BlueAnt Supertooth Light – A Classy Hands-Free Solution
Posted by Jack Cook on 12/10/07 in Wifi / Bluetooth
An Excellent Holiday Gift for that Special Someone!
We all spend a lot of time finding that “perfect” device to use to deal effectively with our quest to Experience Mobility easily and comfortably. But now there is another word that we must include and that is "safely".
With the number of states implementing legislation restricting the use of cell phones, a hands-free solution is a necessity … no, it is a must! It was just a year ago that I reviewed the BlueAnt SuperTooth II and at that time I called it “a near perfect solution”. During the past year, I have used it virtually every day and have been incredibly pleased not only with the device but the quality of the sound I receive in a call. In addition, the battery life is terrific and of course, the included DC charger has been a huge plus.
Last week, it was time to get a pre-holiday present for my wife … a new car. It has all the bells and whistles that make a car fun, but it did not come with a hands free solution. One of the first items on our agenda was to get a hands free solution and of course I looked to BlueAnt to provide that solution. But now they have a new addition to their family of products and this one looked real good. Using technology from Cambridge Silicon Radio, this device has its audio quality enhanced via Clear Voice Capture (CVC) Digital Signal Processor (DSP) technology, with an end result of providing truly superior sound.
It had a classy look coupled with the specs I felt were important in a hands free solution. In addition, my experience with BlueAnt products has been stellar so I was confident that it would provide my wife with the ability to Experience Mobility at a high level. So was it a good choice? Was it easy to setup and use? And most importantly, was my wife going to be pleased with the solution?
More after the break
The Box
I have always said that packaging does not make a product but it sure does tell you a little bit about how strongly a company feels about their product. BlueAnt always gives you a great presentation … the kind that makes you say “oohh”.
Neatly placed in a clear container, the Supertooth Light just sort of sits there saying “try me”. The top half displays the device and hidden below the device are all the accessories that come packaged with it.
Opening the container you find the Supertooth Light, AC Charger, DC Charger, Visor Clip, a user Manual and a bonus in-car vent mount for small devices.
The manual deserves some mention because of its simplicity and thoroughness of the descriptions of all the features. The folks at BlueAnt clearly take pride in making sure you can easily understand with well thought out descriptions and pictures that clearly show what to do.
The Device
Rectangular in shape and measuring 0.716" x 2.37" x 4.8" (18.2 x 60.2 x 122 mm), this device weighs in at 4.7 oz. (115 g). It has a rich, sleek appearance brought out in its shiny black finish. The speaker is on the left side with a BlueAnt logo prominently displayed in the center. To the right are the Call Receive and Call End buttons with a volume control at the top and LED lights below for indicating if Bluetooth is enabled and if charging is taking place.
On the right side, we find a USB charging port as well as the microphone. Pressing on the microphone releases it so it slides out, turns on the device and connects automatically with your device (as long as it is paired).
The back has two round magnets embedded into the case. The magnets firmly grim the included visor clip to securely fasten the device to your visor.
Device Features
What makes this device special are the features. The Supertooth Light meets the Bluetooth version 2.0 specifications (what you expect with devices today) and of course it automatically detects the handsfree profile. The Bluetooth range is rated for up to 30 feet but I have a hard time imagining being that far away from my device.
What I like is the rated talk time of 15 hours with a stand-by of 800 hours (yeah, that is a lot of time). So far, our experience has been in excess of the rated time but we have not taken it yet to a point of having zero charge remaining. The unit comes with a Lithium Ion battery that supposedly takes 3 hours to get a full charge. I have experienced much smaller times but I attribute that to the fact I still had charge left even after significant use.
The unit came charged and was fully charged after only an hour using the AC charger. What we generally tend to do is to plug in the DC charger to “top it off” about once a week when we are on one of our trips. It has been a good solution for us and a particularly good solution for my wife. I expect we will use the AC charger when needed but having the extra charger in the car has made it very convenient.
What is also a neat feature is it can be charged via a USB cable from your PC. Although that cable is not included, I always have one in my accessory bag so know that there is yet another means of charging is a huge plus.
The Supertooth Light has Full Duplex, Full DSP Noise Cancellation / Echo Cancellation using CVC, and a Digital Volume Control. All of the “buzz words” you want to hear but the question really is, does it work?
The Pairing
The Supertooth Light came charged out of the box so I had to try the pairing process right away. It was fast and easy. As soon as I paired the Supertooth Light with my Palm Treo, I was chatting with my wife listening to a clear crisp sound on my end and her reporting that it sounded great on her end. The volume controls work easily allowing you to achieve the optimal sound for your needs.
Pairing the device with my wife’s phone was just as easy and surprisingly, the voice recognition capabilities of her device worked flawlessly via the Supertooth. This is her first Bluetooth hands free solution and when she saw that capability she was very pleased.
I was particularly pleased in the ease of pairing with a second and third device. I just had to hold the green call button and turn the device on. The LEDs begin flashing red and blue indicating that it was in pairing mode. I just had to initiate the process on the new phone and it was done. It is that easy! I believe that users of multiple devices will genuinely appreciate the ease of this process.
Some Special Features
I expected MS Voice Command to work (and it did) but I was extremely pleased with how well it worked with the Voice Recognition Dialing that was part of my wife’s phone. Pressing the Accept button, her phone asked “say a command”. Responding “Call Jack”, it immediately called my cell.
There was another feature, Last Call Redial, which worked quite well too. Pressing on the Call Accept for 3 seconds would automatically re-dial the last number. Although it worked well, I think it is just as easy to press the Call Accept briefly and use the Voice Recognition Dialing.
In-coming calls can easily be rejected too. A simple press on the Call End button will reject the call and force it to Voice Mail right away.
Pairing with 5 phones! The Supertooth Light will pair with up to 5 phones and remembers the pairing information. It was easy to switch between paired devices although it did have to be done via the settings in the phone. I would love to see BlueAnt incorporate the “on the fly” switching between devices that they have on some of their products.
In the event you get a call that comes through the speaker and you choose to make it private, pushing in the microphone back into the Supertooth will automatically transfer the call to the phone …. I liked that feature and it works!
The On/Off feature deserves a little mention. To power the device On/Off, you just have to press on the microphone. The shaft easily slides in (or out) powering the device. It’s simple, it’s easy and it works well.
Conclusion
The BlueAnt Supertooth Light is a great hands-free solution providing you an easy set up and superior quality in listening to phone conversations while driving. The volume adjustment allows you to increase the sound in situations where there is a lot of external noise and yet, it maintains the quality of the voice you’re listening to.
I had asked a couple of questions in the beginning.
So was it a good choice? Absolutely! A sleek design combined with excellent features and great quality sound make this device an outstanding choice.
Was it easy to setup and use? It could not have been easier. For those that have never used this type of solution, the clear, simple instructions effortlessly guide you to a quick install enabling you to make hands-free calls in seconds.
And most importantly, was my wife going to be pleased with the solution? You bet she was!
If you are looking for a quality hands-free solution, I would urge you to consider this BlueAnt product.
You can find the Supertooth Light here at the BlueAnt website.
Pros
DSP
Multi-device pairing
Voice dial, re-dial, call reject
Excellent Volume
Long battery life
Cons
Can’t connect to multiple devices “on the fly”
Cost: $99.00 (a little searching on the net will yield some great prices)
Rating: 5 out of 5
Visit BlueAnt here
If you have not seen the video unboxing and 1st use, click here to watch
Written by Jack Cook · Filed Under Wifi / Bluetooth
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