Electronics Get Smaller but No Less Effective

For many years, I resisted the idea of a cell phone that did anything but make and receive calls. These days, it has become literally impossible to find such a basic phone, so I shopped for features I could really use. Being a long-range commuter, I decided that the Bluetooth capacity would be handy and wound up buying the Samsung WEP200 Bluetooth Headset to compliment my new Bluetooth 2.0 compliant cell phone. It is genuinely wonderful!

The Need

Being a long-range commuter, I am on my cell phone a great deal. Until just recently, I had it connected via a wired headset while driving to keep both my hands free for driving the car. One or twice, recently, the wire got entangled inn the steering wheel leading to near disasters. I began to think about Bluetooth, the technology that allows for a wireless connection between your cell phone and a headset/earpiece that combines the ability to both listen and speak without wires running around the front of the car. So, I was driven to explore it by two issues. 1) My curiosity about technology and 2) the need to feel safer while driving and using my sell phone. I found my way to the WEP200.

The Search and The Choice

There are hundreds of Bluetooth devices on the market. Most major manufacturers of both cell phones and peripherals offer them. There is no shortage to choose between. One of the first thing I learned, however, is that there are several basic types of Bluetooth wireless devices. Firstly, some are powered by batteries that need to be periodically replaced while others are electronically recharged using a 'permanent' Li-ion battery; Secondly, there are two generations of these devices. The older ones are versions compliant with Bluetooth 1.2 or 1.2. The newer ones are compliant with Bluetooth version 2.0. The versions must be compatible or they simply don't work. The Samsung WEP200 is a Bluetooth Version 2.0 compliant device.

A special caution here. Many consumers seem aware of this and are jumping at the current tsunami of retail bargains on the older versions, only having to return them when they discover that their technology is not compliant with their new phones, and finally 3) They come in varying sizes, from those extending a couple of inched from your ear and having loops to secure them to much smaller units, measuring about one inch and weighing only 9 grams. After a good deal of research, I opted for the Samsung WEP200, a tiny unit that plugs into you ear (no loops or holders,) is powered by a recharging unit and weighs only 9 grams, rendering it nearly unfelt in my ear.

Remarkable Features and Performance

The Samsung WEP200 weighs, as I said, only 9 grams (about 1/3 of an ounce.) It is amazing that being as small as it is, with the microphone only about an inch in front of the earplug, that the people I speak with using it tell me I sound as clear as though I were on a hard line! Fully charged (which takes about 2 hours), it will provide up to 70 hours of standby (turned on but not being used) time and about 4 hours of actual talk time. With an adapter, you can also recharge it in your car. It comes equipped with a travel plug-in charger.

Conveniently, the case doubles as a charging unit. I just put in in the box when I get home and plug it in. It is always ready and the battery never needs to be replaced.

It is very easy to set up and use. There are only three buttons on the unit. The main one controls the on/off and answer/end call functions as well as call waiting, voice activation and other special features you may have and two small volume adjustment buttons that do exactly what the name implies. It took about five minutes to successfully pair it with my new Bluetooth compatible phone (a Nokia 6085 from ATT) and it works precisely, reliably and without flaw.

An Honest Surprise

Although I am an admitted fan of technology, I am suspicious about a lot of it. When I buy something I am new to, I half expect to have to return it. When it works exactly as advertised, I feel that I have won a prize. This is the situation with the Samsung WEP200. It does what it claims and does it well.

If you are moving toward considering a Bluetooth version 2.0 headset for your cell phone or other Bluetooth equipped devices, give the Samsung WEP200 a try. I don't think you will be disappointed