Bluetooth Headsets Bow At Mobile World Congress
By Lisa Johnston -- TWICE, 2/25/2008
BARCELONA, SPAIN — Plantronics and Sennheiser Communications each announced additions to their headset lines.
The announcements were made at the Mobile World Congress, being held Feb. 11-14, here.
Plantronics announced two headsets, including the Explorer 370, a Bluetooth headset designed for extreme durability. Tested to meet military-grade durability specifications, the Explorer 370 is said to be water, dust and shock resistant, and it comes with windscreen technology to ensure clear calls "no matter what the environment.," said the company.
It features a "ruggedized" design, the company's QuickPair technology to simplify headset-to-mobile phone pairing, up to seven hours of talktime and up to eight days of standby time. It will retail for a suggested $79.95.
The second headset, the Explorer 360, is engineered as a lightweight, reliable and simple-to-use headset for first-time users, and it weighs less than 1 ounce. It also features QuickPair technology and up to seven hours of talktime and eight days of standby time. It carries a $69.95 suggested retail.
Finally, Plantronics announced it will bundle the Explorer 360 headset with an "elbow" car charger that fits in most car cigarette lighters. The Explorer 360A will retail for a suggested $79.95.
All of Plantronics' headsets are scheduled to be available in March.
Sennheiser's introductions include the MM 50 wired stereo headset with an in-line microphone, which is designed for use with the iPhone, and the MM 200, which is the company's first Bluetooth stereo headset.
Pricing and availability were not given at press time.
