Bose Bluetooth Headset Unboxing & Hands-On

When we first spotted the Bose Bluetooth Headset last month, we said it would have to do a lot in order to live up to both the $150 price tag and the PR hyperbole. It seems Bose took that as a challenge, since as of today the headset is fresh to the SlashGear test bench. Check out our first-impressions after the cut.

In the box there's the headset itself – a lightweight 12g unit – together with three different sizes of "StayHear" ear buds, a soft carry case, USB charging cable and a USB AC adapter. There's no ear-hook; instead, the ear buds have a truncated hook section which presses against the curves of the ear and holds the headset in place. It's more discrete, certainly, and comfortable to wear with glasses, but it does mean the Bose is only suitable for the right ear.

Setup is as straightforward as any recent Bluetooth headset, and the Bose supports Multipoint so you can have connections with two devices simultaneously; useful if you want to pair your phone but also have a VoIP conversation on your computer. Interestingly, what you don't get is any sort of complex active noise reduction; instead there's a mixture of "adaptive audio adjustment" to tweak earpiece volume according to ambient noise, and a "noise rejecting microphone" that relies on the housing design rather than electronics to cut down on hiss.

We'll be putting that system though its paces and checking to see whether it can live up to polished DSP tech from rivals like Aliph and Plantronics in time for the full SlashGear review. Until then, enjoy the unboxing video!

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