Plantronics has positioned the Voyager Legend UC more at the business user, not for someone who needs a Bluetooth headset just for use with a smartphone. The price isn’t the most affordable, and doesn't boast of the flashiest or sleekest design you will find on a headset, but it does what it is supposed to do brilliantly. The call quality is brilliant, thanks to the improved mics. the battery life is very good, and the single headset solution for your smartphone and for bluetooth connectivity with PCs for VOIP calls primarily. The charging case is a real value add. Consider this, if you want one solution between your smartphone and Skype.
Build & Design
The Voyager Legend has the signature Plantronics design. The boom microphone arm reminded us of the Plantronics Discovery 975 headset. Despite the plastic build, the headset itself feels very premium and well built. The quality of materials does not show any cost cutting. For a headset that isn’t exactly affordable for most people, the attention to detail is pretty exquisite. The thick ear loop features a matte black finish with a slight soft feel when pressed against the ear. On the outer face of the loop are the power and volume keys along with the proprietary charging port. The call connect key is closest to the ear-end of the boom arm and being the only key there, picking up a call is a swift activity. The voice command activation key sits along the length of the boom mic arm and you won’t be using it most of the time. That’s the reason why the call connect key has been given the primary location. The arm itself continues with the matte black finish for a certain part before the grey colored finish takes over.
A standard gel ear tip comes attached to the Voyager Legend but Plantronics also bundles larger and smaller versions along with two foam ear-bud covers. Again, comfort levels will differ from person to person. Plantonics has made it extremely convenient to swap between the ear tips – press down and twist left to unscrew the existing top. Then insert press down and screw right to fit the new one. It is perhaps the most premium aspect of the build quality and usability of the Voyager Legend headset.
The package includes a Bluetooth dongle for connecting to the PC, and a charging case that doubles up for storage as well. The case itself is brilliantly designed, with the smoked translucent lid. The battery in this case can be charged via a Micro USB port, but surprisingly, the headset itself has a proprietary port as well. And that is one drawback, because it means you need to carry another charger when you are on the move.
Performance
The latest update of the Voyager Legend gets three microphones instead of the standard two microphones earlier. This has made a remarkable difference in the audio quality in noisy areas. The idea behind this update is to improve noise cancellation. While the caller at the other end of my line was able to hear me clearly despite the general noise on our street, they were also able to hear certain elements of the riff-raff from my ambience. The call quality for both parties was significantly better with the remarkably improved audio going through.
Plantronics claims 7 hours of talktime and 11 days of stand-by time on a single charge of the Voyager Legend. I used it for a couple of hours of calls for three days and it gave me 8 hours a day. The battery recharge prompt still hasn’t graced me with its presence! Nothing suggests that the Voyager Legend will not live up to the battery life claims.
Hooking up to Bluetooth is a fairly simple activity. This works with any PC or Mac, and is designed for use with VOIP calls, like Skype. It is truly the ‘one headset solution’ for your phone and the voice over IP calls on the PC.
The ‘sensing’ feature is extremely neat, and understands when you are using the headset and when it is lying on the table or in a bag. During an incoming call, pick up the headset and put it to your ear – the call will automatically be answered. Similarly, remove the headset from the ear during a call, and the call is transferred back to the phone. This is a very neat feature, designed for the multi-tasking environment. And it works well most of the time, except an odd time-out when the desired response is lacking. But, then again, none of the motion sensors are perfect anyway. But the fact that Plantronics have put this in a tiny headset does say a lot about their effort.
Voice commands have become fairly standard in the higher priced Bluetooth headsets. The Voyager Legend is no different. While it is a good feature to have, personally, I am not a huge fan of remembering a plethora of commands and screaming at the headset and drawing unnecessary attention.
Despite all the positives, you do need to remember that there are certain caveats which is a case with any good product! The headset itself has a proprietary charging port and can only be charged with the base station. This means that if you happen to be away from the base station for a while and the Voyager Legends needs a charge, you will need to fish out the proprietary connector cable. So, the base station is one more thing you have to remember to pack, the next time you are traveling!
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To buy or not to buy?
Plantronics has primarily manufactured the Voyager Legend UC for a business user, more than someone who needs a Bluetooth headset just for use with a smartphone. The price isn’t the most affordable, and doesn’t boast of the flashiest or sleekest design you will find on a headset. But, it does what it is supposed to do and that too, brilliantly. The call quality is excellent, thanks to the improved mics. The battery life is very good, and its a single headset solution for your smartphone and for Bluetooth connectivity with PCs for VOIP calls primarily. The charging case is a real value add. Consider this, if you want one solution between your smartphone and Skype.
Specs:
Compatibility: mobile phone/tablet and VOIP via Bluetooth
Connectivity: Bluetooth; v3.0 EDR
Headset weight: 18 grams