iTech VoiceClip 609 Bluetooth Headset Review

Introduction:

Wearing a Bluetooth hands-free over your ear can be annoying from time to time, don't you agree? This is when accessories with alternative designs come to play, and the i.Tech VoiceClip 609 is exactly one of them.  It has been designed as a clip that attaches to the user's clothing while a wired earphone is used for listening to the conversation.

Design:

Weighing 0.6 ounces or 17 grams, the VoiceClip 609 may not be the lightest Bluetooth hands-free ever made. Luckily, that does not seem to matter that much because as long as it is firmly attached to a suitable piece of clothing, chances are it will not be bothering you a lot. Its body is made entirely out of matte plastic, and even though it is not the prettiest wireless accessory we've ever seen, the VoiceClip 609 makes up for it by being available in 8 different colors to choose from. The earphone itself is very light and with its rubberized edges it feels just like the ones found with most portable music players. Additionally, when it is not in use, the earphone can remain conveniently attached to the clip where it has its own dedicated place to slide into.



Unfortunately, the design of the VoiceClip 609 has one major drawback – clipping the device to something like a t-shirt or a sweater is anything but convenient. We did not really like the single volume control button either since sometimes it failed to respond when it was pressed. i.Tech's designers have placed the multifunctional button on the back of the earphone, which some of you may be OK with, but we did not find that solution very comfortable to use.

Performance:

Pairing the VoiceClip 609 with a cellphone was as easy as we expected. This particular i.Tech model is marketed as designed to work exceptionally well with the iPhone 4 so we tested it with one for a couple of days to see how it would perform. Unfortunately, the sound quality failed to impress us because the earpiece tended to crackle a bit too much. Literally, the device sounded a lot more like a walkie talkie set rather than a proper Bluetooth hands-free. We also noticed that the other party was a bit hard to understand from time to time even with the volume adjusted to the maximum. At least the microphone, which is located on the clip and not along the earphone's wire, picked our voice clearly and the background sounds were minimized, probably by the software noise reduction feature of the device. The battery of the VoiceClip 609 is capable of delivering over five hours of talk time on a full load, which should be enough to last you throughout the day. If you leave the device in stand-by mode, it will take about 140 hours before the battery gets completely drained.



Conclusion:

Overall, the most probable reason for one to like the i.Tech VoiceClip 609 is the fact that it does not require you to have it attached to your ear constantly even when it is not in use. Another advantage of this particular device is that it comes quite cheap – it retails for as low as $33, which makes it quite affordable. On the other hand, you get what you pay for so you should not be expecting anything exceptional in terms of features or performance from it. We would only recommend the VoiceClip 609 if you really cannot stand the common Bluetooth devices with over-the-ear design and if your budget is limited.