Review: Outdoor Technology Bluetooth Tags headset

I spend a lot of time on my daily commute listening to podcasts and music and can be found with Ultimate Ears, V-Moda, or Etymotic Research wired headsets on most of the time. However, it is nice to be able to use a good quality Bluetooth stereo headset and I have tried a few with an older Nokia one winning out so far. I had a chance to spend some time with the Outdoor Technology Bluetooth Tags and posted several photos of them in my image gallery. The OT Bluetooth Tags performed well and were comfortable for hours of wear.

	Image Gallery:Check out photos of the OT Bluetooth Tags wireless headset.

When Outdoor Technology first contacted me about testing these out I thought they would be a rugged type of headphones to be used while working out. I use the JayBird Endorphin headset with its 100% sweatproof guarantee and they have served me well for almost two years. I was told that these OT Bluetooth Tags are not designed for these type of harsh workout environments, but they do work well for both phone calls and media enjoyment on the go.

Hardware

The black pair of OT Bluetooth Tags arrived with their Bluetooth transmitter for iPods that do not have a Bluetooth radio. I did not get a chance to test out the transmitter since all of the devices I use for music have a Bluetooth radio inside and I was just interested in checking these out.

The sturdy plastic box housed the headset, along with a two sided folded instruction book that has all the details for connecting and using your headset. You will find two extra pairs of earbuds, along with the ones on the headset, and the default ones fit me best. You will also find a short USB cable to charge up the headset. Unfortunately, it is not a standard microUSB connector like I have with most of my phones, but it is a standard 8-pin mini USB port so you might find something else around with such a connector too. Outdoor Technology states it takes nearly two hours to fully charge up a drained headset and in my experiences I saw about that.

You should be able to get about 5 hours of stereo playback out of a full charge with talk time of 6 hours and standby time of up to 120 hours. Specifications for the headset include:

• Length of connecting cord: 31.5 inches
• Ear piece dimensions: About 1 inch long by 1/2 inch wide
• Speaker diameter: 10 mm
• Impedance: 16 ohms
• Cable type: Cotton

The cable feels quite durable and doesn't get all tangled up on itself. There is a small clip on one end that lets you connect the two cables. The headset is called Tags because of the way you can twist it around your neck a bit and clip the cables together so that the earbuds hang down like a set of "dog tags". I did find it convenient to just let the headset hang on my neck when not in active use.

Functions and controls

After finding the right size earbuds and charging up the headset you are ready to pair it up with your phones or music players. I tested out my Nokia N8, Dell Venue Pro, and HTC ThunderBolt for this evaluation with most use being with the Nokia N8. You simply press and hold the multi-function button (MFB) for 6-7 seconds until you see the small indicator light flash blue and red. Pairing was then automatic on all my devices with no need for a code. If your device does ask for a code, then it is simply 0000.

The MFB and two volume buttons are all you use to control the device and they are easy to all find on the right earbud. You can perform the following functions with the buttons on the headset:

• Answer or cancel a call with the MFB button
• Control music and call volume with the volume buttons
• Mute a call
• Voice dial (highly dependent on your device's software)
• Previous or next track with the volume buttons
• Pause or play with the MFB

Controls were straight forward and easy on the headset. While I could easily control music and podcasts, when I used a streaming client like Slacker Radio I could only control the volume.

Experiences, price, and availability

I enjoyed using the OT Bluetooth Tags and found that there was never a lag or skip when listening to music from my devices. I have heard people complain about Bluetooth stereo performance, but found there to be no issues at all with playing music to these headphones. My wife said she could tell I was on a headset during calls, but that I was still very clear and understandable. She sounded excellent on my end through the headset.

Music control was easy and I found the volume to be excellent for my needs. I do wish these were heavy duty headphones for working out because I need to find such a pair for running since cables can be a pain at times.

The earbuds were comfortable for me and I couldn't hardly tell they were even in my ears. The light is small so it doesn't seem to distract others. The cable length is just about perfect with the headset hanging down in the middle of my chest when not in use. The cable on the back of my neck feels good too without causing any problems.

The OT Bluetooth Tags are available from the Outdoor Technology site in black or red for $79.95. I have seen them at other online vendors for $59.99 too so you may want to shop around a bit to save a few bucks. The wireless iPod transmitter is available for $24.95.