Samsung WEP470 (Black) review: Samsung WEP470 (Black)

Just as with cell phones, Samsung makes Bluetooth headsets for every budget, from the high-end to the low-end. The Samsung WEP470 is certainly one of the latter, but that doesn't mean it's not a decent headset. It has noise-canceling capabilities, automatic volume control, and it's comfortable, as well. The WEP470 is also quite affordable at only $39.95 retail.

7.0

Samsung WEP470 (Black)

The Good

The Samsung WEP470 is a simple, comfortable, and affordable Bluetooth headset. It has a dedicated power switch, and pretty good noise and echo cancellation.

The Bad

The Samsung WEP470 has an uninteresting design and requires an ear hook for stability. We also would have liked additional ear bud covers.

The Bottom Line

For the price, the Samsung WEP470 is a decent headset for everyday use.

The Samsung WEP470 is a cheap headset and it makes no pretensions otherwise. Measuring just 1.7 inches long by 0.75 inch wide by 0.43 inch thick, the WEP470 is blocky and rectangular and won't call too much attention to itself thanks to its size and dull looks. Right on the front of the headset is the multifunction call button. It sits just above a thin line that houses the LED indicator. The button is big enough and is easy to press. The volume rocker is on the left side while the charger jack and power switch are on the right. The dedicated power toggle makes it easier to power the headset on and off, instead of having to hold down the multifunction button like on most other headsets.

When you turn the headset over, you'll find a simple, small earpiece that sits just at the opening of the ear. There's a rubber coating around it so it feels comfortable. We would have appreciated different sizes of ear bud covers for different-size ears. Even though the Samsung WEP470 does fit comfortably, it doesn't feel very secure. We definitely recommend using the included optional ear hook for additional stability.

We paired the Samsung WEP470 with the Apple iPhone 3G. The pairing process was very smooth and we didn't even need to enter the PIN-pairing code--this may depend on your phone, though. The call quality was quite good for the most part. On our end, we heard our callers just fine, but we did encounter intermittent static buzz. Still, their voices sounded natural and volume was good.

On their end, callers could hear us loud and clear most of the time. This was especially true in a quiet office environment, where background noise was minimal. In a moving vehicle, though, callers said they could hear a bit of background hum. Similarly, it didn't cut out all the environmental noise when we were in a busy cafe. The WEP470 also does not do well with wind noise; conversations were close to impossible in particularly windy conditions. However, in most normal everyday situations, the WEP470 did just fine with noise and echo canceling. Callers also said voice quality was natural and almost of landline quality in the best situations.

The Samsung WEP470 features the normal capabilities to answer, end, and reject calls, as well as last number redial, call mute, and the option to transfer calls from the headset to the phone and vice versa. It has a rated battery life of 6 hours talk time and 8.3 days standby time.