Sound ID SM100 EarModule Bluetooth Headset Review

Since its release last week, the new Sound ID SM100 EarModule Bluetooth Headset has rapidly climbed to claim the #6 bestselling position and I was naturally curious to take it for a test and discover the reasons why it has proven so popular.

The first thing to notice is the fact that the SM100 is extremely small (roughly the size of a quarter + dime coin at the front) and also very light (only 11 grams).  A large Call Answer/End button and microphone are located at the front.  Also, the silver face and black body look good but the plastic material used unfortunately feels a little bit cheap (particularly for a headset that costs $99).

With a thickness of some 3.0cm from the front to the end of the ear tip the SM100 is certainly not the slimmest headset available and this reduces its overall “pocketability”.  However, the fact that you can easily fit it in your ear without an over-the-ear-hook makes up for it somewhat.  This also happens to make it ideal for people wearing glasses (a common complaint with other headsets using ear hooks).

The SM100 kit is pretty basic and provides three ear gels (small, medium and large) as well as a wall charger.  I personally didn’t like the fact that the SM100 cannot be charged via USB and also that no ear hook was included in the package (albeit you can get one free of charge via the company’s website).

In terms of sound quality I found the SM100 to be very good on the outbound portion but not great on the inbound as it lacks volume and suffers from a mild buzz.  Additionally, although it offers Digital Sound Processing (DSP) it does not attenuate loud noises and will therefore prove best in quiet environments.

A unique function of the SM100 is PersonalSound – a hearing enhancement program which allows you to convert the headset into a “bionic ear” of sorts as it actively monitors and amplifies your surrounding sounds so that the EarModule doesn’t act as an earplug when you’re not on the phone.  It was quite fun to test this but I’m not sure to what extent it’s really practical.

Overall I cannot say that I found much about the Sound ID SM100 EarModule to rave about.  At this price range there is no doubt that the Aliph Jawbone (my Editor’s Choice) offers at least twice the value and even other options such as the Jabra BT5020 and Motorola H700 score much higher with better design, more features and functions for far less money.

Treonauts always look at all the angles…