Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Note: Read 'edit' comments added at the bottom I too did a lot of research on bluetooth headsets in preparation for OS 3.0. In-ear headphones bother me (recently found the wired PMX-80 II painful), and I need to be able to hear traffic around me while riding my ebike, so on-ears are pretty much what I am looking for. My paper analysis showed this S305 and the Nokia BH-503 Wireless Stereo Headset to be likely candidates. I got this because I found it locally first, at Frys. Suprisingly, it was about 20% cheaper there than Amazon - although I got the only one they had. It paired easily with my iPhone 3G with OS 3.0, and on the iphone these functions work: 1) Volume Up/Down (local to the headphones only, it does not adjust the volume on the iphone, nor does changing the volume on the iphone have any affect on the headphones) 2) Pause/Play - song stops and resumes 3) Stop/start - holding the pause/play button down stops the song, and if you press it again the song starts at the beginning 4) Call answer/disconnect 5) Microphone - the headphones' built-in microphone works just fine with the iphone. I was worried I was going to still have to use the old talk-into-the-bottom-of-the-iphone-while-wearing-headphones trick, which was great when I was wired, but not convenient if I leave my iphone buried in the bottom of a bag because I have wireless headphones. The only thing that doesn't seem to work with iPhone 3G are the next song/previous song buttons, which I already knew about, so I am thrilled that everything else does work. Range is exceptional - I was able to get 15-20' away, through 2 walls, and still have signal. I used to have the original, bulky Logitech F0361A bluetooth on an ipod, and sometimes my body position would be enough to block signal (Note - I personally verified that the Logitech F0361A does NOT work with the iphone, and I have heard that the Freepulse does not work either). Microphone quality is passible. People seem to be able to understand me OK, about as well as with any of the quality bluetooth earpieces I have tried. Headphone sound quality is acceptable. I found the 'loudness' EQ setting on the iPhone matched my sound preferences the best, wheras with my old logitechs I preferred the 'classical' EQ. They might be on par with my old PMX-60's (no EQ). I miss the detail of my Sennheiser PMX-100's (no EQ) but I am willing to trade a certain amount of quality for wireless freedom - especially since I don't have to mess with a bluetooth transmitter flopping around. It is another thing to plug in and charge though. Fit is comfortable, I have an average-to large size head. They ride lighter on my ears than I expected, and don't seem to interfere with head movement. The 'Princess Leia' effect is on par with wired on-ear headphones. My wife usually complains about on-ear headphones clamping her head too tightly, but she likes these as much as her PMX-60's. What else? Control buttons are easily to find, the volume buttons feel kinda loose and rattly, so I am worried they may blow around in the wind on my ebike, and make noise. EDIT - no rattling noise problems, and the volume was plently load to overcome wind noise while riding at speed - EDIT. I'll report back on Battery Life. After turning off my 3G, I was able to pair this with my wife's 1st-Generation iPhone. However, sound only came out of the iPhone not the headphones, and the controls did not work, even though the bluetooth icon was lit and the headphones indicator was blinking green. We forgot to try calls, mabe that works, but I don't see the point of using headphones only for calls. She'll have my 3G as soon as I score the 3GS though so it won't matter. Edit: Shortly After I wrote this review, I purchased the Nokia bh-503. They are heavier and larger than the S305, but they sounded MUCH MUCH better, and the microphone quality is much better. I ended up returning the s305's. If I was a runner, I might appreciate the s305 more, but the Nokia BH-503 is just fine on my ebike. Also, the new OS3.1 allows the iPhone 3GS to use voice commands from bluetooth headsets. This means I can press the 'power' button until it dings, the phone answers with a chime, and I can say 'Call Robert' or 'Play artist pink floyd' or 'Play next song' or 'Play previous song'. Those last two commands are especially important, since Apple has blocked the next/previous buttons on bluetooth headsets, even though it is a standard part of the bluetooth profile. Oh, and I ended up getting Mrs. Oatnet a 3GS too - and selling my 3G on ebay paid for most of the upgrade.