Iqua 603 SUN Bluetooth Headset Review
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Love them or hate them, Bluetooth headsets are everywhere, and while the majority are still sported by mini-cab drivers, estate agents and Gareth-from-the-Office types, they can be extremely useful if you do a lot of driving. Or if you find yourself tied to your electronic organiser or mobile. And since the majority of calls made using a headset take place outdoors, a solar-powered model seems like a logical idea.
The Iqua 603 SUN has a tiny solar panel built into the face that reminds us of an old skool calculator. While it doesn't have the power to charge the headset straight from the box, it's designed to top-up the battery when the sun shines -- in theory, with enough natural light standby time is infinite. So after an initial two-hour charge, using either a mini USB cable and your computer or the included 5V charger, the headset will give you up to 12 hours of talk time.
The headset is compatible with over 200 makes of mobile phone and connecting it couldn't be easier -- simply hold down the two volume buttons and it instantly becomes visible when you turn your phone's Bluetooth on. Using the headset is also child's play as the solar panel doubles as the power switch and answer/hang up button.
It isn't cheap at £50, considering basic no-frills headsets are available out there for just £10, but in fairness there are dozens of similarly priced top-end models now available that aren't half as clever as this.
According to the blurb from the Orange website the headset "fits directly into the ear, worn in complete comfort without the need for an uncomfortable ear hook." Now it could be our ears, but we couldn't get the earpiece to fit, let alone stay in place, and we needed the rather ugly (think NHS hearing aid) ear hook to keep it in place. At just 14g the headset weighs next to nothing, but once we attached the hook it did look and feel a bit bulky and while we got used to it after a while it wasn't perfect.
Once firmly attached to our ear the headset worked well. Conversations were clear and undistorted and there was very little sound leakage even when the volume was turned right up. In noisy areas it also performed well and we didn't have to shout to be heard.
Does the solar panel really work? Well we had the headset turned on for over 20 hours without the battery showing any signs of flagging, and have been using it for several hours a day. It seems to us that tiny gadgets like this that rely heavily on long-lasting standby power are perfectly suited to solar panels. While we're sure the odd top-up charge from the mains would be fine, especially if you like to natter in the evening, there's no reason the sun won't do most of the job for you during the day.
But is it green? Nowhere on the packaging does the Iqua claim to be eco, earth-friendly or energy-saving, and that's because as far as we can see, Iqua isn't trying to be. The company has realised that the solar panel makes the headset more efficient, giving it a unique selling point in the market. It will save energy, but ultimately it's just a clever headset that's using renewable technology.
Iqua tell us the headset's made in Guangdong, China, in a factory that meets basic health and safety standards and has an OHSAS 18001 certificate to back that up. But there's no information on conditions for workers, wages, freedom of organisation or otherwise, so we've given the headset a fairly average ethics score. It's a nice touch that Iqua donates one US dollar to WWF every time a UK shopper buys one of the headsets.
For once, being eco-friendly is a natural by-product rather than a trendy selling point, and we only wish there were more products like this.
Quality
Value
Ethics
Green
