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Plantronics headset and speaker add PC support

The Voyager Legend UC and Calisto 620 bring let you listen to mobile or PC audio, over the ear, or from across the room.

Daniel Terdiman Former Senior Writer / News
Daniel Terdiman is a senior writer at CNET News covering Twitter, Net culture, and everything in between.
Daniel Terdiman
Plantronics' Voyager Legend UC headphones allow users to listen to music or make VoIP calls from mobile devices or PCs. Daniel Terdiman/CNET

LAS VEGAS--Plantronics has long had Bluetooth-compatible headsets and speakers, but people with PCs have largely been left out of the party.

Until now. At CES this week, Plantronics is showing a wide array of its headphones and speakers, many of which focus exclusively on Bluetooth compatibility. But with the Voyager Legend UC and the Calisto 620, PC users wanting to listen to their favorite music on their mobile devices or wanting to make VoIP calls from their PCs can play along.

The Voyager Legend UC case offers users two additional charges for their headphones. Daniel Terdiman/CNET

With its Voyager Legend UC headphones, Plantronics is now offering the ability to listen in on audio from mobile devices, and to make calls through services like Skype, Tango, or Vonage wirelessly, a step up from its previously released Voyager Legend. While the headphones use Bluetooth to connect with mobile devices, it works along with a plug-in dongle that attaches to a computer's USB port, allowing for a Bluetooth connection, regardless of whether the PC has native Bluetooth.

Plantronics is also touting the functionality of the Voyager Legend UC's case -- an odd thing for a company not named Apple. But it makes sense given that the case has a built-in charger that lets users power up their headphones two additional times.

The Calisto 620 offers speaker functionality for mobile devices and PC. Daniel Terdiman/CNET

At the same time, Plantronics' Calisto 620 offers similar functionality -- for a wireless speaker. Users can connect it wirelessly to their mobile devices, or wirelessly via a similar plug-in dongle to a PC, allowing them to listen to VoIP calls on a speaker.