The Plantronics 510s w/HL10 is a Bluetooth capable headset (510s) that comes complete with a handset lifter (HL10) for remote answering and disconnect of calls. The product has 6 hours of talk time, 100 hours of standby, and up to 30 feet of range.
I received the unit yesterday as part of a demo program offer through the Plantronics Connect Partner Program.
Plantronics 510S Installation
First off I would like to thank Plantronics for supplying me with the free gear. Overall, the installation process is pretty standard. This definitely is not a gadget that needs professional installation. You start by attaching the handset lifter (HL10) to your phone using the stick adhesives on the back of the HL10, connect a few cords, and plug in the power unit. Again, very easy.
Plantronics 510S Configuration
This is where this device is a bit tricky. Once you have connected power to the device, you need to dial in the Bluetooth signal using the dial on the side of the 510s base station. This is the first thing you must do otherwise you will not be able to make anymore audio quality adjustments. The dialing in of the call quality is a tedious and time consuming affair. First off their are two different audio settings. One for listening volume, and one for speak volume. The listening volume has a fine and coarse adjustments. Located on the back and bottom of the base station. My suggestion is to get someone on the other end and spend the time to nail the quality down to perfection, especially if you are using this device in a professional setting.
Plantronics 510S Performance
This by far one of the best “tools” I have obtained. The ability to walk around my office, hands-free is outstanding. The range is at least as good as stated, and after the initial configuration, the sound is better then on any other headset I have used. One caveat I do have, though, is with the handset lifter. Due to the angle of my Polycom phone, I was forced to rubber band the handset to the handset lifter to prevent the handset from falling onto the desk. While the set-up is less then stylish, it does the job. This little tweak, though, is not enough to waiver my high opinion of the device.
Another great performance feature is the ability to use the headset with my Motorola cell phone and in conjunction with a laptop softphone. It is a painless process that involves holding down two buttons simultenously, then searching for the device on your phone or laptop.
Plantronics 510S Review Summary
With a street price of over $200 USD, the Platronics 510s w/ HL10 will be a hard pill to swallow for some non-tech consumers. They device though, from a quality and performance standpoint is worth every penny. The ability to work hands free with a decent range away from your desk, as welll as my ability to use this with my Motorola cell phone will make this device a permenent ear fixture. To pick up your own Platronics 510s w/ HL10 stop by VoIPSupply.com
The Polycom IP 650 with High Definition Voice is the future of phone technology. Move over Cisco, I think Polycom has set the IP phone bar with the Polycom IP650. I got a chance to check it out at the VON show today and all I can say is WOW! I have used almost every phone out there and this one was above and beyond all the others. The Polycom IP650 features Polycom’s revolutionary HD Voice which enables life-like interactivity, richness, and clarity of voice communications. The Polycom IP 650 features six line appearances, integrated PoE support, XHTML microbrowser, a USB port (for future applications, most likely a print server, but a fax over IP server would be sweet!), a backlit 320×160 graphical greyscale LCD, and support for up to three SoundPoint IP expansion modules for scalability of up to 24 simultaneous calls on 12 lines. The Polycom IP650 has an MSRP of $449, and I estimate the street price to be $349 when the IP650 hits the market in early Q4.
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