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Samsung SBH700

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Samsung SBH700

Product summary

The good: The Samsung SBH-700 is a lightweight stereo Bluetooth headset good for sports activities. It also has decent audio quality.

The bad: The Samsung SBH-700 is quite uncomfortable, and its volume rocker and track shuttle keys are located inconveniently in the back of the headset.

The bottom line: Despite its sporty and lightweight design, we think the Samsung SBH-700 feels a little too awkward and uncomfortable.

Specifications: Type: Microphone Built-in ; Product type: Headset ; Design: Behind-the-neck ; See full specs

CNET editors' review

  • Reviewed on: 09/25/2008
  • Released on: 01/02/2008

As much as we like regular wired earbuds for listening to music, we would probably go for a stereo Bluetooth headset instead if it was an option. Not only does it free you from dealing with wires, but it's also easier to use in the gym or when running in the park. And thankfully, a lot of music phones come with stereo Bluetooth capabilities these days, and many stereo Bluetooth headsets also have call-handling capabilities. The Samsung SBH-700 is one such headset, and it's designed for sports activities, similar to the Motorola S9 Bluetooth Active Headphones from a couple years ago. It works with both phone calls as well as streaming music and costs around $60.

Like the Motorola S9, the Samsung SBH-700 is designed to wrap around behind the head for a secure fit, especially when running or jogging. The thickest part of the headset is the rearmost battery compartment, which measures about 5 inches long by 1 inch across and less than 0.5 inch deep. The silver-and-red chassis then tapers down on both left and right sides toward the ear buds via flexible wires. The ear buds themselves are connected to the wires via U-shape ear hooks and flexible hinges.

The charger jack is on top of the rearmost chassis along with the LED indicator, while the volume rocker and track shuttle keys are on the bottom. The Play/Pause key is on the front of the right earbud while the Call key is on the front of the left ear bud.

We won't lie to you--we found this arrangement quite uncomfortable. We thought the ear buds did not fit in the ear too comfortably, and as a result of this, they sometimes fell off. We really would have appreciated a variety of earbud sizes here. Also, having the volume rocker and the track shuttle keys all the way at the back of your head is not very convenient. We'll concede the buttons are easy to press, but that's about it.

We paired the Samsung SBH-700 with the Verizon Wireless Blitz. It paired automatically with the phone as soon as we had set both on Bluetooth discovery mode, which was great. Stereo music quality was decent, with loud volume and distinct melody. It's not the greatest audio quality in the world, but it's fine for most people if you're not too much of an audiophile. We did have one complaint; sometimes when we were adjusting the volume on the headset, there was a slight pause in the music. This seemed to occur when we hit the maximum volume, and the headset would beep loudly.

Call quality was good, but not great. Callers heard us just fine and vice versa, but they still reported some echo and a slight hollow quality to our voice. They also reported that our voice sounded slightly robotic. Other calling features include last number redial, call mute, and putting a call on hold.

The Samsung SBH-700 has a rated battery life of 8 hours of talk and music, plus a rated standby time of 5.83 days.

See more CNET content tagged:
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Samsung Electronics,
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Where to buy

Samsung SBH700: $39.99 - $79.00
storepricein stock?rating
Meritline.com
$79.00 Yes 5.0 star rating
Amazon.com Marketplace
$39.99 Yes 5.0 star rating
MSG Digital
$64.99 Yes 5.0 star rating
Accessorygeeks.com
$74.99 No

see prices from 4 stores

Similar products

Where to buy Samsung SBH700

Price range: $39.99 - $79.00
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Reviews from around the WebPowered by alaTest

  • alaTest.com

    Editors' rating: 85

    Summary: alaTest has collected and analyzed 10 reviews of Samsung SBH700 from international magazines and websites. Experts rate this product 64/100 and users 68/100. Comparing these reviews to 62720 other Headsets reviews gives this product an overall alaScore™ 85/100 = Very Good.

  • pcworld.com

    Editors' rating: 69

    Summary: The call button and the play/pause button are located on the top of the left and right earpieces, respectively; I got a feel for them quickly enough. But the volume and track-skipping controls are inconveniently housed on the underside of the headband ...

    Read full review

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