David.R.Gilson

We have a hardware review today. Mobilefun.co.uk have kindly sent me a Bluetooth headset to try out – the Bluetrek Bizz.

The BlueTrek Bizz Bluetooth Headset

This is a basic headset, as reflected in the price, so don’t expect it to compare with the likes of Jawbone headsets. However, it does have some novel features which make it worth considering. As far as call quality goes, I’d say it’s adequate. During testing, I found that the person I was talking to sounded slightly muffled, compared to my handset’s speaker, and the same applied to my voice quality too. There was sufficient clarity there, but it could struggle to cope with lots of background noise. I think this is true of many Bluetooth headsets that lack noise cancellation though. Build quality is good, it’s completely plastic, no metal, but feels solid enough. It only has a single button, which you hold down for different lengths of time to switch on and off, and to initiate pairing.

BlueTrek Bizz being worn

Moving on to its novel features; the first is that the ear piece will slide away to reveal a USB plug. This is so that you can plug the headset directly into your computer’s USB port for charging. I think this is a really nice feature as I hate having loads of cables hanging around. Although, be aware that the ear piece is tethered to the device via a plastic wire which has to bend out of the way when you connect to a port. Therefore, you  need to have sufficient space around your ports, or that wire will start to lever the device out of the port. You may need an extension cable, just as a spacer. Fortunately, the Bizz comes with a short USB extension cable, although I didn’t like it because it was made of a very rigid plastic, making bends or twists impossible.

Recharging the BlueTrek Bizz is as easy as plugging in a thumb drive

Saving the best till last, this is the first Bluetooth headset that doubles as a Micro SD/SDHC card reader. When you remove the ear piece, you can see a small slot above the USB plug, which your Micro SD/SDHC cards slide into. It’s a spring loaded push-eject system, like on most mobile phones. Being a combined device doesn’t compromise it’s performance though, as my own testing showed. The test consisted of writing an identical set of files to the same class 2, 16GB Micro SDHC card, on both readers. The file set consisted of 26 MP3’s, averaging at 48MiB each. As you can see from the chart below, the difference in read and write speeds were negligible.

Micro SDHC Performance

Now for the negatives, the Bizz only has one button, there’s no volume controls. You have to adjust volume via your handset. I know any volume control isn’t hands free, but not being able to completely control a call via the headset is disappointing. As mentioned earlier, there is a plastic wire tethering the ear piece to the main body, so you don’t loose it while connected to a USB port. This is fine, although it gets in the way when you’re plugging it, creating a fragile connection between the device and whatever it’s plugged into.

Conclusion

If best possible audio quality is your top priority with a Bluetooth headset, then this isn’t the headset for you. However, if you want something that combines two accessories into one device, then the BlueTrek Bizz is definitely worth a look. Just think, no would suspect that you have up to 16GB of data stowed away inside your ear!

If you want to see more of the Bizz, including the packaging and contents, see my photo review on Flickr, and watch my video review below.

References:

• BlueTrek Bizz [MobileFun.co.uk]
• BlueTrek Bizz English Manual [PDF Download]
• Bluetrek.com
• My photo review [Flickr]
• My video review [YouTube]
• Bluetrek Bizz: The spork of Bluetooth headsets [CNET UK]
• Bluetrek’s Bizz Bluetooth headset improves your memory [Engadget]
• Review: BlueTrek BIZZ Bluetooth Headset [Pre|Central.net]