Motorola H700

The Motorola H700 is a small and compact Bluetooth headset that features a flip out microphone and requires just three small buttons to operate.

The H700 is one of the smallest Bluetooth headsets on the market and, sporting a vibrant chrome and silver colour scheme, is quite visually appealing for a mobile phone accessory. The H700 uses a flip out microphone that also acts as a power button; flip the microphone out and the unit switches on, close it and the unit powers off. The H700 uses just three buttons; two volume keys and a multifunction call button are all that adorn the unit, along with a brushed silver Motorola logo that can easily be mistaken for an extra button.

The H700 uses a detachable ear hook to clip around your ear and this can be adjusted to suit both left and right ear use. Unlike many other Bluetooth headsets, the H700 doesn't sit inside your ear or use an ear plug. Instead, it rests just outside your ear, with audio provided by a small speaker, so you are required to have the ear hook fitted to use the unit.

The performance of the H700 was quite pleasing, with most calls coming in crisp and clear. Volume was quite loud at its highest setting, but our main complaint is that in noisy environments, such as walking on a road with heavy traffic, the H700 can become a little difficult to hear. That said, this is a common complaint with Bluetooth headsets, and thus we can't deduct too many marks for it.

The H700 is extremely easy to use; pressing the call button basically does everything including answering, rejecting, transferring or ending a call. The call button is pressed at different intervals (tap, press or press and hold) depending on the function the user wants to perform. For example, rejecting an incoming call requires the call button to be pressed and held until a beep is heard.

Pairing the H700 with a mobile phone is also a very simple process - you simply flip open the microphone and, provided no previous paired devices are switched on, the H700 automatically enters pairing mode. Once paired, the H700 allows the user to make and receive calls as well as use voice tags, provided this is supported on your mobile phone. Our only issue was that when using the phone in silent mode, the H700 didn't notify us of an incoming call.

The H700 uses a multi-coloured indicator light that surrounds the call button. The light flashes blue when paired with a device, purple when in pairing mode, and red when the battery is low. There are also a number of audio indicators, such as a single tone for pairing confirmation and a dual tone to indicate that the handset has been placed in mute mode.

According to Motorola figures, the H700 offers 6 hours talk time and up to 130 hours of standby time, which is above average. The unit charges via a standard mini-USB connection.