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When I first got my Playstation 3 online, I realised that I sorely need a bluetooth headset if I am going to ever cooperate and also perform effectively with my Metal Gear Solid:Online team, I will need a bluetooth headset.

Therefore, I went into the hunt for a cheap and good one, preferably one with stereo, so that I can connect it to my Nokia E51 and make full use of it’s MP3 playing capabilities. But, most bluetooth headsets in the market were actually mono(one sided), and I really don’t want to use that in public. Using that in public seem to make you look like an “uncle” immediately. The prices of stereo bluetooth headsets were also a tad too pricey. I was looking for one within the $50 range actually.

A month past, and when I was fiddling with the new Starhub ChatAnywhere feature, I realised I have over 3000 Starhub Rewards points. I promptly redempted them online, and got myself a $100 Starhub voucher. With this, my budget for the bluetooth headset increased 2 fold.

To cut my super long story about how I got my headset short, I finally narrowed myself to the Jabra “dog-tag” model. The first time I checked with the Starhub shop in Plaza Singapura, it was out of stock, so I decided to wait, and today, I went to try my luck again. Luckily, it was still unavailable, for if it was, I will definitely have got that instead of this newly released one by Motorola.

The box was very stylishly packed, and the manual was very user friendly as well. You only need about 1 hour for the first charge. The headset is also able to support FM radio and has buttons on the headset itself to switch between FM/MP3/Call modes.

The stock earphones that came with the headset were excellent, and the length of the headset reaches my waist. There is also a spare headset, with shorter earphones so that you can clip the headset on your collar.

Now, the headset isn’t very intuitive for first time users. I couldn’t figure out how to switch it on and needed to consult the manual (I don’t normally read manuals of gadgets I buy. =P). But this was a small stumbling block compared to the amazing sound quality the headset delivers. The wired headsets that came with the phone are definitely no match for it.

Next, I wanted to test how it works as a phone. I tried calling a friend, and clipping the headset to my waist, I spoke in a normal voice level. She heard me with no problems, and being stereo, I could hear her perfectly well as well. This was definitely a sweet surprise as I was expecting her to have difficulty hearing me when the headset is so far away from me.

Alas, the headset wasn’t perfect. While chatting with her, I accidentally pressed the phone call button on the headset when I was trying to unclip the headset. It’s extremely easy to do this as the buttons are placed on the four corners of the headset. I was expecting the “hold” feature on the headset will prevent this as well, but it seems like the phone button is not affected by the hold feature.

This was a small setback though, compared to the many good features that it has shown me. I will definitely recommend this headset to people who are looking to use their mobile phones as MP3 players, but hate the stock wired headsets. I have not started using this with the PS3 yet, but I expect it to be as pleasant as what I have experienced up to now.