Product Review: BlueAnt Supertooth 3 Handsfree Car Speakerphone

[rrocket]

Well with the new law against the use of handsets in cars, Import Queen needed something so she could be handsfree in the car (she's a visitng nurse and receives a many calls a day).  She does use a Jawbone II headset, but we thought the features of the BlueAnt Supertooth 3 speakerphone deserved consideration.  So I ordered one online last weekend, and it arrived today.

Some of the very cool features are:

-Text-To-Speech announces caller name or phone number
-To answer a call, just say "Hello", "OK", etc..
-Imports your cell phones contact list for voice dialing
-Pairs with up to 8 devices so you can share or move it car to car

Anyways....this is money very well spent IMO.  I immediately ordered another one for myself!  The set-up is ridiculously easy.  Pick your language, sync your phone, import contact list, DONE.  Calls are amazingly clear (even with windows open), the voice dialing and call answer works as advertised.  And the in-car volume can be cranked WAY up so you can hear even the quietest of callers.  It's pretty small too.

Overall this is money well spent on a great product.  I would recommend to anyone.

http://www.myblueant.com/products/speakerphones/st3/index.php

[UmroAyyar]

I've been looking at BlueAnts . Now I've got to pull the plug, I have been using my cell phone's speakerphone for calls, just got to press one extra button to activate that when a call is in progress.

I don't want to microwave my brain thus no headset.

Do you have it connected to your car's stereo as well?

[Railton]

I've been using a bluetooth earpiece for a couple of years now. Overall they work well but they pick up a lot of background (automotive/tire) noise that I would like to filter out if I could for the next purchase. If the next car I purchased had integrated bluetooth in the radio so much the better but don't they also pick up background noise just the same?
Railton

[airbalancer]

I prefer at headset the sound is better
It sound like you pick up more road noise with the built in the car kind
We have bluetooth in the Prius , I rather have privacy glass instead of bluetooth built in

[rrocket]

I prefer at headset the sound is better
It sound like you pick up more road noise with the built in the car kind
We have bluetooth in the Prius , I rather have privacy glass instead of bluetooth built in

I'll disagree here to an extent.  We have the Jawbone II which is reputed to have the best sound among headsets.  The BlueAnt is every bit as good IMO.  I couldn't tell the difference between the Jawbone and BlueAnt when I called (I asked her to answer once with the jawbone and one with the BlueAnt)

Since you put the BlueAnt on your visor, the microphone and speaker is in close proximity to your face, so the sound is crystal clear. 

[TopGun]

...We have the Jawbone II which is reputed to have the best sound among headsets.
.....

People tell me the Jawbone is amazing...it uses some neat tech to cancel out noise that isn't matched to the frequency of your voice.

However, having the ear-bud in your ear for long lengths of time is painful. (Yes, i'm aware it comes with different ear-buds).

IIRC, that Jawbone wasn't cheap either...

[airbalancer]

...We have the Jawbone II which is reputed to have the best sound among headsets.
.....

People tell me the Jawbone is amazing...it uses some neat tech to cancel out noise that isn't matched to the frequency of your voice.

However, having the ear-bud in your ear for long lengths of time is painful. (Yes, i'm aware it comes with different ear-buds).

IIRC, that Jawbone wasn't cheap either...

No ear bud on my Motorola headset, I wear mine for over 8 hrs some days

[tpl]

rr  One would think a visiting nurse on duty would count as a paramedic and be allowed to use a handheld.

[rrocket]

rr  One would think a visiting nurse on duty would count as a paramedic and be allowed to use a handheld.

We think so too.  But we just can't trust the discretion of the police to be honest. 

[rrocket]

...We have the Jawbone II which is reputed to have the best sound among headsets.
.....

People tell me the Jawbone is amazing...it uses some neat tech to cancel out noise that isn't matched to the frequency of your voice.

However, having the ear-bud in your ear for long lengths of time is painful. (Yes, i'm aware it comes with different ear-buds).

IIRC, that Jawbone wasn't cheap either...

We bought Jawbone in the USA for about $70.

About the PITA earbuds...the factory ones suck.  So we have a custom made ear bud for it....

http://averysound.com/as.jawbone.html

[Giant Dwarf]

My wife's got the BlueAnt and we find the voice dialing is really crummy on it.  It seems fairly clear to hear, but the speaking part ain't great in our experience.

