Palm Hands-Free Ultralight Wireless Headset Review
The Palm Hands-Free Ultralight Wireless Headset is a work of art. When nestled inside its charger, it resembles a tube of lipstick in both size and design. Remove it from the charger, and it’s the size of your pinky. Its weight barely perceptible, you might forget you’re even wearing it.
When you receive your Ultralight, you will discover that unlike most other headsets, this one comes in a sturdy metal case. Inside the case are molded compartments for the headset itself, the optional earloop, three gel earbuds, the main charger, the battery charger, and a battery. It’s a pretty case, but once you start using the Ultralight, you probably won’t use it, as it will be a permanent fixture in your ear. I’m not quite sure why, but on the bottom of the silver case is a mirror. Perhaps it’s so that you can view how über-nerd you look with your Ultralight in your ear?
I wouldn’t mention this if it had only happened once, but twice I have experienced a peculiar issue with the Ultralight. I turn on the Ultralight, and go out of range. When I return to pairing range, my Treo doesn’t see the Ultralight, and no amount of button pushing gets its attention. Any attempt to turn the Ultralight off fails until the Ultralight has been returned to the charger for several minutes. I am then able to turn it off, and when it is turned on again, normal pairing resumes. Beyond these two “freak” occurrences, the Ultralight stays paired, and stays connected to my Treo 700p.
Palm gives you two methods of charging the Ultralight. The power cord that came with your Treo can be used to plug into the charging cradle for the Ultralight. If you are away from a traditional power source, you can also insert the charging cradle into a special battery holder, and recharge from a single AA battery. Although I have not verified it, according to the manual, you can get two full charges from a single battery. There is a clip on the charger so that you can place it in a shirt or jacket pocket and use it as a carrier for your headset if you choose not to wear it all the time. If, on the other hand, you choose to place all the components into the silver case, the Ultralight will cause the entire case to vibrate when your phone rings (providing you left it on when you placed it inside).
The sound is crystal clear, probably the best I have experienced yet with a Bluetooth headset. More importantly, the volume is great. Several times I’ve actually had to decrease the volume. The volume control button is especially easy to use: one end increases, the other end decreases, and you don’t have to worry about accidentally hanging up a call while you’re adjusting. The power button is large and round at the end of the headset, and it’s used for pairing as well as turning on/off the device.
One reason the sound may be so loud and clear is that this is an in-ear type headset. The Ultralight comes with 3 sizes of eargels (the medium is attached out of the box). These gels are that nice squishy gel material that so many wrist rests are composed of. They fit right into your ear, and conform to the shape of your ear canal: and stay there. If you’re not comfortable with the in-ear design, or if you don’t trust it to stay put, there is a very thin detachable earloop included in the case. You must remove the eargel to attach the earloop, but once attached you can either use it as a safety, or so that the eargel merely butts up against your ear, rather than being inserted. Either way, this is still one delightfully light and comfortable headset.
Related Links
Purchase the Palm Ultralight from the mytreo.net/store
Discuss Accessories in the mytreo.net/forum.
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Filed under: Accessory reviews
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I have this headset and finally ended up going back to my Jabra BT500. I really wanted to like the Ultralight for all the reasons listed in the review. However, on my Treo 650 it would not switch over to the headset when the phone was ringing about 50% of the time. This was also the case when placing a call. It just got so frustrating that I couldn’t take it anymore.
I should also note that for some reason my Ultralight doesn’t always fit snuggly in the charger. Therefore, I would put it in the charger at night and it would ease out just enough to disconnect from the charging prongs. I would then grab it and leave for the day only to have a dead battery an hour later! Arrrrgggh!
I believe it charges with a AAA battery (as is the case with the Plantronics 640 and 645).I was going to order the Ultralight-but have heard varying reviews.For now I will stick with my 640-which maybe the best headset I’ve used with my Treo 650 to date.I used to have a problem with my 640 not fitting in charger (that’s why I lost the first one),but I find this second one fits snuggly,and vibrates as it is supposed to when the phone rings if its inserted in the pocket.Also,I find I can get 2-3 full charges with the AAA adapter,usually I use it to top up during the day while I’m out.
All this appears to be is a rebadged Plantronics unit. When I had a Plantronics 640 I problems with:
1. Not switching over
2. Interference on almost every call
3. People I called complaining of ambient noise
4. Unless used with ear hook unit fitting uncomfortably
On the positive side:
1. Size
2. Accessories
Unless this unit was redesigned before adding a Palm logo - I would resist the temptation.
I have only recently encoutnered the re-pairing issue mentioned in this article. The other negative is the small parts that can get lost. I’ve lost one eargel and the ear loop. It took some time, but I did find some online. Also, the charging holster falls out of my pockets too easily. I once reached for it and the whole thing was gone. I returned to the last place I was at, a half mile away, and found it laying in a bush. Whew!!! I now secure mine with a lanyard. Other than these issues, I love the ultralite.
I have the same issue with the Ultralight not fitting in the “holster” well enough to get charged. I push it in hard and put a wrap of rigging tape around it. (I race sailboats and that’s how we solve most problems). I also get the “won’t shut off when low on juice” issue. It’s frustrating as I can’t pair my Plantronics 590 when the Ultralight is on.
No BT headset is great. This one doesn’t suck as much as most so I’ll keep it.
Thank you for the posting of the Ultralight because I have 2 more BT headsets that I want to “TRY” purchase The Logitech Mobile Traveller & the Plantronics 640 Discovery BT headset. I don’t know which one to buy every one of them seems to e good but when I read a post like this one it slims the decision. Thanks.
Hilarious! This is a Plantronics headset! Anyway, I have one and I love it! However, there is that nagging bit with the charger–not sure how that got past QA. It is lightweight and works very well for me.
New discovery….
I left my Ultralight on when I got in the car to go home the other day and turned on my gps to navigate home. Halfway home a call came in, and the Ultralight grabbed the BT from the gps so that I could answer the call handsfree.
When I was done, I simply started Tomtom up again and carried on my way.
I have found this to be the lightest and most comfortable headset that I’ve used. However, the Ericsson was better and connecting for both receiving and initiating calls. Sometimes the Ultralight just won’t connect.
I agree with the charger connection issue. I’ve heard that newer versions of this device connect better, but I’ve also walked away with a headset that I thought was fully charged, but wasn’t.
I’ve not had any connection issues with my 640-a first,since almost every headset I have used with my Treo had some issue-but all but my 640 have had connection issues.I have paired it twice,well technically I have paired each 640 that I had once-and I have not lost a connection recieving or making a call.I read somewhere (can’t remember where) that they were addressing some issues with the Ultralight and releasing an updated version-who knows if that will be any better.I am sticking with my 640 until another headset with multipoint is released-since I carry a Treo and a BB (personal/work respectively),the ability for me to have a headset connected to both makes my life much easier when the either phone rings.
I had all of the problems mentioned above. The one thing that made me send it back was that I almost lost it twice. Once, I noticed it missing when I got in my car so I got out to retrace my steps and found it under my tire! If I hadn’t noticed it, I would have run right over it!!! If they ever get the snug fit together, it might be worth trying again. Until then, I’m going to keep experimenting. I’m going to try the Logitech Mobile Traveler and see what happens. Anyone have any success with that one?
To rozj602 - I had great success with Logitech’s Mobile Traveler on my 650, but couldn’t get it to work at all on my 700p. :(
EXCELENT PRODUCT, DELIvERS WHAT IT SAYS.
I have used if for four months and it is exactky what the Review says.
Great sound, good volume, very good microphone function, exceedingly good power handling.
I use it without the ear wire, and it holds up in place quite well (don’t try running while wearing it, though).
Range could be improved, but I don´t know if it’s THE FAULT of the headset or the Treo 650.
I wouldn’t hesitate to replace it in caso of loss or theft.
I am actively looking for a BT headset and value input from other Treo owners since it apparently is more BT-challenged than plain old phones.
With such varying degrees of success (even with a Palm-branded Plantronics unit) it sure would be nice to have these ratings show up statistically — like ebay seller ratings!
E.g. Cardo Scala 83% positive, 17% negative
Anyone seen a site gathering such data from Treo owners?
Thanks,
Paul
Nice that Palm is staying with the habit of modifying these rebrands from Logitech so they use the (present) Palm standard charger.
The less wallwarts I need to keep track of (and remembering to bring on trips) the better!
Nice that Palm is staying with the habit of modifying these rebrands from Logitech so they use the (present) Palm standard charger.
The less wallwarts I need to keep track of (and remembering to bring on trips) the better!
I’m having nothing but problems with mine. I jsut got it and cannot get my treo 650 to detect it to begin with. Also when recharging it seems to be be loose as mentioned. If any advise please pm me.
What is the difference between this and the plantronics 640!!?? It is exactly the same, case and all, just with the palm logo onit for a much higher price. If you like this headset then just buy the plantronics 640 and save money. I have had the 640 for over a year now and it works great. Clear, loud sound. I only experienced the problem connecting to the phone when I was already on a call and the headset was off and I wanted to switch to the headset. This happens not often.
Actually the Palm Ultra Light blue tooth headset is a rip-off of the Plantronics 645. The 645 doesn’t have the multi-port function but it does have DSP which is a noise reduction chip built into the blue tooth. I have read 5 reviews on this blue tooth and 4 out of five say it’s a rip-off of the 645. Also it does use a triple A batter instead of a double A. I just got mine a few days ago and I have the treo 750 and have had no problems with pairing, charging, or noise while I’m talking. Everyone I have spoken too cannot believe it when I tell them I am talking on a BT. I would recommend this BT if you want something that is a little more high end than most but if you aren’t interested with high end gadgets you should opt for something cheaper. I really love the James bond style case for all the accessories. I also love the mirror on the back. I use the mirror to adjust my hair so that you can’t really see the blue tooth. That’s another cool thing about this headset. It’s a lot thinner than my previous BT so I can cover it up with my hair and not have a big bulky and dorky looking thing attached to my ear.