Having raised the bar for mobile phone design with its iconic Razr series of phones, Motorola looks set to do the same again for Bluetooth headsets, with its new Motopure H12 Universal Bluetooth Headset.

It looks so cool, you'll be sure to turn heads by just sticking it in your ear. The zing comes from a sophisticated combination of a perforated metal cover, glossy black plastic and chrome lining.

Heck, even its desktop charger is cool. Simply align their tiny metal contacts and magnets will keep the headset in place on the charger.

For a device that's smaller than my thumb, the H12 packs in plenty of technology.

There's Motorola's proprietary CrystalTalk, which promises a clear phone conversation in noisy environments. With not one, but two, microphones, it claims to separate voices from background and wind noise.

The reality, however, was different.

While sound coming through the headset was very clear, friends had problems hearing me when I spoke to them from, say, a noisy food court.

The complaints ranged from 'muffled' to 'echoey'. My wife even thought I was in the office toilet when I was on a bus!

In terms of comfort, the Bluetooth headset was fine. The brand boasts 'TrueComfort' earbuds - in three sizes - that were developed after two years of 'extensive ergonomic measurement study of the human ear'. A thin, almost transparent, plastic hook held the very light H12 firmly in place, never once getting in the way of my glasses.

Its controls are also simple. It has a circular call button, a power slider switch and a volume button control. An LED found in one of the tiny perforations indicates battery life and the various modes the headset can operate in.

Pairing the H12 with a Nokia N81 was a cinch, and it automatically re-paired itself whenever I restarted the device too.

FINAL SAY

The cool factor goes out the window when you have to keep repeating yourself during a call.

• MOTOPURE H12 Universal Bluetooth Headset
• $178
• Available at all authorised Motorola dealers

By Melvin Seah, who works in the IT industry

This article was first published in Digital Life, The Straits Times on Apr 1, 2008.