I have a Jawbone which I absolutely love.  I had a Blackberry bluetooth earpiece before (and my wife had a Motorola one) and both were uncomfortable and really didn't work very well at all.  The Jawbone has enough different ear-bud options (with and without the hook around the ear) that I was definitely able to find one that worked great for me.  I HIGHLY recommend the Jawbone.

[The Mighty Duck]

Now have it read my text messages and email and it'll be perfect. There actually are devices that will do the latter, but they're prohibitively expensive to buy, and include monthly fees.

I looked at the BA a while back, and while I can't justify the cost, it seems like a very nice unit. Good to hear they work as advertised.

[rrocket]

My wife's got the BlueAnt and we find the voice dialing is really crummy on it.  It seems fairly clear to hear, but the speaking part ain't great in our experience.

I have a Jawbone which I absolutely love.  I had a Blackberry bluetooth earpiece before (and my wife had a Motorola one) and both were uncomfortable and really didn't work very well at all.  The Jawbone has enough different ear-bud options (with and without the hook around the ear) that I was definitely able to find one that worked great for me.  I HIGHLY recommend the Jawbone.

I know the voice dialing is only as good as the voice dialing on your cell phone.  My old POS cell phone didn't do the voice dialing very good either...but Import Queen's top-of-the line Samsung did it fine.

And yea...the Jawbone is awesome. Buttons are kinda teeny.  We had to get the special made ear buds since her ear canal is so small....

[tpl]

Import Queen and people in similar jobs excepted.... what did you all do before cell phones??? 

I have had a handheld since 1989... the original analog Moto flip yet in those days   and I bet I have not made more than 10 calls while driving and answered another 10 in all that time.
Could it be that I managed to leave my voice mail until I arrived at the office?  Or avoided commuting on the 401 in snowstorms?

[airbalancer]

You used a pager, and make calls to the office to check for messages, try find a pay phone now 
I get more calls on my cell then the office line

[toolatecrew]

I was going to post a separate review but since I see this (hope I'm not threadjacking)

I bought one of the alternatives a few months ago:
http://www.parrot.com/usa/products/plugnplaycarkits/parrotminikitslim

Parrot Minikit Slim. I have a Jabra headset but its not very comfortable so I tended to leave it in the cup holder and slip it on if I had to take a call. Very inconvenient and you had to pull over to make a call. I was very impressed with the in car Parrot kit a friend had but it was $600 installed yikes.

I don't take and make a lot of calls. When I do they are usually yes no or I'll be there at XXXX. But I do sometimes spend 3-4 hours at a time in the car so it helps to be able to use at least a little of the time.

I picked this up for sale at the Source for $99. Like the Blue Ant I'm impressed. The thing is tiny but the speaker sounds pretty decent. No one complains about the sound on the other end. It does most of other things the Blue Ant does. Automatically syncs the phone book. VOice calling. Reads the name of incoming calls. It has a nice jog dial that allows to to search the phonebook manually or can be used to dial a number (like a 1 prompt at a voicemail not full phone numbers). Voice dialling is pretty accurate. I've had the speaker get confused twice in 2 months when it wouldn't properly sync and needed a reset or forced sync but nothing terrible.

What I don't like: Since its not wired into the car you need to charge it about once a week or so. The included cord does not reach the visor so you need to put it in the console to charge. It does NOT have the nice feature of vibration on that the Blue Ant does. If it loses Bluetooth for 5 minutes you have to turn it back on. There is no on indicator light. I'm used to it now but its a bit of a pain to have to turn it back on every time you leave the car for more than 5 minutes.

The Blue Ant looks great. The only things I'd have to recommend the Parrot over it are maybe price and if you want something more low profile.

[rrocket]

Parrot makes some fantastic plug and play systems for cars.  Automatically mutes your radio on a call, uses the cars speakers for sound, etc....

But you do pay for it....

[TopGun]

Well...I did pick up one of these...and promptly returned it.

The maximum volume was way too low when I was on the 407 (concrete).

[rrocket]

Well...I did pick up one of these...and promptly returned it.

The maximum volume was way too low when I was on the 407 (concrete).

Hmmm...is your car/tire combo that loud at highway speeds?  We actually have to turn it down some even in the POS Echo..

[Turbo Bob]

I have a blackberry HS-500 which seems to work very well for me.

http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices/accessories/wireless_headset.jsp

But to be honest seeing as using a headset is no less dangerous than holding and talking on the phone, I just try to be not contactable when in the car.  Doesn't work all the time but I only make/take high priority calls.