SonyEricsson HBH-GV435 Review

In recent weeks a number of people have suggested that I take a closer look at the new Sony Ericsson HBH-GV435 – a bluetooth accessory that has rapidly climbed the charts to become one of the most popular and top 5 bestselling wireless headsets in the Treonauts Accessory Shop.

I was naturally curious to see what all the fuss was about and decided to get my own unit to test…

Straight out of the box the HBH-GV435 is a solid wireless headset with an elegant black and silver design and an almost sculptural shape that is designed to fit over your ear.  Although the design may be a little reminiscent of hearing aids there is no doubt that this particular model is very beautiful to hold and look at and one that also happens to be very pocketable (a key factor for any BT headset).

The front of the headset (above left) features the microphone and a rotating speaker earpiece (to make it easy to wear on either your right or left ear).  The front and back of the unit is attacthed via a flexible rubber bridge to ensure a comfortable fit.  The back of the headset (above right) is where the Power, Call Handling, Volume and Indicator Light are found.

Although the HBH-GV435 is nearly twice as heavy as my other two preferred Bluetooth headsets – the Motorola H700 and Jabra JX10 – I nonetheless found it extremely comfortable to wear for long periods of time (probably because the weight of the unit is balanced between the front and back while resting at the top of your ear with the large rubber bridge) and I particularly like the design of the speaker earpiece which further enhances the wearing comfort.

From a performance perspective (see comparative chart below), the HBH-GV435 stands out as having one of the longest Talk Time in its class and also features DSP (Digital Signal Processing), echo cancellation technology to actively reduce background noise and also automatic volume adjustment.  However, although the HBH-GV435 certainly matches the call quality of the H700 and JX10 I nonetheless have to point out that when it comes to noise cancellation the Aliph Jawbone still stands well above the rest but it is significantly more expensive.

One of my biggest complaints with the HBH-GV435 is the fact that Sony Ericsson still chooses to use a proprietary charging connector instead of a miniUSB one and also that the kit only includes a wall charger and not an additional USB cable to make it easier to charge while on the go.

Overall, I personally found the top feature of the Sony Ericsson HBH-GV435 to be about its wearing comfort – you can easily be on a call for hours barely noticing that the headset is over your ear.  The long talk time, solid build, very good call quality and extremely pocketable design are naturally all also a big plus.  The combination of all of these now makes it easier to understand why this headset has rapidly shot to the top of the chart.

Treonauts always shoot to the top…