Software and Sound Quality
Email
Print
The PerSono software is not strictly necessary, but it enables call control
capability directly from the headset with supported softphones. The
Voyager Pro UC will transmit and receive audio when used with an unsupported
softphone, albeit without earpiece call control. For example, I tested the
Voyager Pro UC in conjunction with the unsupported Vidyo Desktop. While I
was able to get the headset to work with Vidyo-I could talk and hear the voice
element of the video call-the call control buttons on the earpiece could not hang
up the call.
The Voyager Pro UC also paired easily with both my test smartphones: an
Apple iPhone 3GS and an Android 1.6-based T-Mobile G1 with Google. The earpiece
call control and volume buttons worked seamlessly with both devices, allowing
me to answer, drop or mute calls directly from the headset. When paired with
the iPhone 3GS, the Voyager Pro UC also let me engage the iPhone's voice search
feature by holding down the call control button for a few seconds. This allowed
me to take advantage of voice-activated dialing.
However, I could not listen to other audio via the Voyager Pro UC using
either of my test smartphones. All local and streaming audio instead emanated
from the smartphones' speakerphones.
The sound quality delivered by the Voyager Pro UC's dual microphones was
quite impressive. Plantronics' Audio IQ2 technology effectively removed
overwhelming ambient noise. For example, remote callers reported that my voice
quality was excellent with little background noise, even when I stood next to
the server racks in eWEEK Labs' very loud data center. The microphones also
employ stainless steel microphone screens and acoustic fabrics to tamp down any
wind noise.
Received sound was also quite good, particularly when the headset was used
with the PC. The Voyager Pro UC supports wideband audio for use with
communications systems that support it. Skype calls sounded much clearer with
wideband audio enabled (the toggle control can be found in the Settings-Dongle
tab of the PerSono software), and music sounded significantly less flat and
hollow.
Wideband audio puts a bigger drain on the battery than narrowband, although
the hit isn't as great as I anticipated. The Voyager Pro UC is rated for 6
hours of narrowband talk time, but that rating drops to 5 hours when configured
for wideband. I found I could easily make it through an entire day on a
single charge, although contact center denizens who are on the phone constantly
will likely need to top off the battery during the day.
I was also happy with the distance performance afforded by the Voyager Pro
UC. The device is rated for operation up to 33 feet. During tests using
the Voyager Pro UC and my iPhone, I could place the iPhone near a window in an
empty office 20 feet away from my cubicle (where AT&T coverage and
performance is typically terrible) and still send and receive calls.
Senior Analyst Andrew Garcia can be reached at agarcia@eweek.com.
