Motorola S10-HD wireless headset: Styling in stereo (review)

It was good timing for me as my old Plantronics Bluetooth stereo headset died on the same day I interviewed Christopher Dawson for the Gear of ZDNet series. In that interview Christopher couldn't say enough good things about his Motorola S10-HD headset, so I wasted no time getting one of my own. I have been using it for a couple of days now and I agree with him that it is a worthy replacement for my old wireless headset.

When I work in coffee shops I like to listen to music using a wireless headset to shut out the noise of the venue. The S10-HD is perfect for this use, as I can still make phone calls when needed.

The Motorola uses in-ear buds that are attached to a unique U-shaped body (black and red combination) that is worn behind the head. I wasn't sure how comfortable the S10-HD would be when I first took it out of the box, but my concerns were short-lived when I put them on after pairing them with my iPhone 4S. The buds fit comfortably in the ear using the installed earplugs, and Motorola included four different size ear buds to insure a good fit for the individual.

The controls are integrated into the headset, with a power on/off button that is located behind the head as worn. There are volume controls on the left ear bud along with a call button, and media controls on the right bud. These controls are very tiny but are raised so they can be located by feel. The media controls worked as expected controlling my iPhone.

The audio quality for playing music is good, but not outstanding. I do find that the sound varies depending on which size ear bud is being used, so it's a good idea to try them all for both comfort and audio playback.

The S10-HD is a decent wireless phone headset, with the music pausing when a call is made or received. The audio quality during calls is reasonable, and even long conference calls have consistent sound. I do find the headset suffers from leaked background noise in noisy areas while making calls.

The Motorola S10-HD can be found online for around $50, and the build quality matches that of the wireless audio. The Bluetooth range lets me go over 40 feet from the phone, providing true hands-free capability.