| | |  | iPhone Accessories | Home » » Plantronics K100 Bluetooth Speakerphone | | | | | | | Description: | | This Plantronics K100 In Car Speakerphone features two noise-reducing microphones, and DSP technology and echo cancellation for clearer calls. A2DP profile to stream music from A2DP-enabled phones. Its slim profile is designed to live on your car's visor, and deliver the audio excellence you expect from Plantronics. Broadcast calls, GPS navigation and music from your mobile phone via the K100 speakerphone's Bluetooth connection. | | | Features: | |
• Dual microphones and Digital Signal Processing (DSP) focus on your voice and cancel out the noise and conversations around you
• A2DP lets you stream music, podcasts, GPS navigation and more from A2DP-enabled phones
• FM transmitter gives you the option to play conversations and other audio through your car's speakers for greater volume or to share with others
• Echo cancellation improves listening on both sides of the call
• Voice alerts keep you informed of the speakerphone's status, including power on/off, connection status, volume and more
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 4.82 inches | | Product Width:
| 8.95 inches | | Product Height:
| 2.28 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.2 pounds | | Package Length:
| 8.0 inches | | Package Width:
| 4.8 inches | | Package Height:
| 2.4 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.55 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 58 reviews |
| |
Most "cell phone accessories" shipped worldwide. All "cell phones" ship from wholesale warehouse in USA.
| | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 58 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 25 found the following review helpful:
 easy to use and very functionalNov 02, 2010
By Deee Lovely
"deeeelovely"
This is my first bluetooth phone product and I am quite pleased. It was quick and easy to set up and there are only a few buttons (they are large) so it's very easy to use while driving without being distracted.
You clip this to your visor and once it's turned on, it should sync with your phone (assuming you've done the initial phone setup). To answer a call, you press the big button in the middle (disconnect the call the same way). There is also a handy volume control wheel. It was pretty clear for me as well as the people on the other end of the line. I've talked to many people with bluetooth speaker phones in their cars and almost always I will hear the echo of my own voice (annoying)...this does not do that, clear as a bell! You can also do voice dialing to make it even more hands free.
It uses an internal rechargeable battery and comes with a usb to micro usb cable to do that, as well as a car plug with a usb slot so you can charge on the go. An added bonus is that the plug can also be used to charge any other usb device in your car. You can also use this as a small external speaker, I like to use it with my phone's navigation system so that I can listen to music on my car speakers and hear the navigation directions when I need to. Love it!
13 of 15 found the following review helpful:
Very nice, niche productOct 26, 2010
By P. Lio
"Dermatophile"
I have struggled with Bluetooth as a technology in my life over the past few years. On one hand, I feel that the headsets are practically ubiquitous, seen attached to the ears of millions of people, from teens to adults. Yet, when I have used the headsets, I find them cumbersome for the following reasons:
A) It's yet another thing I have to charge and make sure it is charged
B) It's yet another thing to carry and possibly lose
C) I have had mixed experiences with the headsets on both transmitting and receiving ends; sometimes the connection is wonky. This, combined with less-than-stellar cellular connections makes for maddening frustration. Is it the cell phone? Is it the bluetooth headset? I don't know!
D) Though some are comfortable to wear, I just don't like to wear them all the time in my ear. Thus, I am constantly fumbling around to find it when the phone rings, sometimes while driving, which frankly may be more dangerous than just talking on the phone while driving.
What I love about this product is that it solves a BUNCH of these issues in an elegant way.
A) By living in the car, having a much bigger battery, and having an elegant car charger right there, charging is no longer an issue. (The trade off is that it is more limited to the car, perhaps, but not totally so: the charger is also USB compatible so any computer should do as well!)
B)Since I leave it in the car, nothing to lose, nothing to forget! (Trade off: I can't really use it while walking around... but for me that's okay)
C) The connection on this unit has been rock solid. The audio is very good, all things considered, but that is why I remove one star. I think that it is probably hard to get this PERFECT, given the nature of the device, the highly-variable environment inside of different cars, etc., but I think that it could even be better in the future. For me, the output is clear but has a bit of a tinny quality that can make voices a bit harder to hear in the car environment. (Note: I have not paired it with an FM station--this is just the speaker of the unit I am referring to; I am sure this will be better and I will give that a try, but I want to mention this as well.). The microphone and echo-cancelling seems absolutely top-notch.
D) I absolutely love that it lives on my visor and is only a button-push away, with an easy, beautifully tactile volume control. The ergonomics are stellar here!
I want to add that this is a very featured unit that also has a2dp which can allow use with a computer or an iPad as well, though the speakerphone nature of this makes it a little less useful for such a purpose. (That is to say, a headset/headphone setup gives you privacy and quiet while this is just another speaker and mic that are wireless.)
In sum, this is an excellent device for folks who want a convenient hands-free setup in the car, has very good audio, exemplary ergonomics and solves a number of problems endemic to headsets. Highly Recommended.
23 of 29 found the following review helpful:
 I've always loved plantronics, but amazon also sells blue antOct 28, 2010
By HMMWV
"God, Country, Corps"
On my business phone, I have a plantronics headset and amplifier. People hear me loud and clear.
In the state of California you may not talk on the cellular phone (oh thank you) while driving, hence numerous bt speakerphones are popping up like weeds. I bought the blue ant from amazon a while back and in my vine review they asked me to look at the plantronics. Each has strengths and weaknesses.
