Plantronics Voyager Edge

Maybe I'm the unlucky one – It's the worst bluetooth headset I ever had. Bought one of this last year. After few months the battery level drops to red suddenly, even though it showed still got 2 hours talk time. It took a while before I got a replacement. However after around 6 months, the headset got problem again. The caller just couldn't hear me. I used all kinds of methods but no use. Send them a email last week but no respond at all. Disappointing.

A very good unit, quality/usability issues have now been fixed – Update Jan 29 Firmware updates appear to have fixed the dropout and call clicking issues, making this much better to use. I use it regularly for making calls and it works well. After much trial and error, I was finally able to get a good fit with the supplied earpieces, so I no longer have to use the retaining clip. This makes the unit much easier to use, so I am now using this for a lot of my calls. After my initial disappointments and issues, I am now very satisfied with this unit.

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I have owned this for six months now. The Edge comprises the earpiece, a docking cradle, and applications (desktop and smartphone).

Ear Piece

Its four control buttons are easy to use, I find I can adjust the volume during a call very easily. You can answer a call by 1] touching the main body of the headset; 2] saying "answer" when prompted on an incoming call or; 3] Lifting the headset off the desk and bring it to your ear. The first works well, the second works 50% of the time as it does not always recognise my voice command (maybe Aussie dialect?), and the third is switched off due to a bug in the firmware – the earpiece kept dropping the connection with my phone and I could not take calls. I ended up calling support who provided a temporary solution by showing me how to disable the sensors using the configuration application. I was told their engineers are working on a fix and will roll this out in a future firmware update.

They say the earpiece provides around six hours of talk time. I have not tested this to its limits or its standby time.

The sound quality has been good about 85% of the time and other times you need to switch back to the handset during a call. I have the Edge set to HD sound but have not noticed a lot of difference. Sometimes there are minor clicking sounds coming from the speaker when it's not in use. I have the volume set to minimum and it is still too loud for me on some calls.

It does not fit my ear very well, despite trying the different sized earplugs that come with it. The weight of the body seems to create too much leverage – e.g. today mid-call it fell out of my ear onto the floor. There is a plastic clip you can connect that wraps around behind the ear, and it fits perfectly when I use that. The clip does not interfere with my glasses and is comfortable to wear. The downside of using the clip is that you need to remove it each time you want to put the device back in the cradle, and it feels like it could easily break when you do that.

The Cradle

The cradle has battery storage built into it so you can charge your device. It provides visible charge levels for both devices and can be plugged into a power source using micro USB for recharging. The styling of the cradle is nice; it is small and light. It has a very small belt loop so that you can attach it to something like a lanyard, or you could even carry it in your pocket. The earpiece also has a micro USB port for charging.

Software

The desktop software works well, although it chews up a massive 232MB of disk space on my PC.

Overall

The best thing about this headset is the cradle. Bugs in the software mean I do not get to use the headsets full functionality. The real letdown is the fit, as without using the extra ear clip it simply wobbles all over the place and can fall out. If you are the type of person that walks around with an earpiece in all day then the Edge may suit you with the clip attached, as it is comfortable.