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I recently purchased the BlueAnt V1 Bluetooth headset [$78.24 from Amazon] with voice control to replace a BlueAnt Z9i that I lost. I really liked my BlueAnt Z9i [$52.98 from Amazon] and was upset when I lost it. I think it fell out of my coat pocket. So wanting a replacement I choose the newer BlueAnt V1 that has almost identical size and shape as well as similar dual microphones and voice isolation technology.
BlueAnt has added some new goodness to the V1, by including Sensory’s BlueGenie voice interface, which provides voice recognition for functions such as calling your voice mail, home, office or speed dial with a simple voice command. Paired with an iPhone, this adds some of the voice dialing Apple did not include.
Like the BlueAnt Z9i the V1 includes a shirt clip attached to the back that if I would have used, I might not have lost my Z9i. The V1 is small at 1.5″ x 0.7″ x 0.4″ (41mm x 17.5.mm x 11mm) and light 0.35oz (10g) and fits on your ear. One of the reasons I am not as fond of the Jawbone 2 (I own one of these also) is the fit. The Jawbone 2 must rest against you cheek to work well and I never can get a fit that works for me. The adjustable ear piece and shape of the BlueAnt V1 fits me perfectly. When I am wearing the BlueAnt V1 I forget I have it one.
The BlueAnt V1 comes in a glossy striped silver plastic on front and a matte black plastic on its back and edges. This is the one way to tell it from the BlueAnt Z9i which is all black as both feature 3 flush mounted buttons. The multi-function button, also known as the BlueAnt button, is square in shape and located towards the top center of the headset. The button is easy to fine and use. Volume controls are found on the edge of the V1 and are easily located by the raised + and – markings.
The BlueAnt V1 uses a rechargeable 3.7V LithiumPolymer battery that delivers up to 5 hours of talk time or 200 hours (8.3 days) of standby time. Included Accessories are 1 transparent ear hook, 1 rubberized chrome ear hook, 2 rubber ear bud covers, 2 foam tips for a tight fit, an AC to USB power adaptor, USB car charger, USB adapter, and USB gooseneck charging cable. To save space the BlueAnt V1 has proprietary connector instead of using the more common micro-USB connector which is surprisingly different from the one that comes on the Z9i. They include and adapter to use a micro-USB cable to charge the V1. Charging takes about 2 hours before its initial use.
What sets the BlueAnt V1 apart besides its excellent sound and noise canceling is its voice dialing feature, which is built into the headset instead of relying on the phone. This is great for iPhone users as Apple has yet to add any voice dialing features other than the several third party apps available in the App Store.
Setup is pretty simple as the V1 provides an audio guided pairing with any Bluetooth headset or handsfree enabled device. Most common functions can be controlled via voice like turning the V1 off, checking its battery like, dialing home or office, checking voicemail, and even turning off the blinking blue LED. The male voice inside the V1 will guide you. Only wish the voice that the BlueAnt used was female as I think I am more apt to taking instructions from females (HAHA). However the voice they used is easy to understand and pleasant enough I guess.
With the BlueAnt V1 you press the multifunction button to make the headset start listening to commands. The V1 offers voice commands for calling voicemail, home, office, Google’s GOOG-411 service, and 5 voice activated speed dials. The V1 does not handle direct digit dialing or be able to call all the contacts in your address book. What you do is set up the speed dial positions on your cell phone in the order that BlueAnt recommends. On an iPhone you do this with the Favorite section of your Phone. The V1′s voice control system, it can be easily turned off with the correct voice command or by holding down both volume buttons simultaneously.
Don’t worry all you have to do is ask the V1 to “Teach Me” and it will tell you what you can say with the voice commands. They also include some cheat sheets to get you used to the V1. The learning curve is not great and you will be using voice commands instantly. The unit even tells you when your phone is connected and not connected via voice instead of annoying beeps.
The voice system works well and responds to all commands even in some pretty loud environments. When an inbound call comes in the entire number, NOT name must be announced before you can command it to answer or ignore the call, something that can be a bit annoying. To end calls a quick double press of the V1′s multifunction button is needed or wait until the other end hangs up.
BlueAnt’s patented voice isolation technology is impressive, offering two settings: standard for normal environments and max for high levels of noise such as busy streets or the windy outdoors. The V1 performs quite well in standard mode for most times. Switching to the max setting the sound gets a bit tinnier, but filters out incredible amounts of noise in windy environments and car noise. Overall sound quality and levels are excellent with most callers not realizing you are using a headset. This is one the few headsets that I did not have to raise the volume as it is plenty loud enough. I lowered it!
BlueAnt offers free firmware upgrades available on their website. However Windows is required to do these updates. Macs running Windows via Boot Camp, VMware or Parallels will have no problem.
I use the BlueAnt V1 with an iPhone 3G and Blackberry Curve 8330 as the headset can be paired with multiple devices at the same time. Worked extremely well with both cell phones as well as getting great results when trying it out using Skype on my MacBook Pro.
Overall I love the BlueAnt V1 for its impressive sound quality, for its great fit and its voice control system. I highly recommend this headset over the others I have tried including the excellent Aliph Jawbone 2 [$76.28 from Amazon]. For iPhone owners it would be a great addition especially.
The BlueAnt V1 is awarded 4.5 out of 5 Paws
