Ever Win SLX-800 Bluetooth Headset review: Ever Win SLX-800 Bluetooth Headset

Ever Win isn't a household name in Bluetooth headsets, but they have been selling their Bluetooth headsets in Cingular stores for quite a while now. The Ever Win SLX-800 Bluetooth headset is one such headset, and although it looks rather basic from the surface, it has a slider boom mic that turns the headset on when extracted and turns it off when retracted. This helps the headset maintain a long battery life when not in use. Though we weren't too pleased with some background noise during calls and a loose fit around the ear, the SLX-800 is still a pretty decent headset, especially for only $59.99 each.

The Ever Win SLX-800 Bluetooth headset has quite a minimalist design. Clad in black plastic with silver accents, the SLX-800 is long and slender (2.2x0.6x0.9 inch) and weighs less than an ounce. Right in the middle of the headset is the aforementioned slider boom mic that can be slid out to activate the headset and slid back in to turn it off. The slider was very easy to slide out and in; with a slight click that locks it in place after either action. Along with turning the headset on and off, the sliding boom mic can also be used to answer and end calls; extracting it will automatically turn the headset on and answer an incoming call, while retracting the slider will terminate a call and automatically turn the headset off.

When the slider is extracted, a silver area is revealed, and it is this whole area that acts as the multi-function button. To the right of the button is a blue LED, and to the left of it is a red LED. While the multi-function button isn't too tactile, it's located in a slight divot that makes it easy to find and press when the headset is worn on the ear. On the left and right spine are the volume buttons, which are sufficiently raised above the surface and are easy to press as well. On the back of the headset is a rather flat earpiece that rests gently against the ear canal instead of fitting inside it. There's also a swiveling ear loop with a flexible tip, so it fits easily around the ear and can be worn on either ear. However, because the earpiece is so flat, the headset felt quite loose around the ear, and we had to constantly check to see if it was securely in place.

We tested the headset with the T-Mobile Sidekick 3 and the Sony Ericsson Z10i. We paired the headset successfully with both devices, but be sure to read the manual regarding the pairing process. While we heard our callers just fine with the headset, callers reported a lot of ambient background noise when we were speaking, and this was just in a quiet office environment. Features of the SLX-800 include answering, ending, and rejecting calls; muting calls; last number redial; switching between two active calls; and a low battery status indicator. The Ever Win SLX-800 Bluetooth headset has a rated talk time of up to 8 hours and a rated standby time of about 6 days.