Bluetooth headsets for mobile phones are great. They let you talk and communicate without having to hold the phone to your head or have a wire hanging from your ear. More and more mobile phones are featuring Bluetooth as a standard feature. This is all great for your mobile phone, but what about at your home or office. Wouldn’t it be great if you could have one headset for all your telephone needs? You would not have to change headsets when you get to your home or office and back again when you leave. There would be one headset that you would use all the time and not have to change. Would you like that? Well now you can have all the features and ease of use that one Bluetooth headset can give you.

The GN Netcom GN6210 features a lightweight (0.8 ounce) headset that fits behind the ear and uses a Mini-Gel earpiece that fits into the ear for a comfortable, firm fit. The Mini-Gel allows for clear sound and reduces a lot of the background noise. The controls are simple. There is one multifunction button that turns the unit on or off and activates commands to your phone. There is also a 2 button volume control and L.E.D. to indicate the status of the headset. The headset is an amplified device, so the volume control changes the sound level of the GN6210. Combined with the volume control of the phone itself, you can hear the conversation in almost any noisy environment. The GN6210 uses the Jabra BT250 headset as the basis of its system. Press the Answer button for 3 seconds to turn the headset on and 4 seconds to turn it off.

The central point of the GN6210 is a docking cradle that recharges the headset and connects to your home/office phone and telephone wall outlet. Connecting the cradle is as simple as plugging in the AC Adapter, cable from your existing phone, and cable to the telephone wall socket. Insert the headset into the slot on the top of the cradle to recharge the headset. The cradle has a multifunction button on the front that is used for setting the Bluetooth pairing mode, to link the cradle with the headset, answering the phone and transferring the call to the headset. Under the base, there are controls to set the signal channel from the cradle to the headset, microphone volume, and volume match to synchronize the desk phone and mobile phone volume levels.

In order to answer the desk phone, you still need to lift the telephone handset. To automate this process, GN Netcom has the GN 1000 Remote Headset Lifter ($50). When installed, this device will lift the telephone handset and allow the cradle to transfer the call to the Bluetooth headset. The answer process can be activated by pressing the multifunction button on the cradle or the Bluetooth headset. This will allow you to be completely independent from the phone when answering a call. If your desk phone supports voice dialing, you would even be able to make call wirelessly from the desk phone.

The GN6210 headset and cradle are paired when you open the box. Simply follow the instructions to pair the cradle with your mobile phone. When you leave the office, the headset is paired to your mobile phone and ready for use. Using GN Netcom’s GN Link technology, the cradle can maintain a paired relationship with two phones simultaneously. So when you are in the home / office, the cradle will know which phone is ringing. When you press the multifunction Answer button on the headset, the cradle will answer the correct phone and transfer the call to the headset.

The GN6210 has very clear sound and good range. The maximum range for Bluetooth 1.1 is 30 feet with a clear line-of-sight. It usually takes a few seconds for the phone to acknowledge the connection when you push the multifunction button, but the delay is minor. The GN6210 is so light that after a few minutes of using it, you will not even notice that it is on your ear.

The battery life has been greatly improved from previous versions of this headset. The GN6210 has a maximum talk time of up to 8 hours and a stand by time of up to 200 hours. The audio quality is generally good, but would have been better with more amplification for noisy environments. Callers on the other end complained about an occasional echo, but this was not consistent. Pairing problems also happened occasionally, but did not cause any significant problems.

The size of the GN6210 headset might be a little large for some people. Especially women, who may not want to wear a device of this size around their ear. People who wear glasses might also experience a little difficulty getting comfortable with the headset.

The GN6210 come complete with the cradle and AC adapter. A travel cradle and AC Adapter for charging the headset is also included. There are also extra Mini-Gel earpieces. You can purchase additional Mini-Gels separately.

The GN6210 is a solid product with good performance. While it is extremely expensive, the freedom and flexibility it gives the multiple phone user is fantastic. If your business or personal life keeps you connect to the phone, in or out of the office, this is a product you should consider to make it all easier to deal with.

Pros

Easy to use
Dual phone pairing
Comfortable
Long Battery life

Cons

Large size
Expensive
Some pairing problems

Rating: 7.5 out of 10 Stars.

-Harvey Lee
Technology Editor