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Old Jun 20, 2008 | 3:33 pm
  #1  
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Non-Blinking Bluetooth?

I have a Palm Centro and I use the Palm bluetooth headset. It's fine, except I really, really, really HATE the blue light that never stops blinking. It makes you look like an utter dork if you forget to take the thing off after making a call, and there are times when I want to leave it on because I can hear a tone in the earpiece when a call comes in, even if my ringer is off.

Does anyone know of a reasonably priced bluetooth headset that doesn't have a blinking light -- or preferably, any light at all (or at least one you can turn off)?
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Old Jun 21, 2008 | 12:14 am
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I too hate all sorts of ubiquitos indicator led:s, at home I solve the problem with electric tape or a couple of layers with a sharpie.

I don't think I have seen a bluetooth headset without a light, although there are several that at least doesn't have the very intrusive blue led (which IMO is the worst offender).
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Old Jun 21, 2008 | 6:26 am
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That blue light SUCKS. I knew a woman who wore her hair around her ears very close and when her Bluetooth was on, the light could bounced off the inner wall of the hairdo and made one side of her face blink. Sadly hilarious.
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Old Jun 21, 2008 | 8:49 am
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The Jawbone is pretty non-obtrusive with its light. It's a white blinker, but it's not very bright and not very frequent.
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Old Jun 21, 2008 | 11:09 am
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+1^ for Jawbone, it works great and is very discrete.
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Old Jun 21, 2008 | 11:39 am
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What, you don't want to look like this?

Yes, they're annoying. I was sitting behind someone in a movie theater who's bright blue LED kept flashing. Anyway, I think the good old black tape solution is probably the best one.
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Old Jun 22, 2008 | 7:51 pm
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Jabra BT800 is one option

Originally Posted by whitearrow
I have a Palm Centro and I use the Palm bluetooth headset. It's fine, except I really, really, really HATE the blue light that never stops blinking. It makes you look like an utter dork if you forget to take the thing off after making a call, and there are times when I want to leave it on because I can hear a tone in the earpiece when a call comes in, even if my ringer is off.

Does anyone know of a reasonably priced bluetooth headset that doesn't have a blinking light -- or preferably, any light at all (or at least one you can turn off)?

The Jabra BT800 has a blinking blue light, but you can turn it off via the menus. Not sure if the BT800 is still available, but I quite like mine, and yes, the first thing I did was turn off the stupid light. If its off the market, you might want to see if other Jabras offer the same ability, since apparently Jabra the company does recognize this as a useful feature.

I was curious, so I checked. I can't tell if any of the new Jabras have the "turn off light completely" feature, but a number have something called "quiet mode", which at least turns off the light after 1 minute, and one (the 8010, I think) does describe itself as letting you set the brightness, but doesn't say if one brightness level is "OFF".


Barring that, black electrical tape is your friend.

Good luck,
Bob

Last edited by bpratt; Jun 22, 2008 at 8:07 pm Reason: new info
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Old Jun 23, 2008 | 12:03 am
  #8  
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Originally Posted by whitearrow
I really, really, really HATE the blue light that never stops blinking. It makes you look like an utter dork if you forget to take the thing off after making a call, and there are times when I want to leave it on because I can hear a tone in the earpiece when a call comes in, even if my ringer is off.
Hint: if you leave it on your ear when not actually making a call, you look like an utter dork whether or not the blue light is blinking.
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Old Jun 23, 2008 | 8:25 am
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Originally Posted by Steve M
Hint: if you leave it on your ear when not actually making a call, you look like an utter dork whether or not the blue light is blinking.
I agree! These people look and act like dorks. I actually saw a guy in an airline lounge last week with one in each ear. My slang term for these thingees is "cucaracha".

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Old Jun 23, 2008 | 8:31 am
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on my new jawbone 2, one can turn the light OFF it one likes.

Now, I'm not YET too crazy about the sound on this unit, either in the ear, or on the end of the call.

but, it is the lightest, and sleekest one I have used to date.

Already on discount,s 95$ delivered.
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Old Jun 23, 2008 | 9:37 am
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Originally Posted by Steve M
Hint: if you leave it on your ear when not actually making a call, you look like an utter dork whether or not the blue light is blinking.
You beat me to it....
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Old Jun 23, 2008 | 10:18 am
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Originally Posted by Steve M
Hint: if you leave it on your ear when not actually making a call, you look like an utter dork whether or not the blue light is blinking.
I agree--I find a BT headset very useful, but felt like an idiot actually wearing one. For this reason I liked my Jawbone.

I now have a BlueAnt BT speakerphone that can go from car to car with me. So now I just look like an idiot for shouting at my sun visor.
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Old Jun 23, 2008 | 3:19 pm
  #13  
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Originally Posted by Steve M
Hint: if you leave it on your ear when not actually making a call, you look like an utter dork whether or not the blue light is blinking.
It's not my first choice, but when you have to leave the ringer off, it's a way to know the phone is ringing. I'm female and the skirts/slacks I wear don't usually have pockets where you can keep a phone. Besides, my hair basically covers the thing except for the blinking blue light!

Thanks for the suggestions.
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