Coming Soon Sony HBH-DS980

migs · 08/14/2007, 04:49 PM

I ordering as soon as its possible... 3rd Q 2007 August-September?

Sony Ericsson makes listening to music and taking calls a quality experience with the launch of the Stereo Bluetooth™ Headset HBH-DS980, announced today. This stylish accessory delivers wireless music and calls with superior sound performance, even in noisy environments. This is achieved through advances in design, ergonomics and audio:

* Digital noise cancellation/echo reduction to reduce background noise
* Bluetooth™ 2.0 to deliver better quality voice calls
* A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) for high quality sound when listening to music
* A hidden OLED display delivers a seamless design effect, much brighter than a conventional LCD display.
* Digital Signal Processing
* Enhanced audio quality is achieved through Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technology, including compression and echo cancellation.
* Automatic volume adjustment
Walk into a noisy environment and the volume adjusts automatically in less than a second.

"It is so convenient that your phone need never leave your pocket.”

Given a talk time or music playback time of up to 6 hours, the HBH-DS980 has to be designed with comfort in mind. The soft silicon ear buds on the stereo headset are provided in three sizes, so as to ensure an optimum fit with the size and shape of the wearer’s ear. Separate to the headset, the overall unit weighs in at just 27 grams, so won’t be a burden when worn around the neck.

Of course, if you are wearing your headset for long periods, you will also want it to look the part. Finished in a stylish charcoal color, the Stereo Bluetooth™ Headset HBH-DS980 features a hidden ‘magic mirror’ display that only becomes visible once the headset is activated. Use it to view the title of the song playing on your phone, the battery status of your headset or the details of the caller trying to reach you.

You can use the HBH-DS980 with more than one device at the same time. The new multipoint function allows you to listen to music stored on a Bluetooth™ enabled PC/laptop and handle calls from your phone at the same time.

The Stereo Bluetooth™ Headset HBH-DS980 is designed with the wearer in mind. As well as maximizing comfort and flexibility, its subtle design makes it the ideal companion for a phone such as the new Sony Ericsson T650, also announced today. The HBH-DS980 will be available worldwide from Q3 2007.

http://www.sonyericsson.com/spg.jsp?...e=pp&pid=10895

ehosey2 · 08/29/2007, 09:58 AM

I just received mine and will post a review soon. The first impression though is very positive as it seems to operate much better with my Treo 755p, SAG 1.14, and pTunes 4.02. Also, this headset is louder than the HBH-DS970 and call handling while streaming music, and the resuming of music works great. All is good so far.

ehosey2 · 08/29/2007, 06:20 PM

I just got done working out and had a solid hour of using the HBH-DS980. It performs very well. The music quality sounds excellent streaming music from shoutcast.com. MP3's also sound great. As I stated earlier, this headset is definitely louder than the HBH-DS970. There were no freezes, call handling issues, or random disconnects. The tactile feel of the skip track button and volume buttons are better and a little bigger than the ones on the HBH-DS970. The microphone and call button are now intergrated into one piece on the left cord instead of a separate piece on each cord and is also very streamlined instead of rounded like on the HBH-DS970.

A cool feature is the menu button located on one end of the controller is that you can bring up all the calls in your history via a scroll feature. This call history displays not only the number but the name of the contact. You can listen to music via SAG and bring up your call history via the menu button, hit the play/pause button at which this point the music pauses to make the outgoing call. Once the call is completed, the music resumes around 15 seconds or so, all while still with SAG activated. And there were no freezes.

The cords on the HBH-DS980 are rounded and thicker instead of flat and thinner like on the HBH-DS970 which should ensure long term durability. I have used the HBH-DS970 though for 14 months though and is still holding up fine so the quality is there. The ear buds come with small, medium, and large with the medium ones already attached. These are very comfortable and stay in my ears.

I purchased the HBH-DS980 from www.mobilecityonline.com. With 3 day shipping, I paid a total of $128.94. I am very happy with this bluetooth stereo headset. That's all I have for now.

MarkY · 08/29/2007, 10:54 PM

Nice! Thanks for taking the time to write the review.

mansouan · 08/30/2007, 02:38 PM

ehosey2:

Thanks for the review and the reference site from which to purchase these headphones. I have had my eye on these since their announcement in May.

However, I still have the 700P and *have not* done the ROM upgrade. I notice in your signature you still have a 700P, so can you please comment on the performance of these earbuds when paired to the 700P? In your response, could you please also indicate whether or not you have performed the ROM upgrade and what version of SAG you are using (I am still using 1.08.999 due to the battery drain issues of later versions with the 700P)?

Thanks in advance...

ehosey2 · 08/31/2007, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mansouan

ehosey2:

Thanks for the review and the reference site from which to purchase these headphones. I have had my eye on these since their announcement in May.

However, I still have the 700P and *have not* done the ROM upgrade. I notice in your signature you still have a 700P, so can you please comment on the performance of these earbuds when paired to the 700P? In your response, could you please also indicate whether or not you have performed the ROM upgrade and what version of SAG you are using (I am still using 1.08.999 due to the battery drain issues of later versions with the 700P)?

Thanks in advance...

Treo 700p Sprint
ROM 1.10
SAG 1.12
Pocket Tunes 4.02

I actually disconnected the 700p phone service and use it as a PDA backup, keeping all information up to date just as it is on my 755p so I can't comment on the HBH-DS980 and streaming music, taking a call, and then resuming of the music once the call is complete. But I did use SAG on the 700p to stream mp3's and everything sounded great. Before I disconnected the phone part on the 700p, I was using the HBH-DS970 and everything worked good. Prior to updating the ROM, I was using SAG 1.08 and Pocket Tunes 3.1.8. I think that worked best at the time and it worked great but I think the later versions actually sound better. Sorry if I couldn't be more helpful but I'm so happy with my 755p now that SAG works perfect.....yep......perfect.