| Honeywell Airlite 900 Bluetooth Speakerphone |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Phones | Handheld | |
| Written by Olin Coles | |
| Thursday, 16 October 2008 | |
Honeywell Airlite 900These days it seems that cellular telephones are as commonplace as Starbucks, and motorists are communicating while behind the wheel. It shouldn't come as a surprise that twenty-four states currently enforce restrictions on cell phone use while driving. This is where the hands-free market has exploded, with numerous Bluetooth headsets making it to store shelves. In this article, Benchmark Reviews takes the opportunity to test drive the Airlite 900 Bluetooth speakerphone accessory by Honeywell. We've all seen the business professional walking around seemingly talking to them themselves with a Bluetooth headset plugged into their ear. I suppose that's fine for driving, too, but it's not always convenient to fit the device into your ear canal while negotiating the dangerous freeways during rush hour. Honeywell observed the need for something safer, something more accessible, and they produced the Airlite 900 as a direct result.
The Bluetooth 2.0 Airlite's list of specifications include a range of up to 10 meters (33ft), wireless compatibility with a frequency of 2400-2483.5MHz, the talk time of up to 10 hours standby time of up to 250 hours. Its tiny size of 3.5 in. by 2 in. x .2 in. weighs just 1oz, which makes it very portable, and together with the high quality volume and bundled accessories the Airlite's just perfect for the car. The most convenient feature of this device is the access to its controls. Specifications
About the company: Honeywell Consumer Electronic DivisionWhen it comes to applying leading-edge technology to solve the world's problems, few companies can rival our long record of achievement. It began in the 1880s. We pioneered a combination of sensors and actuators that gave birth to a new field of technology - automation and control. We have never looked back. Across twelve decades, Honeywell's employees and their inventions have been building a better world. We have created groundbreaking technology solutions for customers of our aerospace, transportation systems, and specialty materials businesses. And, yes, we are still the world's leader in automation and control solutions.
Honeywell International Inc. is a household name for most people, thanks to the long history of producing quality thermostats. On the commercial side of business, they has offered aircraft engines and aviation components for many years. These parts of the business won't be changing anytime soon, but a recent deal with SOYO has started the Honeywell Consumer Electronic Division and produced a new line of flat-panel televisions, monitors, and bluetooth accessories. SOYO designs and distributes these newly-designed products on behalf of Honeywell. For more information, please visit the SOYO Group website. Closer Look: Airlite 900First impression: miniature and thin. The Honeywell Airlite 900 Wireless Bluetooth Speakerphone is only 0.2″, or roughly the same thickness of a standard No. 2 pencil or half a deck of playing cards, so it inherits the diminutive weight and small footprint necessary for attaching onto a visor. Accessories:
Car Charger
While Honeywell has decided to utilize a proprietary connection port for the power cord, it appears that a mini-USB 2.0 interface would have worked perfectly. Had Honeywell used USB, users wouldn't need to add one more AC power adapter to their office, or have one more DC power adapter cluttering their car.
The Airlite 900 is above all else simple. Black finish, with white lettering; simple. The centered multi-function button (MFB) accepts and makes calls, as well as power the unit on and off. Two nearby volume control buttons make adjusting sound levels very effortless - except in the dark. A privacy button allows the Airlite 900 to act as a handheld phone by reducing the output volume.
The button layout was very simple to remember for me, but I must admit that raised-bubble style buttons would have been a better choice.
