Following on from our earlier Sony Ericsson MW600 review, we now have another Bluetooth headset up for review. This time it is the Sony Ericsson VH700 ‘noise guard’ Bluetooth headset, part of the company’s Greenheart range.

The Sony Ericsson VH700 does not have as many fancy features as the MW600, for example you won’t find a display, 3.5mm jack or FM radio. However, this particular headset has been designed with sound quality in mind and comes with dual microphones that help to filter away the background noise – hence the ‘noise shield’ name. Click through for our full impressions.

Sony Ericsson VH700 Specifications

• Full duplex echo cancellation and intelligent real-time noise reduction
• Multipoint support (use the headset with two different phones at the same time)
• Power: Charges 90% within 2 hours
• Battery: Lithium-ion Polymer 95mAh
• Charging connector: Micro USB
• Bluetooth core version: 2.1
• Bluetooth Headset profile: Version 1.1
• Bluetooth Handsfree profile: Version 1.5

Review

In the box

The review sample we were sent was not a retail model, but the accessories should be the same and includes the VH700 headset, standard USB cable, ear buds in 6 different sizes as well as a user guide.

Design

The VH700 certainly looks like an elegant headset, especially in the white colour we were sent. The headset integrates the headphones, so there is no chance for you to use your own cans with it. However, this has been done for good reason, the ear piece includes dual mics that couldn’t be replicated if Sony Ericsson allowed you to use your own headphones.

The earpiece houses the main call-handling button on its spine. The main mic sits just above this button. The second mic is placed at the bottom of the earpiece, which you can just about see in the picture below.

One side of the VH700 has the volume controls. Thankfully these are proper buttons unlike the touch sensitive controls of the MW600 that were more hassle than it was worth. The buttons offer good travel and we had no problems changing the volume whilst on a call.

The other side of the VH700 has the power key that was a bit trickier to turn on/off, but this is a good thing as you wouldn’t want the headset to turn off accidentally mid-call.

The top of the headset has the standard micro USB port that for charging. This means you should be able to charge the device from any mains (with the right plug), or laptop.

The clip attaches itself easily to any garment of clothing. The clip is shorter than the one on the MW600 and seems to have a tighter spring. It has just one tooth to grip into, compared to three on the MW600.

Set up

The Sony Ericsson VH700 was easy to set up and our Xperia X10 was able to pair with it as soon as it was switched on. The headset comes with multipoint support that means you can pair two phones at the same time (say a personal and business phone). To do this you need to press and hold down the plus sign on the volume key. Two orange flashes on the indicator light shows that multipoint has been enabled.

Audio quality/Music playback

As with the Sony Ericsson MW600, we found the VH700 to have very good call quality. The VH700 incorporates full duplex echo cancellation and intelligent real-time noise reduction, that really does seem to make a difference, although you will probably only notice a difference in the loudest of environments.

To make sure the earphones are comfortable, Sony Ericsson provide 6 different sized ear buds to ensure that at least one should be a close enough to fit your ears.

Battery Life

The bottom of the headset has the indicator light that will illuminate red or green depending on whether the VH700 is charging, pairing or to show the battery level. Battery life was very good and easily on par with the MW600 that we reviewed earlier. You could easily get by for a few days with reasonably heavy usage before needing to recharge. In terms of charging time, you can reach 90 percent within two hours. A full charge will take around two and a half hours.

Conclusion

The Sony Ericsson VH700 is certainly an interesting Bluetooth headset. It is not as feature packed as the MW600 and yet costs more money (around £5-£10 more expensive). You aren’t able to use your own headphones, there is no display and no FM radio either.

However, the VH700 is a stylish device, with the integrated headset/earphone a less messy affair compared to something like the MW600 with your own cans. It also means you can leave the headset clipped with the earpiece dangling by the side when not in use. Call quality is very good, with the dual mics helping in very loud environments. Overall, if we were to choose, we’d still probably go for the MW600 over the VH700, however the latter is a superb choice if you just need a solid Bluetooth headset with great audio quality.

Positives

• Super stylish
• Great sound quality
• Good battery life
• Standard micro-USB port

Negatives

• No 3.5mm jack that means you can’t use your own headphones
• No FM radio
• No display on the headset

Many thanks to Sony Ericsson for sending us the white VH700 noise shield Bluetooth headset to review!