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Best Bluetooth headsets of 2010 (photos)

CNET has compiled a list of the best Bluetooth headsets we reviewed in 2010.

Nicole Lee
Nicole Lee is a senior associate editor for CNET, covering cell phones, Bluetooth headsets, and all things mobile. She's also a fan of comic books, video games, and of course, shiny gadgets.
Nicole Lee
1 of 10 Aliph

Aliph Jawbone Icon

The good: The Aliph Jawbone Icon comes in a variety of beautiful jewellike designs; it has a dedicated on/off switch; and it comes with several ear-fit options. It has many advanced features, including an iPhone battery meter, and is highly customizable with certain Audio and Dial "apps" via Jawbone's own MyTalk Web site. It has amazing sound quality and excellent cancellation of wind noise.

The bad: The Aliph Jawbone Icon doesn't have a manual volume rocker and the ear fit could be a bit more comfortable.

The bottom line: Not only is the Aliph Jawbone Icon attractive and affordable with great call quality, but it is also highly customizable with advanced features that make it one of the most innovative Bluetooth headsets we've seen to date.

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2 of 10 Plantronics

Plantronics Voyager Pro Plus

The good: The Plantronics Voyager Pro Plus has a very comfortable fit, and has a dedicated power switch, a volume rocker, and a swiveling boom mic. It has multipoint, A2DP streaming, voice alerts, a battery meter when paired with an iPhone, and access to Plantronics Vocalyst, an automated phone service that lets you send e-mail, texts, and even tweets with just your voice. Audio quality and wind noise reduction are very good.

The bad: The Plantronics Voyager Pro Plus is quite bulky, and might not fit comfortably for those who wear glasses. The Vocalyst service is only free for the first year, plus you have to upgrade to the Pro level to get the speech-to-text feature.

The bottom line: The Plantronics Voyager Pro Plus may not be the most stylish headset, but its features and performance more than make up for it.

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3 of 10 Motorola

Motorola Finiti

The good: The Motorola Finiti has "stealth mode," a bone conduction technology that completely blocks out environmental noise. It also has features like multipoint, A2DP streaming, voice controls, and compatibility with an Android app that reads out incoming text messages. Call quality is excellent.

The bad: The Motorola Finiti has a tiny multipurpose call button. The MotoSpeak app is currently only for Android and could be improved. Voices in stealth mode sound a little overly processed.

The bottom line: The Motorola Finiti is a definite improvement over its predecessor, with lots of high-end features and amazing audio quality.

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4 of 10 BlueAnt

BlueAnt Q2

The good: The BlueAnt Q2 is slim and slender, with an impressive voice control interface that includes text-to-speech and access to Bing 411 services. It also has A2DP streaming, multipoint connectivity, and amazing sound quality.

The bad: The BlueAnt Q2 has very tiny physical controls, and there are quite a number of commands to remember.

The bottom line: The BlueAnt Q2 is yet another BlueAnt winner, with new Bing 411 features and fantastic call quality even in windy situations.

5 of 10 Sound ID

Sound ID 510

The good: The Sound ID 510 is a slim and lightweight headset with a discreet, minimalist design. It comes with different-size ear loops that feel comfortable in the ear, and we like the dedicated power toggle. The Sound ID 510 has a dedicated iPhone app that adds features like Personal Sound mode, Environmental mode, and a headset locator. It offers great audio quality as well.

The bad: Special features like the Personal Sound mode and the headset locator are available only with the iPhone app; Android and BlackBerry owners will have to wait for their own apps, whereas nonsmartphone users might never have these features at all. We also prefer physical volume controls to the touch sensor.

The bottom line: Combined with the iPhone app, the Sound ID 510 is a truly excellent Bluetooth headset for iPhone owners.

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6 of 10 Plantronics

Plantronics Savor M1100

The good: The Plantronics Savor M1100 is small, lightweight, and comfortable to wear, and has a dedicated power switch plus a dedicated voice recognition button. It features multipoint, A2DP streaming, voice alerts, and access to Plantronics Vocalyst, an automated phone service that lets you send e-mail, texts, and even tweets just with your voice. The overall audio quality is fantastic as well.

The bad: The Plantronics Savor M1100 only has a single volume button. The Vocalyst service is only free for the first year, plus you have to upgrade to the Pro level to get the speech-to-text feature.

The bottom line: The Plantronics Savor M1100 is a powerful little headset with great features, excellent audio quality, and an affordable price tag to boot.

7 of 10 Jabra

Jabra Extreme

The good: The Jabra Extreme's features include multipoint technology and A2DP compatibility. It has a dedicated power switch, and the call quality is excellent.

The bad: The Jabra Extreme has small volume controls, and it didn't feel very comfortable in the ear.

The bottom line: Despite our fit issues, the Jabra Extreme's advanced features, excellent noise cancellation, and affordable price tag make it a great Bluetooth headset.

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8 of 10 Motorola

Motorola CommandOne

The good: The Motorola CommandOne has multipoint, A2DP streaming, and voice prompts, and it's compatible with an Android app that will read out incoming text messages, which you can reply to via voice. It has a headset battery meter on the iPhone. Call quality is quite good.

The bad: The Motorola CommandOne's multipurpose call button is tiny. The MotoSpeak app is currently available only for Android, and it doesn't always work depending on your phone or the length of the message.

The bottom line: The Motorola CommandOne is overall a great Bluetooth headset with plenty of features, but the MotoSpeak app could be improved.

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9 of 10 BlueAnt

BlueAnt T1

The good: The BlueAnt T1 is a durable and rugged headset with a great voice user interface. Its features include A2DP streaming, multipoint, and the announcement of incoming caller names. Also, its wind noise cancellation is fantastic.

The bad: The BlueAnt T1 is a bit bulkier than its predecessors were, and the caller name announcement could be perfected.

The bottom line: With its sturdy build, voice features, and excellent audio quality, the T1 is BlueAnt's best headset yet.

10 of 10 Motorola

Motorola H790

The good: The Motorola H790 is slim and easy to use, and has multipoint technology. We also like the power slider and the comfortable fit in the ear. It has good call quality as well.

The bad: The Motorola H790's call button is a little hard to press, and the buttons might be too skinny for some.

The bottom line: The Motorola H790 is an attractive and affordable headset with good sound quality.

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