Honeywell packages the Airlite 900 with a simple visor clip which firmly secures the Bluetooth speakerphone even in the roughest driving conditions. This might open some doors to 4x4 users, who might otherwise not have the ability to use a headset. Testing & ResultsGetting StartedAs the last living Bluetooth holdout, my previous experiences with cell phone accessories has all been at the expense of customers. To my surprise, the Airlite 900 required very little initial setup to pair it with my Samsung SGH-A727 cell phone. After a full charge, there were only two simple steps needed for my phone to recognize the Airlite 900 as Bluetooth device BT-HWMC900. The Airlite 900 uses a default password of "1234", which cannot be changed and certainly isn't very difficult to break; keep this in mind if you value security. Receiving calls on the Airlite is as simple as pressing the multi-function button with the telephone handset symbol. Additionally, should you choose to use the Airlite as a music player you can utilize Advance Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) if your phone supports it. I feel that my stereo system is better suited for enjoying music, so I didn't test this feature. Over the course of two weeks I used the Honeywell Airlite 900 Wireless Bluetooth Speakerphone in my primary vehicle. Since my day consists of driving around town to make service and repair visits, I spend considerable amounts of time in the car. My first call came the same night I powered the unit on, and immediately I was confronted with panic as I tried to find the right spot on the flat metal surface to accept the call as I drove in the dark. Obviously, this is where memory of the unit itself comes in handy, but I think that raised buttons would have also helped. Test ResultsOnce the call was accepted, I explained to the caller that they were part of a product test and to give me honest feedback. They first reacted by asking me why it sounded like I was talking from a metal can. After some time spent adjusting the location of the Airlite 900, the caller was pleased with the tone. Apparently you don't want the microphone so close that your talking into it, and for my testing it was best positioned 12-16" away. By the end of my first week, callers couldn't tell the difference when I switched between my phone and the Airlite 900. Heading into the second week, I decided to randomly switch between using the Airlite 900 and using the built-in speakerphone in my Samsung SGH-A727. While both offered good sound quality and performance, I have to admit that it was much more convenient to leave my cell phone in my pocket and just press the multi-function button on the Airlite. If I was away from my vehicle, the phone's speaker would suffice or I would just use the phone normally. But driving around with the Airlite clipped to the visor let me know that I was always a button away from talking safely instead of fumbling with my phone while driving, because trying looking down at my phone for just one second could be all it takes for an accident. Making calls is another story, and is the weakness of any and all Bluetooth devices. The Airlite 900 operates on the last number called basis, so pressing the multi-function button calls whatever number was last dialed by the cell phone. Alternatively, you could dial the call from your cell phone and then pick it up on the Airlite 900 by pressing the MFB. I don't generally make a lot of calls while driving around town, so this activity was kept to a minimum. On longer drives I found that it was somewhat safe to dial the number I needed because of less dense traffic on the road. Airlite 900 ConclusionWhile your cell phone may have come with its own speakerphone, the comfort and ease of use delivered by the Honeywell Airlite 900 Wireless Bluetooth Speakerphone while driving far exceeds it. The Airlite speakerphone managed to keep charged for three weeks now, with almost six hours of total talk time billed on it. Because of the compact design and sturdy construction, I simply leave the Airlite in the visor clip of my primary vehicle and rely on it whenever I'm out and about.
Honeywell has given the Airlite 900 very elegant looks, while remaining far from the conspicuous eye. I like that this Bluetooth is extremely thin, but I'm not sure it wouldn't be better with raised buttons to help guide my fingers when it's dark. Additionally, it would have been convenient to have used the USB interface for power, since so many phones and devices make use of it. Construction is legendary, and while that might seem like a paid endorsement allow me to explain myself. While transferring the Airlite to my secondary vehicle for extended testing I accidentally dropped the unit on my concrete drive way and stepped on it my mistake. While the corner of the aluminum chassis was a little scuffed by the impact, the Airlite turned on and operated without a hitch. The overall functionality was much higher than I first expected, but there are still a few hang-ups (no pun intended) with Bluetooth devices which have no bearing on Honeywell. Making calls still requires that you use your cell phone, and finding buttons in the dark was not much fun, but easy device pairing and extremely long battery life left me impressed. Getting the sound quality down requires some trial and error with positioning, but ultimately I was able to correct the tinny sound my callers heard by increasing the distance from the microphone. At the time of this writing, Honeywell is preparing to launch the Airlite 900 and offer it first directly from their website. With a suggested retail price of $99 there are other options worth considering, but if you're not in the mood for a headset then the speakerphone makes perfect sense. In conclusion, I can recommend the Honeywell Airlite 900 to the jet-setting crowd of mobile travelers who like safety and comfort more than they like saving a few dollars on a headset. Of course, Honeywell offers those too, but it seems that putting something into my ear every time I enter my car just isn't my idea of convenience. if you're the person who can type out an accurate text message without looking, then you can probably get away with your phones integrated speakerphone feature. But for the rest of it, the Honeywell Airlite 900 is a safe and affordable alternative to headsets and cell phones while we drive. Pros:
+ Convenient leave-in-car device Cons:
- Hard to find buttons in the dark Ratings:
Final Score: 8.4 out of 10.EDITORS NOTE: SOYO, the manufacturer of this Honeywell product, has filed for bankruptcy and is no longer in business. Questions? Comments? Benchmark Reviews really wants your feedback. We invite you to leave your remarks in our Discussion Forum.
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