Plantronics Discovery 655: Worth Discovering

I have to admit that I was rather pleasantly surprised to get the very elegant new Plantronics Discovery 655 so soon after the release of the Discovery 645 barely a couple of months ago (see Treo Ultralight Wireless Headset Revealed).

Like its very popular and bestselling predecessors the Discovery 645 is an ultralight (only 9 grams) Bluetooth Headset which delivers excellent sound quality thanks to its DSP (Digital Signal Processing) technology and benefits from a unique two part pen-shaped AAA battery charger (which increases talk time to 10 hours instead of the rather low 3.5 hours standard talk time) and now vibrating cradle as well as ‘charge level indicator’ when the headset is turned on. 

Aside from this and the fact that the Discovery 655 kit does not include the (not particularly important) alternative charging tips nor the accessory carrying box both the 655 (pictured left below) and older 645 are nearly identical except for minor exterior design differences which remind me of the ‘rounded’ vs. ‘square’ debate between the Treo 650 and Treo 700.  It’s up to personal taste but I rather prefer the angular and more modern design of the new Discovery 655.

In my previous Discovery 645 review I had complained that “I found the lack of a USB charging cable in the [645] kit to be more than a little annoying considering that this is rapidly becoming a standard – it does however include a USB tip but you’ll need to purchase the USB cable separately”.  Thankfully someone at Plantronics was listening and the Plantronics Discovery 655 now includes a USB cable so that you can simply and conveniently charge your headset via your PC.

The Discovery 645 kit also includes an ear loop (above right) which I use because I find it considerably more comfortable to have my BT headset resting _on_ my ear with the loop for long periods of time rather than _in_ my ear as would be the case with just the ear gels.  Additionally, Plantronics have developed an ingenious mechanism for the fit of the ear gels so that they can be rotated left or right (images below) at a 45 degree angle depending on which ear you would like to wear it on.

However, while I believe that the rotating ear gels’ mechanism is indeed ingenious it is not necessarily practical.  My experience has been that precisely because the ear gels rotate they are constantly moving left, center and right in my pocket so that when I want to answer a call quickly I need to annoyingly fiddle with the ear gel first.  Plantronics could/should add a simple earpiece that can be ‘fixed’ so that those people preferring the on-ear experience can be satisfied.  Additionally, worse can happen if/when the ear gel falls off and gets misplaced rendering your $100 piece of kit useless…

Given the fact that the Plantronics Discovery line of headsets has been among the bestselling ones for the Treo for quite some time (and that even Palm adopted it as its new high-end Treo headset) existing and very happy Discovery owners might however consider that I am being unduly harsh but the on-ear vs. in-ear matter is one that I personally consider important.  Among others, this is why the high-end Jabra JX10 (below center) and low-end Treo Wireless Headset (below right) have been among my top 5 favourites for a very long time.

Leaving aside the ear gel issue as well as the relatively low talk time of 3.5 hours (albeit this can be increased to 10 by using the pen-charger), overall it is extremely hard to fault the new Plantronics Discovery 655.  It offers a truly elegant design, is ultralight, has a good and extensive kit which now includes USB charging, offers excellent sound quality with its DSP chip, vibrating cradle and also a built-in charge level indicator.

Below is a comparison of the current top 5 bestselling Treo Bluetooth headsets including the new Discovery 655:

Treonauts are always looking at all the ins and outs…