Latest Podcast



Featured Articles

Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

UK service providers must notify customers when they connect to a different network

New rules from UK telecoms regulator Ofcom will protect customers when they use their mobile phone on a foreign network. In addition, customers will be alerted if they are inadvertently roaming, perhaps because they're near an international border.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Global smartphone market is set for recovery, says new forecast

A new forecast from research specialists Canalys shows the smartphone market is set to recover next year. Worldwide shipments declined by 12% last year but that decline is expected to slow to 5% this year.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

New Hutchison/Vodafone network would be biggest UK operator

Vodafone Group plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited have agreed to combine their UK telecommunication businesses, respectively Vodafone UK and Three UK. The merger will create a large new network operator to compete with Virgin Media O2 and EE.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

UK mobile payment service Paym to close in March 2023

UK mobile payment service Paym will close on 7th March 2023. The service, which allowed users to make and receive payments using their mobile phone numbers, was launched in 2014.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Which? seeks payout for Samsung and Apple smartphone owners

Consumer protection organisation Which? has been given permission by the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal to represent Apple and Samsung smartphone buyers in a legal case against chip manufacturer Qualcomm.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS

Opinion Articles

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Movon MB80 Bluetooth handsfree wristband review

Mark Bridge writes:

I’m always on the lookout for technology that’ll make life easier. That’s one of the reasons the Movon MB80 caught my eye. It’s a Bluetooth handsfree unit that you wear on your wrist. The MB80 is designed for the times your phone’s not convenient and you don’t want to miss a call – but you also don’t want to wear a Bluetooth headset. Perhaps you’re playing sports or are out for an evening with friends. The Movon Bluetooth wristband rings or vibrates when someone calls – and then can be used as a handsfree loudspeaker.

I first saw this advertised by Elite Mobile – and, as someone who feels a bit self-conscious wearing a headset, I was interested to see how practical it really was – so I asked them if I could borrow one.

Movon MB80 handsfree speakerphone in packagingWell, when it turned up I was rather impressed. It comes in a transparent plastic box with a cardboard sleeve on the bottom part – I was expecting a blister pack. That bottom part is actually a cardboard box containing the microUSB mains charger and a user guide. Once you’ve removed the cardboard packaging, the side of the plastic box opens and you’re in.

The unit itself was a little lighter than I’d expected; it’s made of silver/grey plastic with a black strap and a little chrome edging. On the left-hand side are volume controls and there’s a charging socket under a little rubber flap; on the front is a small loudspeaker grille, a single button and a tiny LED – and on the right-hand side is a hole for the microphone.

First step – put it on to charge. The LED glows red and turns blue when it’s fully charged.

Pairing it with a phone is as easy as with most Bluetooth headsets. And this isn’t just a handsfree device, it’s also compatible with A2DP music and has AVRCP, which means it can even be used as a remote control for a Bluetooth music player. As well as that, it can work as a kind of security tag because it’ll warn you when your phone is out of Bluetooth range (which admittedly means a 10-metre start for any thief!)

It promises 4 hours maximum talk time and up to 160 hours of standby – that’s almost a week – and is class 2 Bluetooth, which gives you a maximum range of about 10 metres.

So that’s the spec – how does it work in real life?

Well, once my charging had finished, I hit the streets.

Movon MB80 Bluetooth bracelet being usedThere’s a gap in the strap, so you just stretch the bracelet over your wrist and it holds itself in place. Because it’s not heavy, it doesn’t feel uncomfortable and it slipped under the sleeve of my jumper although I did wonder what other people would think I was wearing if they saw it.

I use my mobile in my left hand and wear a Bluetooth headset on my left ear when I’m driving so I wore the wrist-strap on my left wrist. I don’t wear a watch very often, so that didn’t cause me a problem and it felt perfectly natural – although on a couple of occasions I looked at it expecting it to tell me the time.

The basic controls are pretty much as you’d guess: a long push on the button switches the MB80 on or off, a single press is for answering, making and ending calls. A quick press on the button redials the last person you called; my first thought was that I’d end up redialling people by accident – and, sure enough, I did… but only once. You can also redial the last person who called you, you can mute the mic during calls, you can mute the speaker during calls, you can reject calls… it’s very versatile, although some of the key press combinations took me a little while to remember.

