Why You Can Trust CNET Motorola Elite Sliver Bluetooth Headset review: Motorola Elite Sliver Bluetooth Headset
Motorola Elite Sliver Bluetooth Headset
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
While smartphones seem to be growing bigger with each new device that hits the market, Bluetooth headsets have gone the other direction entirely. The $129.99 Motorola Elite Sliver squeezes all but the most advanced features to be found into a tiny and inconspicuous package. Read on to see if the Sliver packs enough hands-free capabilities to meet your needs.
Design
Weighing just 9 grams (0.32 of an ounce), the Motorola Elite Sliver is undeniably compact and light. It uses a wrap-around-the-ear design that, while I'm not a big fan of, isn't as cumbersome as other headsets I've reviewed recently such as the Jabra Supreme and Jabra Sport. That said, slipping the Elite Sliver into place around my ear wasn't easy, a situation that I chalk up to interference from my eyeglasses. Removing my spectacles helped, but I still had issues with the headset's earbud-style earpiece.
Encased in a gel cover, the earbud is designed to rest just outside of the ear and not sit directly in the ear canal. As a result, the headset doesn't provide a tight audio seal. Motorola is kind enough though to bundle the Elite Sliver with multiple ear gels of various sizes. That's great because I found the standard size, which also is the smallest, to be loose enough that the headset popped off of its ear loop. Swapping in the biggest gel fixed this by helping the earbud to find a better grip.
To switch on the Elite Sliver, simply rotate the lower section of its earpiece 90 degrees right or left along the arm's axis. Controls are kept to minimum with just a large call button on the bottom edge of the ear loop and what Motorola calls a Smart Key on the earpiece arm. It's made to both activate voice commands and serve as a volume button. Pressing the key quickly during calls or audio playback will toggle volume up and then down, but there's no way to choose which. Annoyingly, users have to cycle through the three levels (low, medium, and high) until they land on the right setting. What's more, I found the key small and hard to tap.
While the Elite Sliver doesn't have a port for plugging directly into AC outlets, it comes with its own case for charging the device. Even better, the case has its own battery for juicing up in the field. Motorola says that when fully charged, the case has enough power to replenish the headset's battery three times. Tiny lights on both the case and Elite Sliver indicate charging status and basic battery level in color codes of green, yellow, and red. Don't lose the case/charger, though, or you'll be in a bind.
On the whole, the case is very small and its smooth edges help it slide into pockets and bags easily when snapped shut. Both the headset and case are clad in sober black with a pleasing soft-touch finish too, a stylish look.
Features
Offering many high-end abilities, the Motorola Elite Sliver can do a lot despite its small stature. Dual microphones coupled with noise-canceling software promise clear calls under trying conditions. As a Bluetooth 3.0 device, the Sliver has a maximum range of 300 feet, it supports pairing without having to punch in tedious number codes, and it can link to two devices at once.
Voice command functions such as saying "answer" or "ignore" to accept or reject calls hands-free are on board, as well. When used with Motorola's My Motospeak Android app, the Sliver also can dictate and send text messages to contacts or simply call people directly from your address book. The software will announce the names of callers if their details are stored on your phone. To launch My Motospeak, just press the Call button and a voice will prompt you to speak your commands.
Another one of the Elite Sliver's features is the ability to shorten the Bluetooth pairing process using new-fangled NFC (near-field communication) technology. An NFC chip is embedded in the headset's case and is designed to link the Sliver to compatible smartphones just by bumping them together.
Performance
To test the Motorola Elite Sliver, I paired it with a Samsung Galaxy Nexus (Verizon) since it's a slick Android device with NFC built-in. First, I couldn't resist trying to connect the phone and headset using NFC. I followed the short directions listed in the manual; placing the Sliver into its case, and then touching the bottom of the case to the Galaxy Nexus' NFC hardware (located on the phone's back cover). The Sliver's status light turned purple, indicating that NFC communication was under way.
Sadly, though, I repeatedly received an error message saying that an "unknown tag type" was collected before pairing could begin. Motorola is aware of the issue. The company says that at the moment most phones with NFC just operate in tag mode and lack the more advanced NFC-aided skills. Apparently, if you're one of the few people in the United States who bought a Nokia N9, you'll be able to perform this trick. Everyone else is out of luck, however, until a software upgrade, perhaps.
I had more success linking the two gadgets the old-fashioned way, turning the headset on and forging a Bluetooth connection through the phone's settings menu. I had both devices talking to each other in a few seconds. Once up and running, I was treated to crystal clear calls over Verizon's CDMA network in New York. Voices sounded clean and warm. Callers on the other end had no difficulty hearing me and at times didn't realize I was chatting from a wireless headset. Even outside and walking down windy New York City streets didn't affect call quality unduly, and people I spoke to reported no degradation to audio I transmitted.
Motorola claims that the Elite Sliver has greater extended range than the average headset. In my time with the Sliver, I was able to cling to a connection at about the same distance as I did on other Bluetooth devices. That said, I was able to stay linked in rooms in my house blocked by walls and other obstacles, which had caused previous headsets to falter.
The Elite Sliver's voice command functions worked well, too; my texts were correctly transcribed. A few times, though, the headset did become confused and suggested the wrong contact name.
Motorola rates the Elite Sliver to provide over 11 days of standby time and 5 hours of talk time. According to the company, the case's battery will effectively triple this longevity (35 hours standby, 15 hours talk time). My anecdotal testing reflected these claims, and I never had to plug the Sliver back into a power outlet once during my six-day review period.
Conclusion
In all, the Motorola Elite Sliver is a compelling mono Bluetooth headset. Its $129.99 price is expensive, though, compared with other similarly capable models. For example, the Plantronics Marque M155 is lighter and costs just $40. That said, without dual mics it can't match the Elite Sliver's excellent call quality. At $100, the "="" http:="" reviews.cnet.com="" headsets="" jabra-supreme-headset="" 4505-13831_7-35107438.html"="" rel="">Jabra Supreme has great voice command features but a loose fit and a bulky size. The $129.99 "="" http:="" reviews.cnet.com="" headsets="" jawbone-era-midnight="" 4505-13831_7-34473784.html"="" rel="">Jawbone Era is still king of the consumer Bluetooth hill, which for the same price offers pristine noise canceling, HD audio, and even an accelerometer for more intuitive controls. Still, if you want a very compact headset with high-end features plus excellent battery life, the Motorola Elite Sliver is the way to go.