Skype Gear

Skype Gear Roadtest: Plantronics .Audio 655 USB Headset

A new headset? That sounds like a good idea--especially when it's the new Plantronics .Audio 655 USB Headset. It's the first headset to support Skype's SILK super wideband audio codec, which was introduced with Skype 4.0. Is the sound from the .Audio 655 SILKy smooth? Read on for my review...

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No go for Gogo, but +1 for Hemisphere Magazine

In my last post I mentioned how I was taking a flight on American Airlines and would have an opportunity to test out the Gogo Inflight Internet from Aircell (and see if I could get Skype working on it of course). Well unfortunately my plan was foiled (foiled!) because instead of a single long flight from the east coast to the west coast of the US, I had to fly through Chicago, meaning both planes were relatively small and weren't equipped with Gogo service. It may have been for the best though--Aircell is not happy about people making calls over their service. Alas, if you take a Gogo-equipped flight and are able to get Skype working over a VPN, do let us know in the comments.

My trip was not a total disaster in the Skype department though--on my return flight on United, the August issue of their Hemispheres Magazine had a full page feature on Skype gear. It's nothing we haven't covered on this blog before (Skype on PSP, Plantronics .Audio 910 Headset, Nokia N810 Internet Tablet, Panasonic KX-WP1050, Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000), but it's still nice to see Skype in a mainstream magazine like this. Here's a scan of the page (click to make it larger):

Skypegear Roadtest: Plantronics .Audio 625 USB Headset

What do you look for in a headset? When I'm headset shopping (which is probably more often then your average geek) I always look for three characteristics: reliability, comfort and good sound. Quite often you only get two out of three--I've seen headsets a plenty that have been reliable and good sounding but not comfortable, or comfortable and good sounding but not reliable.

So it was with some anxiousness that I opened up the .Audio 625 USB Headset that Plantronics recently sent me to try out. Would this headset meet my high headset standards? Fortunately yes, the .Audio 625 is indeed reliable, comfortable and good sounding (great sounding, even), and it's quickly become my regular, go-to headset. Why? Read on to find out.

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Skypegear Roadtest: Plantronics .Audio 910 Bluetooth Headset

A friend of mine sometimes jokes that bluetooth headsets are evil because on the TV show 24, only terrorists wear them. I used to completely agree with him. A few years ago I tried to Skype with an old bluetooth headset I had. Seemed like a great idea, but the experience left a lot to be desired. The headset never fit very well on my ear, I couldn't control any of Skype's functions using the headset buttons, and the bluetooth driver on my computer would only work half the time. When it did work, sound quality was lousy--callers complained that they heard an echo (the mic picking up the speaker)--and every ten minutes the connection would break in a staticy explosion and I'd have to turn the headset off and back on to resume speaking.

Needless to say I was skeptical when the US Skype Store sent me a Plantronics .Audio 910 Bluetooth Headset to try out. But I've been very pleasantly surprised. The major difference between the Plantronics and my previous bluetooth-Skype attempt is that the Plantronics is Skype certified, so it's actually designed to interact well with Skype. The difference is like night and day. Read on for my review.

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