Windows Phone Thoughts: A Fresh Catch: Bluetake's BT400 G5 Bluetooth Headset on the Platter

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Wednesday, May 17, 2006

A Fresh Catch: Bluetake's BT400 G5 Bluetooth Headset on the Platter

Posted by Darius Wey in "HARDWARE" @ 08:00 AM


What's in the Box?
Bluetake's cube-shaped box contains:
  • The BT400 G5 Bluetooth headset;
  • A multi-lingual user guide;
  • A power adapter (with a plug to suit Australia, Europe, the United Kingdom, or the United States).

Figure 1: In addition to the BT400 G5 Bluetooth Headset, the box includes a power adapter and a user guide.

The power adapter is slim - similar to Nokia's Fast & Light chargers, except the plug has a lot of bulk to it. In a way, it kills the portability factor of the power adapter, but it's hardly an issue because it's not something you'll be carrying around as often as the headset itself.

Design, Comfort and Specifications
So, first impressions - the headset resembles a fish, from the shape of the body to the scale-like rubber ridges. To prove the point, the Chinese character for fish (pronounced, ) is printed on the headset's tail (if I can call it that).


Figure 2: The BT400 G5 Bluetooth headset - (1) ear hook; (2) volume buttons; (3) Talk/Transfer button; (4) indicator light; (5) Power/Mute button.

The outer casing of the headset is made of a hard plastic available in three different colours: Dolphin (a pale, metallic light blue), Marlin (silver; featured in this review), and Sea Bass (a dark shade of grey). The centre of the headset is coated with a layer of black rubber, which as mentioned earlier, is covered by a series of ridges. Two of the ridges are buttons - one is a Talk/Transfer button (#3 of Figure 2), which can also be used for voice dialing if your phone supports it; the other is a Power/Mute button (#5 of Figure 2). They are marked with orange lines and are slightly raised above the others - but annoyingly, this doesn't add all that much to the overall usability of the headset. When on the ear, the orange lines aren't visible, and the raised buttons don't really offer additional tactile feedback over the other ridges. During the first couple of weeks of use, you may find yourself playing a frantic guessing game as you press each and every ridge in frustration. As you adapt to the design of the headset, you should (hopefully) overcome this flaw.

On to other aspects of the design, the indicator light (#4 of Figure 2) is located between the two buttons. It provides signals for the operational status and power status of the headset. On either side of the ridges are the volume buttons (#2 of Figure 2); the Volume Up button contains a raised outline of the plus sign, making it easier to feel when the headset is mounted on the ear. The charging connector is located toward the rear of the headset. It isn't rubber-capped, so there's always the fear of dust accumulation.

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