Sony Ericsson HBH-IS800 Stereo Bluetooth Headset (Black)

Pros: 1. Extremely compact & well-designed
2. Lightweight
3. Great sound

Cons: 1. Battery life
2. No playback control buttons, or volume control
3. Price

Summary: I was EXTREMELY skeptical w/ buying these as I read all the previous bad reviews. In any case, I took the plunge w/ every intention of returning it if any of the previous concerns popped up.

Bottom line, I'm VERY VERY happy with these. First, linking this with my phone was not difficult at all. I have an unlocked LG Crystal. Second, directions told me to first charge it for 8 hrs, but after 1.5hrs of charging, the light was green so I was ready to go. Battery life lasted about 3 hours. I listened to music for about 2.5hrs and then watched Quantum of Solace on my phone w/ no problems, although the sound and pictures were off-sync by about .3 seconds; not really noticeable but I'm a stickler for those things. I left the phone on the table and walked off to a good twenty feet away and it cut out once, but came right back. I got a warning beep after two hours or so and it still kept going for another 25 min. Third, I did NOT experience the heat from the right side where the battery was located.

Sure the base could be better, but it was plenty good, as good as my OEM wired headphones. I tested out the set w/ a phonecall at home and it was pretty clear without any interference. I'll test it out at the office to see if that changes. I changed out the small size ear piece for the medium sized ones and it fits quite comfortably, even took to jumping around and they stayed in just fine. The design of the unit was also great. There's no thick bar hanging on top of your head or behind your neck so it's very comfortable to wear. My ears also feel fine after wearing them for three hours. I can't say the same for some of the other "inside the ear" headphones I've tried.

Next, I took a drive in my convertible on the local streets, with the top down, got up to about 60MPH and did not hear any outside wind so that was very nice. I'll test it out tomorrow on the fwy and see how it responds.

I'll use this for the next month to see if it dies like one of the other reviews noted. The unit does not have any control buttons on there except for the on/off button but I prefer to control the songs and volume from my phone anyways. Since this unit was so small in size, any buttons would just be too difficult to use. The carrying case is convenient but nothing to write home about, just cheap plastic and fake velvet. This unit was damn expensive, I paid $150, including taxes here in California, so if you can get a cheaper set online, get it. I'm definitely going to keep this unit. Great compact design, sounds great, not fantastic, but definitely great. All in all, I really love this unit!!