Motorola HS850 Bluetooth Headset review
Digital signal processing and long battery life
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The Motorola HS850
Bluetooth headset is ordinary to pleasing in appearance and
consistently pleasing in operation.
This is a good headset
for you to consider.
Part
of our series on Bluetooth - more articles listed on
the right.
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Costing variously between about
$65 and $100, Motorola's HS850 headset is fairly priced, and
performs well.
Sound quality is good and
battery life is excellent. The unit is comfortable to
wear, and - perhaps most important of all - easy to use.
There's nothing to dislike
about this unit, and we recommend it accordingly.
What you Get
Our Motorola HS850 came in
very basic packaging - just the headset, charger, and a manual
for a different model headset, all in a plastic bag.
Perhaps if you pay the full $100 retail price and buy direct
from Motorola, you get a fancier box and maybe even the correct
manual. :) We simply downloaded a pdf copy of the
manual from
Motorola's website.
The (correct) small English manual is
30 pages in length and tells you what you need to know to use
the headset.
Feature Chart
Use this information to
quickly understand the capabilities of the unit and to compare
with other units.
Feature Comment |
Cost |
Recommended
US retail $100
Street prices
down as low as $65. |
Ergonomics |
Easy to put
on and take off |
Only
moderately
easy to put on, and I found I was usually using
both hands to do this, which is not practical if
you're holding your phone with one hand and
trying to quickly put your headset on with the
other hand.
It was, of course,
easy to take off. |
Easy to use
the control buttons |
There are
three buttons on the unit. There are two
small buttons for volume up and volume down, and
a larger button opposite the earpiece.
The layout is such that it is easy to reach and
press these buttons. |
Comfortable
to wear |
This is one
of the more comfortable units available, with nothing
sticking uncomfortably in one's ear. |
Can you use
with glasses |
Yes. |
Can use with
either ear |
Yes. A
clever feature is the ability to swap the
two volume buttons so that the top one is for
volume up and the bottom one for volume down, no
matter if the unit is in your left or right ear. |
Securely
mounted on ear |
It seems to
be secure inasmuch as it doesn't fall off, but
it can move around a bit and feels a bit floppy.
On the other hand, this loose fit also makes it
unobtrusive and comfortable to wear. |
How to carry |
The good
news - there is a loop on the unit to which you
can affix an around the neck lanyard.
The bad news - Motorola don't provide a lanyard;
you have to go out and buy one extra.
Here's an
online store that sells them for about $2 each.

Compatible with Nectar
retractable and
necklace style headset holders. |
Weight |
Reasonably light - 0.6
oz |
Ease of Use |
Commands
intuitive and easy to remember |
Much
simpler commands than many other units.
Most commands are initiated by a short press on
the one button, a few others by a long press (3
seconds or longer). |
Volume
adjustable |
This is
reasonably intuitive, with two dedicated
buttons, one each for volume up and volume down. |
How fast
does it turn on |
It takes
about five seconds to turn on and synch up with
a phone. |
Manual |
Well written
in perfect English, 30 pages in length.
Also in other languages. |
Support |
Via
website
and (800) number (7 days/83 hrs a week). |
Pairing
password printed on device |
No (it is
0000 so in an emergency you have a good chance
of guessing what it is!) |
Features |
Battery life |
Up to 8
hours talk or 200 hours standby claimed.
This is better than average battery life (as of
Feb 06). |
Low battery
indicator/signal |
The unit
beeps five times every 20 seconds to indicate
the battery is almost discharged.
Only the person wearing the headset hears the
beeping, not the person you're speaking to. |
Battery type |
Not
disclosed |
Replaceable
battery? |
No.
As with other headsets, the chances are by the time the battery has died,
you'll probably have bought a new headset. |
Battery
charging method/time |
The unit
uses the same type of charger as do all V60-600
series phones.
This is convenient - if you have an existing
charger for these types of phones, you can use
it with the headset, too, and save yourself the
need to carry two chargers with you. It
also opens the door to other charging methods
you might already have (see below).
Charging time is about 2 hours. |
Multi-voltage charger |
Yes. |
Charger
weight/size |
2.4 oz.
