We met with Able Planet at CES 2012 and got a quick preview of their upcoming BT400 True Fidelity® Bluetooth Sport Headset. Recently, Able Planet sent me a unit to test for myself.
The BT400 is an ultra-light, compact headset using Bluetooth for its audio connection. There are no other inputs aside from the port to charge the device via USB (included) or USB AC adapter (not included). After charging for three hours, the BT400 should last up to eight hours depending on which functions are in use: audio only, microphone, etc. When not in use, the BT400 can be folded up and stored in the included cloth bag.
The BT400 is expected to retail for $125 when released in March.
Ease of Use
If you have paired a Bluetooth device to your phone or computer before, the BT400 will be no different. Once connected, the headset is controlled by 4 buttons. The first, which was used to synch the device, controls power on/off and answering or placing calls. The volume rocker, beyond the expected functionality, can also pause/resume the currently playing song. The remaining two buttons control the track selection, forward and back. The BT400 is an example of simple, efficient design.
The Sound
The BT400 is an over-the-ear headset featuring SoftTouch™ ear cushions, without any kind of cup or noise-isolating feature. Extremely noisy environments are not ideal, but due to the LINX AUDIO™ feature you will not have to crank up the volume as much to compensate. Able Planet states that:
“LINX AUDIO™ creates high frequency harmonics that enhance sound quality and speech clarity of difficult to hear words or notes, and increase the perception of loudness without increasing volume. LINX AUDIO™ provides full rich sound and enhanced speech clarity even at lower volumes…”
The quality of sound is much higher than a standard Bluetooth earpiece, and I found it comparable to another brand’s over-the-ear, wired headset. For those of you with a bit more technical knowledge about audio devices, it features a 30mm speaker driver and impedance of 32Ω.
Aesthetic
The BT400 is minimal, compact and unobtrusive. The bridge between the ear pieces rests across the back of your head, out of sight and out of the way. The BT400 will be available in both black and white versions at release, and should fit any style.
Personal Impressions
This headset is great for watching movies on a tablet or phone, as one of the biggest problems for such devices is you either can’t hear it clearly, or are annoying those around you. The audio will be clear enough to hear, but will not blow out your eardrums. The microphone in the earpiece transmits with quality comparable to my existing earpiece, but had some trouble in noisier locales. This is also comparable to my existing earpiece, and likely something that would be found in any product of this variety.