Plantronics Voyager PRO+ Review

Introduction and Design:

In a direct follow up to its Voyager PRO model from last year, Plantronics is at it again with its similar looking Voyager PRO+ Bluetooth headset. Although we didn’t particularly find its predecessor to be enticing to warrant a worthy recommendation, hopefully this year’s model makes some improvements to deem it a worthy successor. Aside from seeing the same set of features reappearing once again, this time around, the Plantronics Voyager PRO+ includes A2DP technology, on-screen battery meter with the iPhone, WindSmart technology for wind protection, voice alerts, and Multipoint technology – all for $99.99. But will it actually make a difference when it comes down to being a usable hands-free solution?

Targeting the business minded user of course, the Plantronics Voyager PRO+ doesn’t deviate one bit from the design of its predecessor. You’d think that they’d at least minimize its overall size, but we’re presented with an exact facsimile – from materials to design, it’s absolutely an identical replica. As for comfort, it surprisingly doesn’t feel heavy at all despite its larger size – thanks to the majority of its weight being supported by the back of the ear.


Luckily, the microphone swivels and rotates to accommodate being worn on either ear, but since the earpiece itself is stationary, it’s slightly brushed up against the side of our ear. And even though the headset is packaged along with three different sized ear gels, we still don’t find any of them to snuggly fit our ear.  Despite its gummy like feel, it becomes rather irritating after prolonged usage – much like anything after 3 hours.


Boasting the same four buttons as its predecessor, they’re all placed at their usual locations. Towards the back portion of the headset, we find the dedicated power perched directly below the LED indication – however, we find it extremely difficult to feel with the headset on. On the top most edge, we’ve got the volume rocker, while the Call Control Button is found sitting atop the earpiece. And finally, the microUSB port is located on the bottom side of the headset.

Performance:

Sure it offer voice alerts, but it’s limited in terms of what it’ll announce and lacks additional items, such as announcing by name, that other comparable headsets are able to achieve. Granted that it doesn’t offer any voice guidance in pairing it up initially, you can easily set it to pairing mode by simply holding down the power button until the LED indicator blinks red and blue. Once we got it powered on and connected, the battery life is announced right away along with “Phone 1.” Since we connected it with an iPhone 4, a Bluetooth headset icon pops up on the phone and displays its current battery life. Meanwhile, we easily managed to connect it with a Samsung Intercept as well with no problems at all. However, it’s worth noting that the Voyager PRO+ will only activate the voice control function of the first phone.



Sadly, we’re nowhere close to really enjoying the performance of the in-call experience because it’s still plagued with some annoyances that have trickled along for the ride. Although we’re pleased by the strong output from its earpiece, voices have a crackly tone to them – not to mention just a hint of static as well. Moreover, it also utilizes the same AudiolQ2 technology found on the original, but our callers mentioned to us that they could still minutely hear some distortion in the background. Strangely enough, we weren’t sure if the WindSmart technology was kicked on because our callers heard every flap of the wind during our conversation. And to make matters worse, audio being streamed from an iPhone 4 placed in an adjoining room began to cut in and out during playback – which was only 10 feet away.

Not hiding the fact that it’s carrying on one serious sized battery in its casing, we managed to obtain a talk time of 6 ½ hours on a single charge. In fact, it manages to slimly move pass the manufacturer’s rating of 6 hours of talk. However, it doesn’t employ the rapid response charging times of some of the other contemporary offerings out there. Regardless of that, we’re sure that most people will appreciate its long lasting continuous connectivity.

Conclusion:

It’s really hard to say why Plantronics decided to add the “+” to its name, especially when it doesn’t necessarily come off as being much of an improvement from its predecessor. Calling quality was pretty stagnant, despite the addition of WindSmart technology, and we’re somewhat taken back by its limited of voice alert functionality. Even more, we were hoping to see something sleeker in design – especially when it’s already on the larger side of things. In the end, the $99 you’d fork out to purchase this one is best suited for other headsets out there that can offer at least better calling quality.

Plantronics Voyager PRO+ Video Review: