Why You Can Trust CNET Samsung WEP300 Bluetooth Headset review: Samsung WEP300 Bluetooth Headset
Samsung WEP300 Bluetooth Headset
Not too many people know that in addition to manufacturing cell phones, Samsung also has a whole line of Bluetooth headsets under its belt. They range from the very affordable, such as the WEP200 to the high end, like the WEP500. The latest Samsung WEP300 is one of the former. It's a very basic entry-level headset that retails at an affordable $39.99.
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Measuring about 1.75 inches long by 0.6 inch wide by 0.3 inch thick, the WEP300 looks like a slim, silver stick with a black multifunction button on the front. It is also very lightweight at only 0.3 ounce. Unlike a lot of other headsets, the WEP300's volume buttons are placed on either side--the volume increase is on the left spine, while the volume decrease is on the right. All three buttons are easy to access and press, even when worn on the ear. There's also a small blue LED indicator light on the bottom-right spine. It is very inconspicuous, which we liked.
On the back of the headset is an in-ear ear bud. Because of that, there's no need for an ear hook, and the WEP300 doesn't provide one. However, we still would've liked an ear hook option for additional stability. Though the earpiece fit just fine in our ear, we did feel it was a bit uncomfortable--we felt some minor scratches in the ear while trying to adjust it, for example. The WEP300 comes with two additional ear bud covers for different size ears.
Features of the WEP300 are fairly standard. You get the typical capabilities of answering, ending, and rejecting calls, as well as last number redial, voice command support, call hold, and the ability to transfer a call to the handset and vice versa.
We successfully paired the headset with the RIM BlackBerry Pearl, with no problems whatsoever. There's little to no noise canceling, so listeners could hear a lot of ambient noise plus echo sounds. Of course, it also didn't fare well in windy environments. We could hear our callers just fine--voices came through loud and clear with little to no static, but we could also hear a lot of background noise. Call quality was average overall.