:

Design - Very good

Sporting a matte sliver face atop a glossy black shell and a black rubber strip down the front, the Plantronics Discovery 655 is definitely an eye-catching Bluetooth headset. It's also nice and narrow, and at just 0.3 ounces, the 655 won't weigh you down. In fact, the headset was among the most comfortable and stable we've tested; after a while, we barely noticed that the 655 was in our ear, and it stayed put even when we vigorously shook our head. However, the headset's hard-to-press buttons did cost it some points -- we had to hold the 655 and then push so we wouldn't dislodge it. We also weren't too crazy for the LED indictor light. While we appreciate the fact that it's multicolored, we found the different color combinations and flashing rates to be quite confusing. The headset did gain some ground with its ability to charge via mini USB or with an included AAA battery-powered travel charger (don't worry, an adapter for a standard wall outlet also comes in the box).

Calling - Good

Call quality on the Discovery 655 was rather disappointing, especially considering its great design. We encountered several moments of static and constantly had to repeat ourselves to our pals, while our buddies complained that our voice was muffled, even though we were chatting in a quiet office. Initiating the call features, like last-number redialing and voice command, was also difficult due to the headset's tricky controls. However, one of the more serious hits the 655 took was its terrible battery life. We were barely got three hours of talk time, less than the three and a half hours the manufacturer claims, and it is still sub-par compared to other Bluetooth headsets, such as the Jabra BT160, which managed about seven hours of talk time. That said, the headset paired very easily with our Samsung MM-A900.

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