Bluetooth

Sniff, sniff - sadly i used to be THAT guy with the Cobra headset nobody could hear very well. That and an accent made me unintelligible. Therefore when I finally got a Blue Parrot - I had phone friends again.

 

What is your opinion on the negatives of the 250 and 350?

Have you ever tried to pair an iPhone 4s with the 250? I've read from Amazon that it was almost impossible. That was a couple years ago, but maybe it's still a problem?

 

The 350 has even better sound quality than the 250, just that weird issue I've run into.

The 250 should pair with a 4s no problem.

There's a 'near field pairing ' that Apple doesn't support, but just requires a push of the headset button if the 2 go out of range.

That 250 lasted 5 years - still works fine.

If anyone else has info on the 350 I'd like to hear it - I'll send it back if it's a constant issue.

 

One thing to take into consideration when choosing a blue tooth headset is if it's practical for the job. Most local drivers do not wear blue parrot. The one's that do are usually coming from OTR. I've worked plenty of local jobs, from food service, LTL, UPS, and my current job at USPS, and no one wears blue parrot, because it's not practical when you drive short distances. If you work in food service, where physical labor is required, you don't want to be sweating all over the parrot. If it gets rainy or cold, try putting a hood over the parrot and see how uncomfortable that is. If you work in LTL, where you can have 20 stops of P&D or work on the docks, where again, physical labor may be involved, you don't want to constantly take the headset on and off because it can get annoying. And being local usually means were in contact with the general public more often because of the short radious. The general public don't wear blue parrot. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've ever seen a civilian wear one other than truckers. So when your in public with a lot of customers, people will tend to stare at you wondering what that big headset is. Maybe it bothers you, maybe not, to each his own.

Most of the local drivers I know wear Plantronics. It's the complete opposite on the local seen, where blue parrot is odd man out. I know of only one postal driver that uses blue parrot, and he hardly ever uses it now because we work within a 60 mile radious, not to mention all the jokes he gets being called robocop, telemarketer, and dragon ball z.

Plantronics voyager pro is outdated. It came out in 2011 and compared to today's bluetooth, it's basically ancient. I still have mine and use it as a backup, in case I can't find my voyager edge, but with the app on my phone, I can use the find my phone link and it will make a sound . Not to mention it's loader than the edge, but if you put the largest tip on the edge, it actually makes it loader than the pro. The thing I like about the edge is it's rated number one, right with the voyager legend, as far as bluetooth headsets. Google it. I can answer the calls 3 different ways, by tapping it, placing it in my ear, or just saying the word answer, or decline if I wish. It announces callers, stream music, listen to directions from your GPS, you can use it for Siri, or Google now, (you can even use google now to make calls for you by just saying who you want to call), and it's light weight and extremely comfortable. It's a lot smaller than the legend, which is basically the updated version of the pro, but works just as good, if not better. Talk time is about 7 hours and it recharges lightning quick. Talk radious is stated at 30 foot, but it's more like 60, because whenever I back in a 53 at a dock, and walk inside to dispatch, I'm still connected. Calls are crystal clear, noise reduction is superb, and people on the other line swear that I sound like I'm calling from a landline phone.

So if your OTR, go with blue parrot. But if your local, go with planronics voyager edge or legend.

 

^^ Well written post ^^

 

Can you comment on the comfort of the 350 vs. The 250? Thank you.

 

I have the 350 and it seems buggy, not wanting to pair and slow to respond at times. I yell at it too much.

 

Can I drive highway speeds with the window open and people don't get the background noise? That's a biggie for me because I like the fresh air and a window down 4-6 inches. That's towards the plantronics.

 

One driver had a 350 and was talking to his wife while standing in front of the truck while it was running and she couldn't tell. That's the reason I bought one initially. I'm not impressed but it does the job.


I really like the old style blue parrot express before they improved it. I think it worked so well because it was so "dumb" without all the frills they put in them now.

 

I saw a lot of what you replied on the Amazon reviews as well. It just seems like there are a lot of negatives with the 350 because it's still relativly new. The 250 not pairing with iPhone 4s also has me worried. I haven't looked at the plantronics on Amazon yet but I will today sometime. @juan22soul has me intrigued.