Lately, I have been spending a lot of time testing and writing about Bluetooth headsets.  As this short-range wireless protocol begins to take hold, the market is being inundated with new models. Mr Handsfree – a Belgian company, is quickly becoming a leader in the Bluetooth market.  Read on and see if one of these headsets is right for you.

mr Handsfree, with headquarters in Belgium, has become market leader in several European countries, offering a wide range of handsfree solutions from plug & drive, universal carkits, to Bluetooth® applications, headsets and built-in carkits.

I have reviewed two of their headsets previously – each earned high marks.  These two headset are really variations on a theme – so I am including them together in this review. 

The two headsets tested are the Blue Chameleon and the Blue Bird.  The Blue Chameleon offers 50 different face plates that the user can attach for a “custom” look and the Blue Bird is a very sleek looking Black headset.

Mr. Handsfree Blue Chameleon

Here are the official specs from the website:

Bluetooth® wireless headset

• 50 looks included
• 8 hours talk time
• 200 hours standby time
• Bluetooth® V1.2
• Operating range: 10 meters
• Excellent sound quality
• Multi-pairing: up to 8 devices
• Rechargeable battery (Travel charger included)
• Digital volume control
• Voice dialing
• Blue LED indication

Design:

The Blue Chameleon is a small, in-ear headset with an optional ear loop for security.  I found the ear loop to be a bit thick for me because of the fact that I wear glasses.

The Blue Chameleon is a nice, small size with a multi-function button in the center of the faceplate.  There are volume up and volume down buttons on the top and bottom of the headset. 

Like most headsets these days, the buttons have multiple functions depending on what the user is doing and what kind of phone you use.

What is unique about the Blue Chameleon design is that the faceplate is detacheable and there are 50 different inserts (all included) that you can choose from to personalize the headset.

Ease of use:

I paired the Blue Chameleon with both my Treo and my Motorola Q.  Pairing was very easy and quick.  Just hold the MF button for three seconds, search for the headset on your phone and put in the 0000 passcode.  Once connected, calls went immediately to the headset.

With the “Q” – one push of the MF button brings up the voice activation software and voice dialing was a breeze.  Sadly, as we know, this feature is not supported on the Treo.

Sound Quality:

The sound quality of the Blue Chameleon was excellent.  I found the volume of the headset to be a little lower than others I have tested.  Even at full volume – it was softer than say the Blue Ant x3 I recently tested.

Most importantly, folks on the other end heard me just fine and I could hear them clearly.  Mr Handsdfree headsets, as a rule, seem to work better with the Treo than many other headsets which is something for Treo owners to think about.

Overall Conclusions:

The mr Handsfree Blue Chameleon is a fine headset.  It is very small and light. It had excellent battery life and call quality was very good on both ends.  I wish it was a little louder and I wish that a more form fit Ear gel or ear bud were included.

The versatility of the various faceplates is a very nice touch.

Pros:

• Nice
• small size
• good call quality
• very easy to use

Cons:

• Volume is a little low
• no noise cancellation feature