MotoROKR S9 Bluetooth Headset for iPhone

After Apple added support for stereo Bluetooth to its iPhone v3 software, I decided I wanted to become unwired with my iPhone 3Gs.  After some shopping around, I bought a Motorola MotoROKR S9 Headset.

I’ve had it for about 3 weeks now, and am very happy with it.  The sound quality is better than I expected, and I find it to be very comfortable to wear – even when working out.  This is a behind-the-head design that fits well, is comfortable, and pairs easily with the iPhone.

Call sound quality is pretty good, too.  You pick up a bit of wind noise sometimes (the microphone is integrated into one of the earpiece assemblies), but it does a good job of filtering common types of background noise.  One note: when you answer a call, the audio isn’t stereo – it goes into one ear only, but the iPhone (as always) seamlessly turns down whatever you’re listening to until the call is over.

The controls are easy to use – they are on the side of the headset and allow you to play, pause, adjust volume and answer calls. 

However, the controls are the source of my only complaint:  there are previous track / next track controls on this headset which work on another Bluetooth device I own.  For some reason, the iPhone (any version, from what I can tell) doesn’t yet support the next track / previous track buttons (they just beep when you press them).  I’m hoping that comes later.

The battery life is good (I find I have to recharge it about once a week after a fair amount of use), and it comes with its own AC adapter that plugs into a mini-USB port on the headset.

All in all, I’m very happy with the MotoROKR S9, and am longing for the day when Apple adds support for the previous track / next track controls.

Comments

[Warren]

I had the S9 for about a week and I took it back. I had a standard bluetooth ear piece for my Sony Ericson Walkman which worked perfectly, but I picked up the S9 to listen to music in stereo. I couldn't believe how horrible the connection was! With my phone in my pocket the S9 couldn't pick up the BT signal unless I was sitting down, yet my old earpiece worked perfectly no matter where my phone was or what I was doing.

I did like the call quality, and the jawbone microphone eliminated echo and background noise, but when I dropped every other call because the headset wouldn't stay paired, I decided it was time to give up on it.

[Dwayne Melancon]

Interesting, Warren - that's totally different than my experience. I walk around with the phone in my pocket all the time with no reception problems. In the gym, I leave my iPhone in a plastic folder with my keys and extra pens (I write down my workout results as I go and always need pens). I sometimes walk to another part of the gym to get a different dumbbell, and I have to walk about 60 feet before the connection gets staticy.

I have a feeling there are a lot of variables, including the type of phone, etc. I know it works awesomeely well with my iPhone.

Your report makes one important point: Make sure you have a way to return any Bluetooth headset you buy in case you aren't happy with its performance.

[Dee]

My iPhone 3Gs doesn't support the track forward/backward buttons on my Jabra BT3030 either...so you know its not the Motorokr's fault, its Apple's fault!!