Why You Can Trust CNET Plantronics SAVI Office Headset Microsoft review: Plantronics SAVI Office Headset Microsoft
Plantronics SAVI Office Headset Microsoft
Plantronics has been in the headset game for a long time, and not just with Bluetooth headsets. The company has quite a burgeoning business with office and enterprise products too. These include its Plantronics Calisto Pro series from a couple years ago, and the more recent Savi Office system, which works with landline and VoIP connections. Plantronics recently released an improved version of the Savi headset called the Savi 440, or W440-M. It has essentially the same features as before, but in an updated design.
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Note that the Plantronics Savi W440-M is not a Bluetooth headset--it is a wireless headset for use with DECT 6.0 technology. Plantronics provides a DECT USB adapter for use with a PC. The Savi W440-M retails for $279.99, which sounds pricey, but it's on par with other enterprise-level products.
Design
The Plantronics Savi W440-M headset is definitely an upgrade over its predecessor. It retains the same black and chrome color scheme to keep things looking professional, but it's decidedly more stylish and polished. It comes with a base docking unit that measures around 4 inches tall by 3.75 inches deep by 1.5 inches wide, with a small footprint that won't take up much room on your desk. On the front is an LED indicator, while in the middle is a magnetic charging unit for the headset. The docking unit comes with an AC adapter.
The headset is where most of the magic happens. Instead of a large clunky unit, the Savi W440-M headset has a small capsule as its control center, with a long and skinny boom mic attached. On the front of the capsule is the small one-touch answer and end button, while the volume rocker sits on the top. The rocker can be pressed down for mute or flash functionality. Also on the front is a tiny LED indicator. The aforementioned boom mic curves slightly inward to match the curvature of the face.
The Savi W440-M headset has several wearing styles. One is the traditional headset style with the optional ear hook, and the W440-M comes with three different-size hooks. The second is attached to a large telemarketer-style headband. The third is a neckband that you wear behind your head. The headset also comes with several different earbud gels to suit your comfort level. Overall, we found the fit very comfortable no matter which option we chose.
Along with the docking station, Plantronics supplied a USB charger. As mentioned above, there is also a DECT 6.0 USB adapter that you can use with a PC or a Mac. With the Mac, you will not get call control features, but volume and mute will still work.
Features and performance
The Plantronics Savi W440-M has essentially the same features as the Savi Office system, so we won't belabor the details here. There are a few notable differences, however. For one, the Savi W440-M is for use with a PC, not a traditional phone line. Like a Savi Office device, you can use it with a variety of softphones or VoIP solutions, with presence status support for Microsoft Lync/OCS and Skype. The headset battery status will show in the PC icon tray. Some basic features include call management, flash, and instant mute. It will also pause audio when a call comes in, and resume the audio when the call ends. You can use the flash feature to handle multiple calls too.
We tested our unit out with a desktop PC and the included USB adapter. We were overall very pleased with the audio quality, as callers' voices sounded absolutely pristine. Our callers said we sounded great as well. There was sometimes a bit of lag, but that had more to do with our Internet connection.
Conclusions
While the Plantronics Savi W440-M doesn't offer too many feature improvements over its predecessor, its new design and style do make it more pleasant to use. Performance was excellent, and though we regret that the Savi W440-M does not have a Bluetooth option, it does deliver a great wireless experience with softphone and VoIP software.