And although there’s no display screen on the bracelet, you can make it speak the caller’s number – assuming they’re using caller ID – by pressing the volume key when someone calls. It means there’d be a bit of a delay before you answered but at least you can screen your calls if you want.

“And what are those calls like?” I hear you ask.

Well, I didn’t get off to a good start. I received a call from a friend at a railway station and they couldn’t hear me at all. I could hear them but it seemed as though the MB80 was confused by the background noise. The same happened with the next call, which was from another friend at a coffee shop. But then I turned the volume down and things seemed much better. Incidentally, the volume control seemed to be upside-down to me – you push the bottom of the rocker switch to increase the volume and the top to decrease it.

Movon MB80 reviewI also found that the MB80 worked well in the car. You’re not holding anything, so I don’t see any problem with the legality, and call quality was fine.

In general, usability was pretty good – and pretty intuitive. There were, as I’ve mentioned, one or two aspects of the design that didn’t suit me but overall I’d be pretty happy with my investment if I’d bought one. Noisy situations can cause it problems, but no handsfree speakerphone works as well as talking directly into a handset.

So, to summarise, the Movon MB80 isn’t a substitute for a watch phone – because the average watch phone needs a headset as well. But it could be a convenient alternative to a Bluetooth headset. Unlike wearing a headset, you don’t feel as self-conscious when you’re walking and not talking – although with the Bluetooth wriststrap it is (of course) nigh-on impossible to have a private conversation.

The current retail price seems to be around £40; mine came direct from Elite Mobile who are one of the UK’s biggest mobile phone and accessory distributors.

Print
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Rate this article:
No rating

Categories: OpinionNumber of views: 22250

Tags:

Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Recent Podcasts

From CES to customer service, we talk about all the latest mobile tech news

Podcast - 8th January 2014

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return with their first mobile industry podcast of 2014.

This week they're looking at new Samsung, Sony and ZTE products from CES, they're talking about Android embedded in cars, they're catching up with the latest news from BlackBerry, they're discussing cheque payments by smartphone, they're revealing complaint data from Ofcom and they're investigating quite a few other stories as well.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

We make our mobile industry predictions for 2014 and review our end-of-year forecasts from 2013

Podcast - 18th December 2013

It's our last podcast of the year, which is the traditional time for us to predict what'll be happening in the mobile phone industry during the next 12 months... from forthcoming consumer technology to deals between network operators.

As well as making our 2014 predictions, we'll also be reviewing those we made last year and discovering how accurate our forecasts for 2013 really were.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Bill shock, cheaper roaming, court injunctions, satellites, shopping and loads more mobile industry news

Podcast - 11th December 2013

This week we're talking about a UK government deal to prevent bill shock, good news for some UK consumers visiting the USA, a court threat to HTC sales, new high-speed satellite broadband, mobile search, mobile shopping and much more.

Join Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge for an informed and entertaining look at all the major mobile industry news stories from the past seven days.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Sailfish smartphones, shopping, security, spectrum shortages and several supplementary stories

Podcast - 4th December 2013

It's been a week of diverse mobile headlines in which Jolla started selling its Sailfish smartphone, mobile shopping broke records and BlackBerry's CEO looked to the future.

We're also talking about smartphones for seniors, battery life, a looming spectrum shortage, phone theft and Sony's Smart Wig. Something for everyone, surely!

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

We interview James Atkins of UK-based smartphone manufacturer Kazam

Podcast - 29th November 2013

In today's programme we're talking to James Atkins, co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of smartphone manufacturer Kazam.

The company launched earlier this year and has just announced its first seven Android-based handsets. James explains the story behind Kazam's creation, the company ethos, its product range and its plans for the future.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
First910111214161718Last

Follow thefonecast.com

Twitter @TheFonecast RSS podcast feed
Find us on Facebook Subscribe free via iTunes

Archive Calendar

«November 2024»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
28293031123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
2526272829301
2345678

Archive

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement