Review of Plantronics BackBeat® GO

A happy face: Bluetooth to earbuds

I have gone through a bit of a progression with my headsets for my mobile phones. Years ago, I used one of those over-the-head style headsets that was wired and plugged into the phone. I actually still have it and was surprised to see that the jack is too small for my current phone.

Introduction

For my previous phone I used a Motorola Bluetooth headset that fit over one ear. It worked fairly well with that phone and Bluetooth was the only option—there was no place to plug in anything. However, it never really fit my ear and tended to move around thus causing some background noise when the boom would touch my cheek.

I have also used that headset with my new smart phone, but I was pleased that this phone has a place to plug in earbuds. After all, the 4.5” screen of this phone feels a little like holding a small TV up to my face. A set of earbuds came with my phone and they work well, but all that wire can tend to get tangled and it’s hard to take it with me like the Bluetooth headset.

I recently learned that Plantronics has a possible solution—Bluetooth earbuds. In other words, there are no wires other than being connected to each other via a very flat wire that does not get tangled. Plantronics sent me the BackBeat® GO to review.

Plantronics BackBeat® GO with a smart phone *

Specifications

• Bluetooth® v2.1 + EDR
• A2DP for audio streaming
• AVRCP for music controls
• Digital noise reduction
• Full duplex echo canceling
• 6mm neodymium speakers
• Up to 4.5 hours listening
• Up to 10 days standby
• 13 grams weight

Setup

The earbuds were charged right out of the box. If you’re like me, you’re anxious to start using new gadgets, and it’s hard to wait when you have to stop and charge something.

But I must say that I had a hard time getting into the package. I felt it was a little overpackaged, and I’m sure Plantronics is just trying to protect the product, but I think they could redesign it a bit.

Pairing it with my phone was super easy—did not even have to enter a code. But overall the directions in the Get Started guide leave a little to be desired. I think most users would appreciate a few more drawings and explanations, especially when new to Bluetooth.

For example, there was no drawing for where to plug in the charger—only an almost unnoticeable letter pointing at the earbud, and in the list it said “Micro USB charging port (right earbud).” It’s up to you to figure out that it’s hidden behind a “door.”

Even some of the terminology like “standby” could use a little explanation. Is that powered on or not?

Power vs Call
My old Bluetooth headset is turned on when the boom is unfolded and the call will be automatically answered, so getting used to two buttons is different. The Power button makes the BackBeat® GO talk to the phone, and the Call button answers and hangs up calls, plus other functions such as call waiting and turning music on/off.

Also, my old Bluetooth headset has a constantly burning blue light when it’s on and the BackBeat® GO does not. It’s very easy to forget that it’s powered on and running down the battery.

Battery

The documentation says that it gets 4.5 hours talk time and that’s about what I was able to get. The standby time is listed as 10 days, but I assume that means without talking at all. I was not able to test that since I was constantly using it to test the sound quality. (Please see update at the end of this article.)

The included charger can only be used as a wall charger. It would have been nice if the micro USB part would separate in order to charge, for example, from a laptop.
 

Plantronics BackBeat® GO and accessories *

Fit

It came with S, M, L rubber tips for the earbuds to assist with adjusting the fit. The size difference is almost imperceptible until lined up next to each other (they aren't labeled or any different in color). Apparently, the one on the unit is S and that was big enough for me, however, the right earbud that contains the charging unit is obviously slightly heavier and would pull out of my ear until I added one of the stabilizer clips.

Testing

I tested the call sound quality of the BackBeat® GO against the phone and against my wired earbuds. Obviously, I couldn’t hear what the other parties were hearing, but each was almost equal in quality from my end. The other parties found the sound quality to be almost equal between the three and said that the BackBeat® GO delivers very good sound quality.

Music

Plantronics BackBeat® GO controls on unit *

I have never been one to listen to music through earbuds, but I have tested that on my smart phone with the wired earbuds and it works flawlessly. But there is no volume control on my wired earbuds, so I’m limited to using the controls on the phone.

Listening to music is one of the advertised features of the Backbeat® GO. The volume can be turned up and down, music can be turned on and off, and tracks can be skipped forward and backward all from the controls on the unit—very convenient.

Listening to music through the earbuds has very beautiful sound, but the music will cut in and out periodically—usually less than a second each time. I have only tested this while holding the phone in my hand or placing it in my pocket. It can’t be losing the signal due to being too far apart—after all it says it works up to 33’ and with phone calls it does. It does not do this every time, and it’s possible that it works better when the phone isn't using wifi.

I also noticed that when multi-tasking on my smart phone, by surfing the internet while listening to music that is stored on my phone, almost every press of my finger to select something or return to a previous page or to the home screen also causes that same interruption in the music.

I contacted Plantronics about this and they sent me another unit—it did the exact same thing. I then did a little online research and found that this is a known issue with many different models of phones and models of Bluetooth headsets.

Conclusion

The sound quality was about the same as the wired earbuds. But what I like about being wireless is that I can charge my phone in one location of a room, and I can sit comfortably on the other side of the room without being tethered to the wall. Also, while driving in my car, not being tethered to the phone means I don’t have to worry about wires getting in the way. And this wire does not get tangled when you stuff it in your pocket or purse.

It really is a great product and I recommend it for phone conversations, but I feel unsure about recommending it for listening to music—the sound quality is great when it’s not cutting out, so you may just want to try it with your phone to be sure.

It has an MSRP of $99.99 and that price makes more sense if it replaces two products—bluetooth headset and wired earbuds. But if cost is not an issue and you like the idea, like I do, of not having to be tethered to the phone, I believe you will find it a great unit to own.

Update June 10th: I finally had the opportunity to test the standby battery life. I was only able to get a maximum of nine days—it's rated for ten—standby time. To test this, I fully charged the unit, powered it on, and did not used it at all during the testing period. I was able to do this twice and both times was nine days. Personally, I don't see this as an issue because I would not have a unit like this sitting around without using it, but I did want to let you know my findings. I do feel that the battery life is excellent for talking on the phone.

Questions: Do you think you will buy this unit? Does it matter to you that the music experience may not be perfect? If you already own this unit, what has been your experience?
Let me know by leaving a comment below.

* Photos courtesy of Plantronics Press Room.