Plantronics Pulsar 260 Stereo Bluetooth Headset Review
Bluetooth has been around for a while and the initial hype surrounding this technology faded away just as fast as Bluetooth’s initial popularity. The problem was that there wasn’t much hardware that supported this format. However, that has changed over the years as many manufacturers are beginning to see the great advantages of bluetooth enabled devices (in particular cellular and head phone manufacturers). To date, there are a bevy of cool, interesting, and savvy bluetooth head phones that offer various features. The Plantronics Pulsar 260 Bluetooth Headset ($109.95) sets itself apart from the competition because it allows the transmission of streaming music from a Cell phone right to it’s head set in full stereo!
I paired the Pulsar 260 with my Blackberry Pearl which is able to play and stream music to a bluetooth device. The headset weighs 25 g (super light weight) and setting it up was a breeze. Charging of the unit only required two hours. Additionally, I found the Pulsar to be very simplistic in it’s operation; A single button and a colored flash signifies the Pulsar’s status (blue for on, red for off and a flashing blue for standby mode). This is pretty nifty, because some bluetooth head phones have a menagerie of awkward placed keys and confusing color scheme(s) for various functions.
Svelte in it’s appearance and handsomely modern in it’s design, the Pulsar black front on metallic-silver buttons and it’s silver back with it’s removable belt clip makes it a sexy ensemble when teamed with the stereo corded headset which comes with three different sizes of sound isolating ear buds. Other included accessories are an audio-out-cable, an ac charger and a lanyard which can be used in lieu of the belt clip that attaches to the unit and hangs around your neck. The headphones plug into the base of the Pulsar and in-coming calls are handled from a cleverly placed push button located in the the middle of the head phones which also has a tiny microphone just above it. And depending upon the capabilities of your bluetooth phone and the services that your mobile carrier provides, you can also answer calls via voice command.Seeing the Pulsar in action was such a thing of beauty; As music streamed from my Blackberry Pearl to the headset, I was able to receive my calls without encountering any problems. There's a mute button on the base of the Pulsar as well as a volume control and a reverse and a fast forward button that confidently controlled my music and the volume of my calls. I was impressed to say the least! The head phones provided a warm, friendly and truly rich stereo sound and at times it felt as if I was in a personal concert. The ear buds were comfortable even after 3 hours of use!After taking the Pulsar 260 through its phases for almost two weeks, it lived up to and even surpassed more than a few of it's specifications: Listen time up to 7 hours (I managed to get 9 hours), talk time: 9 hours (I averaged 11 hours), Standby time: 200 hours (I got 195), Charge time: 2 hours (I got 1 hour 45 minutes), and for the range: 33 feet (I got 33 feet).\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>All in all, Plantronics has a solid performer on their hands with the Pulsar 260. I was blown away by the quality head phones, it's ease of use, the amount of time that it took to charge the unit, a full ensemble of accessories (I really like the audio out cable), it's helpful User Guide and the fact that there's a 2 year warranty on this device. Even the price is on point for a bluetooth headset of this caliber. If there's one thing that some fashion conscious folks may grapple with and that may be that this unit is only offered in one color. Personally, I think that the Pulsar 260 in its present incarnation is a winner! Way to go Plantronics!
Seeing the Pulsar in action was such a thing of beauty; As music streamed from my Blackberry Pearl to the headset, I was able to receive my calls without encountering any problems. There’s a mute button on the base of the Pulsar as well as a volume control and a reverse and a fast forward button that confidently controlled my music and the volume of my calls. I was impressed to say the least! The head phones provided a warm, friendly and truly rich stereo sound and at times it felt as if I was in a personal concert. The ear buds were comfortable even after 3 hours of use!
After taking the Pulsar 260 through its phases for almost two weeks, it lived up to and even surpassed more than a few of it’s specifications: Listen time up to 7 hours (I managed to get 9 hours), talk time: 9 hours (I averaged 11 hours), Standby time: 200 hours (I got 195), Charge time: 2 hours (I got 1 hour 45 minutes), and for the range: 33 feet (I got 33 feet).
All in all, Plantronics has a solid performer on their hands with the Pulsar 260. I was blown away by the quality head phones, it’s ease of use, the amount of time that it took to charge the unit, a full ensemble of accessories (I really like the audio out cable), it’s helpful User Guide and the fact that there’s a 2 year warranty on this device. Even the price is on point for a bluetooth headset of this caliber. If there’s one thing that some fashion conscious folks may grapple with and that may be that this unit is only offered in one color. Personally, I think that the Pulsar 260 in its present incarnation is a winner! Way to go Plantronics!
Conclusion:
The Good:
Quality head phones, great sound
The bad:
Would’ve liked other color choices
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You had me excited when I first saw the article — I haven’t been able to get my Pearl to stream music through bluetooth. Problem is you don’t have a pearl. I don’t know enough about Blackberrys to say which you have (though judging from the trackball it’s a Curve), but unfortunately it is not a Pearl. Please let me know if you figure out how to stream the music to the Pearl!