A small size
charger, with plug pins that fold into the
'brick' to make it more compact for carrying. |
Other
charging methods |
You can use
a Motorola car adapter, or one of our
emergency rechargers (with the
extra Motorola V60/600 series adapter). |
How many
pairings can be stored |
The unit can
store up to either seven or eight pairings
(Motorola's website says seven, the manual says
eight). |
Headset and
hands-free profiles? |
Both
profiles are supported. |
Audio
profile for computers |
Apparently
not. |
Bluetooth
compatibility |
Version 1.2 |
Power/range |
Power class
isn't specified, but it is claimed to have a 30'
range, which would suggest a Class 3 type
device. |
Effective
range |
It receives
signals (from the person you are talking to) for
up to one floor away before the static level
starts to become objectionable. In a
horizontal distance, it goes close to 30', as
claimed.
Walls or other obstructions severely reduce its
range.
This performance is as claimed and perfectly adequate for normal
Bluetooth type connections. |
Warranty |
There is no
sign of a warranty policy anywhere but it is
believed to be, from Motorola's website, a
miserly 90 days. |
Free return |
Retailer
policies will vary. |
Noise
cancelling/DSP |
Motorola
don't claim any special noise cancelling or DSP
capabilities for the headset.
Here's a
532kB .WAV file that allows you to
hear
the difference between the HS850 and the
Razr V3 phone handset in a noisy environment.
The headset does surprisingly well and is not
tangibly worse than the handset. |
Sound
quality |
When talking
to other people, they said my voice sounded normal
and very much the same on the headset as on the
handset.
The sound quality of the person at the other end
of the call seemed fine in the headset. |
Capabilities |
Turning on
and off |
Turning on
and off is brilliantly intuitive. Open the
boom microphone and you turn the unit on.
Close it and you turn the unit off. As
simple as that.
It takes
about five seconds from when you open the boom
to when the headset is on, operational, and
paired to the phone. |
Auto connect |
Yes. |
Voice tag
support |
Supported.
Make a short press of the main command button,
then say the name you've previously
recorded. |
Last number
redial |
Yes.
Make a long press on the main command button. |
Transfer
call to/from phone |
To transfer
a call to the headset, simply turn the headset
on.
If the
headset is already on, then a short press of the
button on the headset, same as if you were
answering a call, will transfer it.
Transferring
a call from the headset back to the phone is
done by turning the headset off and then
accepting the call back on the phone.
These
functions are intuitive and reasonably simple. |
Call
waiting/Three way calling |
A long press
on the button will place your first call on hold
and answer the incoming second call.
Further long
presses swap between the two calls.
To join
both callers to make a three way call, press
both volume buttons simultaneously. |
Call reject |
A long press
of the button rejects a call. |
Call
answer/end |
Yes.
Generally you will have your headset off rather
than on. So, to answer a call, simply turn
it on. If the
unit is already on, a short press of the button
will answer an incoming call.
To end a call, a short press of the button is
again needed. |
Mute |
A long press
of the button puts the call on hold, sort of the
same as mute. |
Subjective |
Attractive
design |
I don't like
it as much as some of the other headsets, but
this is a personal quibble. It is
inoffensive and not ugly. |
Flashing
indicators on standby |
Yes,
although this is really not needed, because
there is a much more obvious visual indicator -
if the boom is extended, you know the unit is
on, and if it is folded shut, you know the unit
is off. |
Size |
Average/normal. |
Summary |
This is a fully featured
unit at a good price that is easy to operate and
has a good battery life. |
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Using the Motorola HS850 Headset
The Motorola HS850 is the
easiest to use Bluetooth headset we've encountered so far.
It works well, connects quickly to the phone it is partnered
with, and gives good quality audio in both directions.
Connecting with phones
Easy. Once you've
paired the unit with a phone, any time you turn the unit on, it
will quickly look for and connect with your phone if the phone is also
on and in range.
This is convenient and
simple.
Note : Although we
tested the Motorola headset with a Motorola phone, it will work
just as well with almost any other Bluetooth enabled cellphone.
There is nothing brand-specific or unique to the Motorola
headset that would limit its ability to work with other
Bluetooth enabled cellphones.
Summary
The Motorola HS850 headset
is a good all rounder - while perhaps there's nothing outstanding
about it, there's little to dislike, either, and with
street prices going down to about $65 , it is fairly priced. Best of
all, it is easy and almost intuitive to use.
For the first
time so far in our Bluetooth headset review series, we find
ourselves able to conclude the review with a single magic word :
Recommended.
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Originally published
10 Feb 2006, last update
21 Jul 2020
You may freely reproduce or distribute this article for noncommercial purposes as long as you give credit to me as original writer.
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