Motorola H680 review: Motorola H680

Motorola has usually had a healthy cell phone accessory lineup to complement its cell phones, especially with Bluetooth headsets like the Motorola H9 Miniblue and the Motorola H700. Recently, Motorola has released yet another tiny Bluetooth headset, dubbed the Motorola H680. Though not quite as small as the Miniblue, it's still a very petite headset, and it boasts style and elegance, complete with a plastic-covered charging cradle that doubles as a case. The Motorola H680 is available for $89.99.

The Motorola H680 is definitely among one of the more stylish Bluetooth headsets we've seen. Clad in vacuum metal and a black-gloss finish, the H680 only weighs 0.42 ounce, and measures 1.61 inches by 0.7 inch by 0.47 inch in a slightly narrow rectangular design. On the front is a large multifunction button that stands out from the surface of the headset, making it easy to press by feel. On the right spine are the nice-and-big volume controls, while a power switch is on top of the headset. We like the dedicated power switch a lot, as it is much easier to turn on and off the device.

On the back of the headset are a simple in-ear rubber earpiece and a plastic flexible ear hook. The earpiece is slightly tapered to fit more securely in the ear, and the ear hook can be adjusted to fit either ear. We thought the tapered rubber earpiece felt a little awkward to place in the ear, but it was overall a decent fit. That said, we would've liked it to feel a bit more secure, perhaps with a smaller-size earpiece.

The Motorola H680 comes with a portable charging cradle with a plastic cover. The headset can be kept in the cradle to prolong its battery life as well.

We tested the Motorola H680 Bluetooth headset with the RIM BlackBerry Pearl. We were able to pair the headset without any problem, as the headset went into pairing mode immediately after we powered it on. Call quality was a little patchy. We sometimes found ourselves repeating things to callers, because of some off and on static and background noise. We heard our callers' just fine in most situations, except in windier environments. We wouldn't say the sound quality was bad, but it could stand some improvement.

Features of the Motorola H680 are fairly standard. You have the typical answering, receiving, and ending calls, call mute, voice-dial support, and the ability to transfer calls from the phone to the headset and vice versa.

The Motorola H680 has a rated talk time of 8 hours and a rated standby time of 8 days.