Review: BlueAnt Supertooth 3 Bluetooth Speakerphone

BlueAnt Supertooth 3

BlueAnt Supertooth 3

BlueAnt Supertooth 3

If you regret not purchasing the Bluetooth option in your car, this handsfree speakerphone from BlueAnt might be the perfect solution. Included in the box is the Supertooth 3, a travel/wall charger, two visor clips, and a user manual. The device weighs in at 115g, and is minimalist in design - at first glance, the device contains a speaker, send key, end key, volume adjuster, and two status lights to show connectivity to a device, all in a sleek glossy black color. The speaker clips to your automobile visor, allowing for close proximity to the microphone.

Setup

The device was exceptionally easy to install and use, requiring a 2-3 second push on the 'send' key. When initialized, the user is asked which language they prefer. The device ships with six pre-configured languages: British English, American English, French, Italian, Spanish, and German. Once in pairing mode, our phone found the device immediately, and connected once we entered the Bluetooth passkey. This Bluetooth hands free speaker can support up to eight attached devices (one connection at a time).

One of our favorite features in the device is its ability to download the phone's address book for true voice connectivity; when the device rings, the caller's name is announced, and the user can answer the phone call by clearly saying "accept call," "accept," "answer," "ok," or by pressing the 'send' key. Oddly enough, while the user can activate the device by saying one of the aforementioned words, there is no way to audibly turn the device off, forcing the user to reach up and physically press the 'end' key. In regards to the phone book transfer, however: according to the manual, some Symbian phones do not allow the automatic download of contacts. There are ways to get around the restriction, however they are slightly more cumbersome, one of which involves entering the various contacts manually. We had some slight difficulty getting our address book to synchronize in the initial setup, however it was quickly resolved, and we discovered that it was because we were using a BlackBerry (also mentioned in the user manual). Additionally, SIM card contacts must be added to the phone's physical address book, as the BlueAnt does not read from the SIM.

Use and Functionality

Call quality was impressive; our various callers told us that they heard little to no background noise while driving, and we could hear them clearly as well. Whether on a normal road or a five-lane interstate, we were quite pleased with the sound quality. We were also very impressed with the battery life of the device; BlueAnt's website rates the Supertooth III at 15 hours of talk time and 800 hours of standby time. In our testing, based on a full charge, we were easily able to get 5 days of use out of the device while testing it approximately 2-3 hours each day. Believe it or not, we're still waiting for the 'low battery' notification.

Conclusion

BlueAnt has produced several fantastic Bluetooth devices in the past, and this one does not disappoint. We were pleasantly surprised by the performance of the BlueAnt Supertooth III, and give it a 'recommended' rating, though you might face some minor difficulties if you have a Symbian based phone or a BlackBerry. We were also slightly disappointed that there was no 'end' or 'disconnect' prompt that we could say to audibly disconnect after a phone call; we had to reach up and press the 'end' key, making the unit just short of being fully voice capable. Even with these minor setbacks, the performance, combined with the battery life, makes the device one of the best Bluetooth speakerphones that we have used.

BlueAnt Supertooth 3

BlueAnt Supertooth 3

BlueAnt Supertooth 3