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Now that I have downsized my business to a sole proprietorship, I'm just using my cellphone for communications. Works well except when I need type while talking. I've tried using the built in speaker in the phone and don't like it very much. It works but so does a tin can and string.

I have a little Bluetooth ear thing, but ear things and I don't get along well (they never fit). What I really want is a proper headset like I used to have for my regular telephone. One option is a good plug in speaker phone, but I can't see spending that much when a headset will do just as well.

I've looked at a few Bluetooth models, and they are all things that hang from the ear, which I know will fall off of me. Besides which, wired is cheaper and will work just as well for me. The first thing I looked at is Plantronics and they have an entire page full of headsets. So I figure someone here has probably had experience with this and can make a suggestion.

What I'm looking for is a comfortable over-the-head set with a boom mike and a 3.5mm plug. Mono is just fine.

Suggestions?

Note: I have read some places that the 3.5mm jack on most cell phones is for listening only, not two way. I can't see anything in specific about that. So if anyone has any experience with this, let me know.

Addendum: If there's an advantage to Bluetooth for this that I am overlooking, I'd like to hear.

Edited by Graham Smith
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Check out Blue Parrot. They are noise canceling so you can be in a noisy environment and customer wont know the difference. They are bluetooth and work well. You will find most truckers use this headset as well.

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I'll do ya one better. Quite a while ago i picked up Sony Bluetooth over the ear headset. It's a sony DR-BT101. It has a microphone and some controls to adjust volume, music when you use it with a phone/mp3 player. Makes great calls and easy to hear since it cuts out the ambient noise. Especially for me since I am about half deaf. Best of all not cords to tangle or get in the way. I use mine to type on the computer, get up and walk away and still keep in the phone conversation while I am doing something else.

Amazon has one http://www.amazon.com/Sony-DRBT101-BLK-Bluetooth-Headset/dp/B001QXDSMW

If you get one definitely go for the upgrade pads available on ebay. Makes them much nicer.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/271704279020?lpid=82&chn=ps

Edited by Glockinator
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In order:

--I was wrong about the Bose 25. After rereading a review, they do have a mic. But they are still primarily expensive stereo headphones for Apple products. Not what I need.

--Blue Parrot is a brand I was just reading about. Looking for headsets for truckers is proving to be a good option since they mostly need what I am looking for. The less expensive Blue Parrot looks good for me since I don't need the heavy duty noise canceling.

--The Sony DR-BT looks decent, but it's also mainly a stereo headset with a mic.

Thanks.

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Graham,

I don't know how much time you might spend on the phone now that you're retired with a headset on -- that said I spent 20 months monitoring calls (as in "this call may be monitored for quality assurance") and making phone calls using a Bose headset like the 25. The money came out of my pocket not my employer's, and it was the best equipment purchase I made for a job, in terms of enhancing my comfort.

It blew away the plantronics headset with boom mike that I used for the prior three years. That said -- if you only need it occasionally, for a few hours a week, rather than lots of hours a day -- you can probably get almost as nice a bit cheaper....

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I really only have one active client left and spend maybe 5-10 hrs a week working on my computer, including a lot of remote access. Email is the primary mode of communications with phone calls on occasion. So, most of the time, I don't need anything at all.

BUT, we occasionally have marathon sessions where the phone calls fly and I may be writing code while talking on the phone filling in the gaps in my understanding of the issues. For that, I've been using a BlueAnt Q2 which does remarkably well, but having something hanging on my ear can be really annoying too.

This month is going to be "one of THOSE months" where a lot is going on. Two major changes and preparation for another on the horizon. I'd just as soon spend a bit of money now on a decent headset that I can wear for several hours at a time.

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