Mobile devices Toolkit

Bluespoon AX Bluetooth headset review

8.0

Editors' Rating

William O'Neill CNET

Published: 25 Jan 2005

Bluetooth headsets are often rather bulky devices that resemble some of the less convincing props from Star Trek. While they're undoubtedly useful, not everyone appreciates their conspicuousness. Thank heavens, then, for Danish design. With the 75-euro (~£52) Bluespoon AX, Denmark-based Nextlink offers mobile users a wireless option that's a solid marriage of form and function.

At first glance, we were perplexed by the AX's form factor since there's no visible way to hook it over the ear. But like Bluespoon's earlier Digital model, the AX has a soft stem of rubber that bends to fit inside of the earlobe and manages to hold it in place. It took a few tries, but putting the headset on is simple once you've mastered the process. Also, unlike its predecessor, the AX (available in clear plastic and black) can fit in either ear. The fit is plenty comfortable -- it ships with two different-size earpieces -- but we felt that it was prone to falling out if we were doing something more strenuous than, say, walking down the street or driving a car.

One thing that we love about the Bluespoon AX is its discreetness: measuring 42mm by 25mm by 27mm and weighing just 10g, the headset is downright tiny. Because of its size, the controls are limited to two volume controls and the multifunction button that we used to couple the device with a T-Mobile MDA III and the Motorola Razr V3.

Pairing the AX was simple, and call quality was mostly good and clear. On our side, we could hear callers quite well, and although there was a slight hiss on their side, they remarked that we came through fine. One caller, however, heard some background noise. Nextlink promises a total talk time of 6 hours and more than 300 hours of standby time.