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CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 09/23/2008
With its simple interface and slim profile, the Parrot Minikit Slim is a very attractive looking Bluetooth speakerphone. Dig a little deeper and you'll find an intuitive feature set that makes placing calls from the device simple. However, use the Minikit Slim for an extended period of time and you'll begin to notice a shoddier build quality than you'd expect from an otherwise great device.
Design
The first thing we noticed about the Parrot Minikit Slim is how slim it was. Thanks to NXT flat panel speaker technology, the conventional conical speaker is replaced by a flat, vibrating panel, effectively making the entire front surface of the device a speaker and resulting in an extremely compact design. At the business end of the device, there is a pinhole for the omnidirectional microphone, below which is the rotary button, which can be twisted to access menus and adjust volume and pressed to make selections. Flanking the rotary button are the call answer and call end buttons. The end button also serves the dual function of being the power switch.
Once powered on, there's no visual confirmation in the form of a power light, which led to more than one confusing instance where we attempted to turn the device on and actually ended up turning it off. However, once we'd learned to trust that the device could handle its power modes on its own, operation went smoothly.
The backside of the device is home to the metal wire visor clip, which felt like it was going to break off at any minute and didn't do a very good job of holding the device in place in our test vehicle. In fact, at one point during testing, the speakerphone actually fell off the visor, scuffing the device in a few places. We think overall build quality is definitely an area that needs improvement.
Features
A rechargeable battery allows the Parrot Minikit Slim to be used without a power cable dangling for a claimed 10-hour talk time or 20 days on standby. The battery is not replaceable and charges with an included 12-volt micro USB adapter. Our test unit also shipped with a standard micro USB cable, which allowed us to charge the device outside of the vehicle using any powered USB port, such as the one on our desktop computer.
The device pairs via Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR with up to five separate phones. Once paired, the Minikit Slim is able to download contacts from the phone for quick access. Up to 1,000 contacts can be synced per phone with a cap of 2,500 total contacts for the device.
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Where to buy
Parrot Minikit Slim Bluetooth Speakerphone:
$69.99 - $109.99
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$86.00 | Yes |
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$99.99 | Yes |
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RadioShack.com
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$109.99 | Yes |
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$69.99 | Yes |
|
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Buy.com
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$99.00 | Yes |
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