Everyone’s needs are different. So, I am going to shed a little light behind why I chose this Bluetooth stereo headset.
For having used an iPhone for so long, I have never used it’s Bluetooth functionality. I camp in the side of those who hate the blinking blue light by the ear and hate to be called a Bluetool.
But, I listen to a lot of podcasts and music throughout the day with regular headphones and I prefer the in-ear types for casual listening.
With iOS 4.x, Apple fixed a lot of the common complaints with their Bluetooth implementation in regards to playing music. Earlier, they didn’t have the ability forward rewind tracks from your headset. They have now.
So, I started looking for a Bluetooth stereo headset.
I narrowed down to Sony Ear Bud Style Stereo Bluetooth Headset which had in-ear style buds and a dog tag like dongle for Bluetooth control.
After reading a lot of reviews, I saw that many people recommended Sony Ericsson Hi-Fi Bluetooth Stereo Headset with FM Radio (MW600)
MW600 Features
- OLED display
- FM radio
- Standard 3.5 mm jack
What do you get?
Imagine a AA battery sized unit with controls. That’s the brains behind this headset. It has a nice OLED display. One side of it has the pause, play, rewind, & forward buttons. The other side has a nice (?) touch sensitive volume slider. We will come to this later. On the top edge is a standard mini-usb port to charge the unit and thankfully not the proprietary Sony Ericsson charger! The top side of the display also has a small button for making and receiving phone calls. You can hold the button to activate voice calls.
The back side of the unit has a easy to use plastic (reasonably sturdy) clip that I am not afraid I’ll break while using daily.
The other end of the unit has standard 3.5mm jack. The headphones that come with it has the left side shorter and the right side longer as with other Sony Ericsson phones. But, the great thing about this is that you can use any headphones with this dongle! You can even use an aux cable and Bluetooth enable any of your sound systems! The microphone is also placed by the volume control button.
Pairing with iPhone
It was easy to pair the MW600 with the iPhone. Just make sure Bluetooth is turned on in your iPhone by going to Settings -> General -> Bluetooth –> On.
Now, hold the top power button on the MW600 and let it turn off. When it comes back on just keep holding to kick it into pairing mode. Now, the iPhone should see this unit as MW600. It should either connect automatically or you can tap on it to nudge it.
MW600 supports pairing with 2 units at the same time. This is cool as I can set my MW600 to connect to my iPhone or iPad and use them interchangeably without pairing every time.
To switch between devices, just press and hold the play button. Then use the volume slider to move between the devices or FM radio.
Playing Music
On iOS 4.2.1, the iPod app (and most recently updated apps) shows a blue arrow where you can select where you want to send your audio just like AirPlay. Just tap on the MW600 source and you will send music from your iPhone iPod app to your Bluetooth.
From the MW600, you can skip forward or go back a track. You can also play or pause a track. (A2DP support) I read in some Amazon reviews that the track name showed up on the unit but it didn’t work for me on iOS 4.2.1.
I am no audiophile, but the sound from this stereo headset is plenty satisfactory. It has a deep bass and audio is comparable or even slightly better than the Apple ones. The in-ear buds fit comfortably and comes in a couple of sizes.
FM Radio
With so many radio iPhone apps available you may say ‘meh’ to this one. I know I did. I use iHeartRadio for my radio needs. But, there are some of you who are going to love this feature. In some gyms, they have the audio for TVs transmit on a FM channel. So, you can tune into that channel with your MW600 and watch TV while working out at the gym! How cool is that? Or I guess at times when you don’t to run down your battery by listening to radio apps over 3G.
Making Phone Calls
One of the important uses for this unit is making and receiving phone calls. To make a phone call just dial the number on the phone and the call is activated automatically. To end a call just press the phone button on the unit.
When you receive a call, you will hear a short beep and you can press the phone button to answer the call. To redial a number you just called, just double tap the phone button. If you receive a second call, you can put a call on and answer by double tapping. To switch between calls just press and hold it.
You can also mute your call by pressing and holding the play/pause button until you hear a beep. You can also use voice commands by pressing and holding the phone button until you hear a beep.
You can see all the compatible phones for MW600 here.
Battery
I listen to NPR, podcasts and music throughout the day and I have been able to go for almost a day and half before the battery runs out. I just leave it to charge overnight so I am not sure exactly how long it takes to charge it although the manual says 2.5 hours.
Bluetooth-enable Any Device Around the House
This was the biggest selling point for this stereo bluetooth headset. Because the dongle comes with a standard stereo headset jack, I can plugin an aux cable to any device and Bluetooth enable it.
For eg. I have a 6 year old Panasonic home theater system in my basement where I workout. I just hooked up an aux cable to the system and plugged the other end into the MW600. Now, I can control what I play on the home theater system right from my iPhone. I can do this with my alarm clock, portable stereo dock, etc. It is almost like AirPlay enabling devices that aren’t capable of doing so. And you get to keep all your current devices!
Or if you want to use the over the head headphones while at home and in-ear buds on the go, you can do that too.
I think the price for the Sony Ericsson MW600
Pros
- Affordable price
- Changeable in-ear headphones
- Compact size
- Supports multiple devices
- Great battery life
- FM radio feature
- Micro-usb power charger
Cons
- Finicky volume slider (takes a little getting used to)
- No FM presets
- Caller ID/Track info didn’t work for me
Amazon has the Sony Ericsson Hi-Fi Bluetooth Stereo Headset with FM Radio (MW600)
If you would like to submit a review of a Bluetooth headset you use with your iPhone, you can do so by hitting the contact link in the site.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
