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During the last half year, quite a few Bluetooth headsets have been released by different manufacturers. One of them is Bluetake’s i-Phono BT420EX.
I recently acquired a set and have been using it over the past few weeks. Want to know if it is ready for Prime Time yet? Read on…

Some people might remember the first generation of cordless headphones, built using RF technology. I had one of those, they were quite expensive at the time they were released, and a recent search on RF headphones shows that such products are still available.

The headphone I am discussing however, is using Bluetooth technology. The official designation is “i-PHONO BT420EX Bluetooth Hi-Fi Sports Kit” and it is in fact much more than a “simple” headphone.

In the package, which is a colorful and quite big box, you will find:

- the headset,
- the receiver,
- 4 additional covers
- some Magic Band
- the charging cables

as well as a multilingual manual and an “excercise outfitting guide”.
In case you don’t want to carry your headset around unprotected, Bluetake also offers an additional product, called the i-PHONO Pouch.
The headset itself is designed as an over-the-neck solution, which is something I like very much. Not only does it look cooler, but it also ensures that your headset has next to no physical content with your hair, this prevents hair spray and / or gel from spoiling the device.
While the headset looks a bit big on pictures, and certainly is not that much smaller in real life, I can confirm that the weight will never be an issue. I have used mine for continuous periods of time and haven’t felt uncomfortable at all.
Actually the only time the headset made me feel uncomfortable was when I had to put it of to recharge it’s battery. Granted, the battery of the device is pretty small and is able to transmit audio for approximately 6 hours (both receiver and headset), I’d still love to see it pack a bigger battery orgive users the chance to swap batteries.
The main reason why you would buy this kind of headset is of course the lack of wires. Advertised as 5-10 meters (16-32 feet) I was amazed that I could still receive a signal, albeit not as clear as it could be, with one floor in between the headset and the receiver. When you are in the same room however the signal is crystal clear. I have experienced the occasional blackout whenever I would move up or down very quickly, say for example if you try to pick up a pen you just dropped, but the connection would be back to normal within seconds.
I have read reports about the receiver not transmitting well enough when the person carrying it was moving, so I took the whole set for a long walk and made sure that the device was in the bag that moved the most during steps. The result was astonishing. Sounds were still transmitted and I could hear everything loud and clear, not crystal clear though. I also gave the unit a spin and took it for a short bike tour with the receiver and my MP3 Player stored in my backpack and I didn’t have any connectivity issues at all.
What annoyed me however was, that if you put your hand on the part of the headset that is receiving the signal, the sound would stop. It would return as soon as your hand moved away. I wonder how the receiver is able to penetrate walls, yet it’s signals can be stopped by a hand…
In terms of design - the headset looks great. The standard plates are “iPOD white” and you get an additional 4 in orange, green, blue and red; all appear to have a kind of metallic coating. Changing the cover is tricky though. The plates are attached very firmly to the headset and I always fear that I will break the one I am trying to get off, this luckily didn’t happen yet though. Reattaching a different plate is easy: Align the plate with the holes, press firmly and once you hear the clicking sound you know you’re done.
At the beginning I mentioned that his headphone technically is a headset - this has to do with the fact that the BT420EX has a built-in foldable microphone on the right part. It’s unobtrusive and unfolding it is as easy as pulling it down. Once you are done with talking, fold it up and it stays safely in place when you are not using it.
The BT420EX is able to work without the dongle as a stereo headset for cellphones. Most phones (especially so-called Smartphones) nowadays support Bluetooth and connecting this headset is not any more difficult than connecting another Bluetooth headset.
The other accessories include a piece of Velcro (nicknamed Magic Tape) with which you can affix the receiver to any audio device you like. I did not do so, because I don’t want to have a piece of velcro on my MP3 Player, but it might be a good idea if you only have one audio device.
The package also includes a charging cable with an 2-on-1 adapter, so you can charge the headset and the receiver at the same time. For road warriors, Bluetake also included an USB-charger which is a great idea for the times you are on the road. By using the 2-on-1 charger you can charge both units while being away from a permanent power source.
All in all - the BT420EX certainly is ready for Prime Time. In fact, for me - this device replaced my old Sony MDR-G52 headphones.