Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Taking a Look at BlueAnt’s Z9i Bluetooth Headset

Reviews Written by: Mike Temporale on Friday, March 20, 2009 8:00am

From wired to wireless, I’ve used a number of different headsets over the years. The wired headsets are loaded with nothing but problems, the cord gets tangled up, or there is a break in the cable causing the sound to short out. So it’s no surprise to see Bluetooth headsets become so successful, as they don’t have that nasty cable problem. They also have more power and smarts than your typical headset. In recent years we’ve seen noise reduction become a big factor on Bluetooth headsets. And noise reduction is one place this BlueAnt has focused on with regards to their Z9i headset.

I was very impressed with the packaging when I unboxed my BlueAnt. It’s clean and clearly shows you the complete product without having to open the box. You can clearly see that this headset is an in-ear with a hoop to that goes over your ear to hold it in place. Some pictures that I’ve seen online had removed the hoop, so it wasn’t clear how the headset would work.

MobileJaw-BlueAnt-PackageFrontBack

Opening the package proved a little more difficult than I had expected. You actually open the product from the bottom, but the metal cap was taped and glued in place. If it wasn’t for the sticker telling you to open it from the bottom, I would have thought that I was going to break it.

Once open, you’ll find all the cables and manuals are hiding in the bottom. The Z9i comes with a USB cable for charging directly from your computer or just about any other device with a USB port on it. It also comes with a standard electrical plug that allows you to plug this unit into the wall for a complete and quicker charge.

MobileJaw-BlueAnt-PackageContents

The headset itself is small with a couple volume buttons on the top side and one big “ant” button on the back. Below the ant button and before the ear piece, you’ll find a small proprietary port for charging. The port almost looks like miniUSB, but sadly, it’s not. The buttons on the top are used for volume and the ant button is the main function button. The hoop is allowed to freely swing and rotate making it really easy to put on. The Jawbone, my previous headset, was always a pain to get on your ear. I have broken the hoop on that headset 2 or 3 times and on top of that, it just never felt right. With the Z91, it’s a very different story – easy to put on and light weight.

MobileJaw-BlueAnt-HeadsetFrontBack

When it comes to performance, the Z91 doesn’t hold back despite it’s small size. The in-ear volume – the volume that you hear in your ear, when they talk, can be adjusted. In most bluetooth headsets, I have found this volume to be too low making it really hard to hear the person that I called. What good is noise cancellation if I can’t hear what the person is saying because it’s too noise where I am. Don’t get me wrong, noise cancellation is great and really helps to make sure that the person I’m talking with can hear me, regardless of the background noise that surrounds me, but I still need to be able to hear what they say. The Z91 is great in this department. In fact, I have even had to turn the volume down on occasion, especially when I’m not in an overly noisy environment like my car.

MobileJaw-BlueAnt-Jawbone

So how does the BlueAnt Z9i compare when it comes to noise cancellation? Well… you be the judge! I’ve called my voice mail and recorded a message from the BlueAnt Z9i and then again using original Jawbone. Take a listen to the following WAV files and then you can be the judge on which headset performs the best when it comes to noise cancellation.

So what’s the final word on the BlueAnt Z9i? Well, if you’re looking for a small Bluetooth headset that is easy to put on with strong in-ear volume, then the BlueAnt Z9i is a great buy. If top-notch noise cancellation is a key requirement, then you might not want to get the BlueAnt. I found the background noise on the BlueAnt to be very surprising. I never had anyone complain about the background noise, but I was surprised to hear how clearly the radio noise came through. It did manage to stop the sound of the car’s engine, the snow tires, and the hole in my muffler. For me, I’ll will continue to use the BlueAnt headset as the size, battery life, easy/quick installation, and in-ear volume are worth much more. I can always push mute on the car radio or pause on my Zune if need be.

   Comments (14)
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Comments

14 Responses to “Taking a Look at BlueAnt’s Z9i Bluetooth Headset”

  1. clintonfitchdotcom on March 20th, 2009 8:22 am
    clintonfitchdotcom

    Great review Mike. I like how you did the audio comparison between the Blueant and the Jawbone. That really tells the story doesn’t it?

  2. Remo on March 20th, 2009 9:22 am
    Remo

    Excellent, to have this head to head comparison.

