The Plantronics Voyager Legend is the latest iteration of the venerable Bluetooth headset (see earlier post) with an iconic over-ear design that's bigger then tiny in-ear headsets.
Since the headset rests gently over your ear, you can wear it quite comfortably for extended conference calls, whether around the office or on a road trip. Plus the extra room and boom mic allows the Voyager to pack an impressive set of features:
- Smart Call Routing - Senses when you place the headset on (or off) the ear to automatically answer a call, direct calls between the headset and phone, or play / pause music.
- Noise canceling - With three microphones, active Digital Signal Processing, adaptive 20-band equalizer, acoustic echo cancellation, and sidetone detection.
- Wind canceling - With windscreens, acoustic mesh, and electronic filter in the mic circuitry.
- Incoming caller announcement and voice commands - Including call "answer" or "ignore".
- Multi-Point Bluetooth - Can pair two phones, answer calls from either.
- On-screen battery meter for iPhone, Find MyHeadset app for Android.
Besides the technology boosts, the new Voyager Legend is slightly smaller than its predecessor Voyager PRO HD (4 x 2.5 x 0.4 in., 0.6 oz), and has a longer battery life (7 hours talk, 11 days standby).
The physical design has separate buttons for the key functions, with volume and power on the back, and play/call control on the side. It also features moisture protection against rain, sweat and spills.
The new Voyager also now uses a proprietary charging connection with a magnetric snap fit, which works well for a desk, but is less handy than microUSB for travel.
The new, but classic, Voyager Legend is still priced at $99.
Note: Plantronics released a new firmware update as of 11/1/12 that "improves most reported issues around call clarity and audio distortion" related to the Apple iPhone 5 and iOS 6.
See my update on holiday gadgets -- Portable Accessories - Holiday 2012 -- for more on portable devices and accessories.
Find the Plantronics Voyager Legend on Amazon.com