Hello, Mom?

The best thing I’ve seen so far from Plantronics is the Pulsar 590 Bluetooth stereo headphone set with a cool extendable microphone. It almost makes up for the mistake they made with the Model 640. The folding earphones provide up to 12 hours of talking time and 10 hours of listening time, and works with any A2DP mobile phone.

The new 640E adds some features and improved circuitry over the old 640, but retains the charging holster without a retention mechanism. We’re talking about a ~$150 device that is useless once you lose the earpiece, and there’s nothing to hold it in place.

The new top-of-line 655 fits much more snugly in its holster, so it appears to me they obviously know about the problem, but there is still no way to lock the earpiece in place. I wonder how snugly it fits after 100+ insertions.

Another device with a precarious carry is the Explorer Series. The 350 comes with car charging gear for the road warrior, a nice feature, but the provided holster makes me fear I’d lose the headset with the slightest nudge.

I must admit I agree that Plantronics makes great electronics, but I think they’re still getting the hang of being a consumer company instead of a business and government supplier.