    It reminds me of Jason Langridges article when he called his voicemail while driving at the same high speeds.

    One cool feature of the BlueAnt headsets is that the firware is upgradable, but there probably isn’t a new firmware out there ?

  3. BRYAN B on March 20th, 2009 1:30 pm
    BRYAN B

    There was no mention of how it handled Voice command

  4. jack_cook on March 20th, 2009 4:46 pm
    jack_cook

    Great review Mike. Interesting quality comparison. The Z9i has great sound but bot does that Jawbone have great noise cancellation.

    The size and comfort of the Z9i was a strong factor for me in my choice.

  5. Mike Temporale on March 20th, 2009 8:48 pm
    Mike Temporale

    @Bryan B – Great point! Not sure how I missed that. To answer your question, Voice Command works like a charm! I have no problems when tapping the button on the headset and saying “Call So-And-So on Mobile”. It works really well. For the record, I’m using it with my BlackJack II.

  6. Mike Temporale on March 20th, 2009 8:55 pm
    Mike Temporale

    @Remo – That is a cool feature. The only problem is that there is no way for me to tell what firmware is on my headset. And the BlueAnt website doesn’t say when the latest firmware was released. So I don’t know if I already have the most current version.

  7. Remo on March 25th, 2009 11:42 am
    Remo

    @Mike Temporale – If I remember correctly the firmware version of the Z9 (which is the Z9i pre-decessor) is shown in the bluetooth settings of your Windows Mobile device.

    On http://www.blueantz9.com the lateste firmware could be checked. However Z9 firmware is not compatible with the Z9i headset so I assume for this headset they have a new support website.

  8. Miye on April 5th, 2009 1:29 am
    Miye

    Great review Mike. How would you compare the BlueAnt Z9i to Motorola Motopure H15?

  9. Miye on April 5th, 2009 1:36 am
    Miye

    I found that the Jawbone earpiece didn’t quite fit me. I also found that the BlueAnt V1 voice control was great.

  10. Mike Temporale on April 9th, 2009 2:16 pm
    Mike Temporale

    @Miye – The Motopure H15 looks nice! Unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to try it so I can’t really comment on how well it compares.

  11. Dianne on July 2nd, 2009 11:48 am
    Dianne

    I’m seriously thinking about getting the BluAnt Z9i, I have a BB 8330 and my old Samsung is great for everything except the person on the other end…it cuts off words and there’s a lot of static…I’ve had this BT for a long, long time, but I need to upgrade and I love the way it fits my ear….I’ve been reading reveiws regarding most compatible with BB 8330 and that seems to be the BluAnt Z9i or jawbone….I think I’m going with the BluAnt, but I have one question…can you wear the headset without the hook and if so, does it stay in the ear, is it comfortable?

    Please let me know what you think…I want to try and get it today.

    Tks,
    Dianne

  12. Clinton Fitch on July 2nd, 2009 12:01 pm
    Clinton Fitch

    @Dianne,

    Having used both the Jawbone and BlueAnt, I like the BlueAnt much, much more. The quality of the audio is just fantastic and I find it fits nicely in my ear. In my case I do find I need the ear hook but I could potentially see where one could wear it without it. The hook just makes sure it doesn’t go flying off your head if you turn your head real quick! :-)

    Hopefully Mike won’t mind me mentioning that I do have the Z9i on sale at my store and it comes with a 30 day money back policy in case you don’t like it.
    http://store.clintonfitch.com/productAccessories.asp?id=22452

    Clinton Fitch, MVP-Windows Mobile

  13. Mike Temporale on July 3rd, 2009 9:13 am
    Mike Temporale

    @Dianne, between the Jawbone and BlueAnt, I find the BlueAnt is much easier to put on. In terms of quality, well, I think the audio clips above show the difference – the Jawbone is a little better, but not by much. I don’t think you could go wrong with either headset. I prefer the BlueAnt simply because it’s easier to put on. But I’m still trying the different Jawbone’s in hopes that things change. :-)

    @Clinton – no, I don’t mind. – Cheers!

  14. Vin on October 8th, 2009 12:58 am
    Vin

    I wonder if you had the Z9i in “maximum” mode for the recording test?

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