Review: BlueTrek BIZZ Bluetooth Headset

Most bluetooth headsets do one thing and they do that one thing well: wirelessly relay voice to and from your phone, though there are some like the BlueTrek BIZZ bluetooth headset that aim for something more. While there are all sorts of more advanced features available, like voice dialing and noise cancellation, they’re still meant to enhance the call-making experience. Every now and then we get a headset that veers away from the area of pure voice to something markedly different. And in that area we find the BlueTrek BIZZ Bluetooth Headset and its mighty morphin’ USB thumb drive alter ego.

Voice Quality

Now, before we get to that crazy USB thing, we’ve got to cover the main reason you buy the headset, and that’s voice quality, both yours and the guy on the other end of the line. Disappointing is the kindest way to describe the BlueTrek BIZZ’s voice quality. Callers reported that I sounded muffled and almost plasticky, while I was met with similar results from the headset’s speaker.

And to make it worse, the reception between my Pre and the BIZZ was abysmal (and I know it’s not the Pre, since it works just fine with several other headsets). “How abysmal?” you ask. Let me run down the list of things I could not do because of the reception issues: Holster my Pre on the opposite side of my body from the headset (complete transmission black-out), move more than ten feet away with a direct line of site (black-out), cover the phone with my hand (static cut-outs), or move my head or the phone (more static). Really, it was that bad. Looking at the opinions of others on the interwebs, I know I’m not alone. Given the invisible line-of-sight tether that the BIZZ has to the Pre, you may as well just go with a wired headset and know your limits.

Controls

Interestingly, the BlueTrek BIZZ one-ups the control simplicity of headsets like the Jawbone Prime by getting by with just one button. It’s the standard power/call button and turning on and off and answering and ending calls is just about all it does. If you want to adjust the volume, you’re going to have to do it from the Pre. That one button is curiously under rubber cover of sorts that requires a good solid push to activate. This isn’t a problem if you’re holding the headset in your hand, but when it’s on your ear you have to maintain a firm grip on the headset to be sure you’re making the contact that you want. The stiffness of the button really comes into play when you’re trying to pair the headset, as you need to hold it down for seven whole seconds to enter pairing mode (most every other headset enters pair mode when you first turn it on, not this one).

Functionality

So, that USB drive function? Well, it works. And I should not, it’s not just a USB flash drive, it’s technically a Micro SD card reader (the headset ships with a pre-installed 512 MB Micro SD card). Of course, since your Pre doesn’t have a Micro SD slot like many believe it should, this functionality isn’t exactly a spectacular boon for Pre owners. Nonetheless, once you pull of the cap and speaker on the back, it mounts onto your computer just like any other USB drive would. Laptop owners should take notice though that the width of the headset may cause it to cut into the space around your other USB ports, a six-inch USB extension cable is included to make plugging in a tad easier. The card includes a number of files, including help files and a tacky CG demonstration video, the latter of which strikes me as silly since you’ve obviously figured out how to use the USB functionality because you had to plug it in to find the video.

Comfort

The BlueTrek BIZZ ships with two plastic ear hooks and four ear gels, no combination of which I found particularly comfortable for longer than ten minutes. It didn’t help that the USB and Micro SD mechanisms added some extra weight. The gels simply were not at all forgiving, to call them gels is a disservice to proper ear squishies everywhere; these are thin rubber sheaths that you stretch over the large hard plastic speaker insert. The two plastic ear hooks are incredibly narrow and unforgiving; after just a few minutes they started digging into the back of my ear and I had to remove them for any semblance of extended comfort.

Style

Stylistically speaking, the BlueTrek BIZZ isn’t anything to right home about. It’s not particularly large or small, nor subdued or outrageous. It’s just sort of there. The front and back are topped in shiny black plastic, flanking the black rubber button, which itself is ringed by a matte silver surround. The headset’s three LED indicators are concealed beneath the forward shiny black plastic. There’s a green LED that lights up when charging, red for data transfer (though it appears more brown through the plastic), and blue for phone activity. The blue light only blinks when you’re on a call, and only every ten seconds at that. The only way to tell if the headset is on when you’re not using it is to check our Pre (connected headsets show up in the Bluetooth Preferences app as bold and with a phone icon). There’s an unexplained indentation at the front - it's not a button, and it doesn’t help with grip when trying to remove the USB cap. My only true qualm on the style side is the vertical stripes the plastic created by surrounding the button; they make the headset seem much taller and fatter than it really is.

In the Box

The highlight of the BlueTrek BIZZ is all the goodies it ships with. In the box you’ll find the quick start guide, an extra thick six inch USB extension cable, 12 volt to USB auto adapter, the BIZZ itself with pre-installed 512 MB Micro SD card, three additional ear gels, an extra ear hook, and a lanyard with quick attach clip for the headset if you’re into such things. I recommend you not be.

Conclusion

The BlueTrek BIZZ bluetooth headset tries to be a jack-of-two-trades and falls flat. That’s not to say that headset makers shouldn’t try to add more functionality to their devices, but it can’t be at the expense of the headset’s core functionality: wireless call making. The voice quality on the BIZZ was simply not good for both callers and that’s only when you could get good reception by practically holding the Pre right next to the headset. While the addition of a USB drive/Micro SD card reader is a novel “gee-whiz!” feature, it simply isn’t worth the loss of decent phone functionality.

The BlueTrek BIZZ Bluetooth Headset is available in the PreCentral store for $59.95, a savings of 33% off the list price of $89.95.