The blueant is clearly the winner here - it just sounds better, and in fact, being an audio snob, I do not detect the blue ant as being a speakerphone when it is used. Everything sounds normal. BUT there is a big piece missing - the blue ant is geared towards the newer i-phone / g-phone devices and leaves out the older designs by motorola with metal cases and ease of use. The good part is that the audio quality is SOO good with the ant that you can actually speak to your phone and have it understand you - my plantronics earpiece couldn't be recognized by my older phones!
Now plantronics has entered the world of visor clip, cig charger speakerphones. They did some neat things - like having two microphones. While I guess that is meant to improve the performance, sadly it doesn't. The plantronics speakerphone sounds like a speakerphone, and not holding the phone to your ear despite all their magic dsp technology. I was enthused that a company like plantronics would "get it right the first time" but it's a speakerphone - no doubt.
It does have some features to access your telephone (again, i/g phone) directory quickly which seem to work, and it does have some neat features if your phone is dictating directions to you - you can press a button and listen to them on an unused FM station in the car. Unfortunately - by the time the phone synthesizes the voice, puts it over bluetooth 2.1, then the plantronics modulates it over FM - well - you know the rest of the story - it doesn't sound as good as using the speakerphone inside your phone itself. It's just LOUDER.
I own probably close to 6 BT devices and none of them live up to their reputation of being a crystal clear perfect audio link. As for that - the latest version of the ant comes the closest because I don't yell at people using it that they are being cut off by the windshield wipers, etc. I lament that the BT standard does not give us the quality we asked for in its creation.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
A Great Alternative to HeadsetsFeb 27, 2011
By Ed R.
Plantronics has been around a long time. Since 1961 to be exact. That's a lot of experience in perfecting audio technology. Unlike some technology companies that were left in the dust by newer, more nimble companies, Plantronics has done an admirable job of keeping up with the latest advances. Their Bluetooth headsets in particular, are among the best that money can buy. The K100 Bluetooth Speakerphone is their very first device of its kind in Plantronics' stable of products. And just like their headsets, it is an impressive product.
PROS:
- Simple to use
- Quick connection
- Good audio quality
- Voice announcements
- Great battery life
- Good value
CONS:
- Average noise cancellation
- Volume level could use an increase
For nearly as long as I have been using mobile phones (since 1996), I have been using headsets. I got my first wireless Bluetooth headset in 2005 and they have become an absolute necessity in my mobile arsenal. When California banned the use of mobile phones while driving without a hands-free device, I recommended headsets to all my friends and family. My wife's headset ended up at the bottom of her purse, never to be heard from again. It dawned on me that perhaps headsets weren't an ideal solution for everyone. I was used to spending a few minutes pairing my headset to my phone and inserting it in my ear before putting my car in gear, but I'm getting the sense that not everyone finds that convenient. When I observed my wife struggling to hear a caller through her phone's speakerphone, I found it unacceptable and began researching Bluetooth speakerphones.
USABILITY
The initial pairing process of the K100 was very easy and quick. Once the pairing process was completed, it connected to my Motorola Droid X very quickly each and every time. In fact, it connected faster than any headset I'd ever used. Why is this important? Because I don't leave my Bluetooth feature on all the time and sometimes when I'm on the road, I'll get a call and have to quickly turn it on. If the headset, or speakerphone in this case, takes too long to connect, I may miss the call before I can answer it. I did have an issue with the K100 not connecting to a phone it'd been paired to, but was not the last phone connected to it. I added a second phone to the K100 and it connected great. But when I went to connect the first phone I had paired, it would not connect. I was on the road so I could not troubleshoot it while driving. In that situation, the K100 was supposed to connect just by tapping the multifunction button once.
The K100 only has 3 buttons and a volume dial. There is a button to turn on or off the FM transmitter, a multifunction button, and a mic mute button. All the buttons are large and easy to locate and actuate. The volume dial is notched so you can just spin the dial to increase or decrease the volume. The dial however, free spins 360 degrees. There is no end point to let you know that you are at max volume, nor is there is an indicator to let you know what level the volume is set to. You do get a voice prompt that tells you that it's at max volume though. The multifunction button turns the K100 on/off, takes and ends calls, rejects calls, and performs a few other functions. I wish that Plantronics would have created a single power button or switch though. Three or four seconds may not seem like a lot of time to wait, but it can get a bit cumbersome to wait those few seconds when you're in a hurry. The mic mute button actually has two functions. Tapping it will mute or unmute the mic. Pressing it down for 2 seconds will activate or deactivate "night mode", which just means it will turn off the LED so it doesn't distract you while driving at night.
I also really appreciated the voice announcements on the K100. Rather than trying to decipher a series of beeps, the unit's female voice will tell you any number of useful information. Some of the alerts include, Power On/Off, Battery Low, Lost Connection, Call Terminated, Connected, Mute On/Off, and more. I was spoiled by the voice status alerts on my Plantronics Discovery 975 headset so I was pleased to see this carry over to the K100 speakerphone.
Overall, I found the usability of the K100 to be very simple and easy enough for even non-technical people to use. I would have no problems recommending it to my parents or other technophobes.
AUDIO QUALITY
I found the audio quality of the speaker to be more than adequate for conversation. My only complaint was that in my SUV with rather loud all-terrain tires, it didn't seem to get loud enough at times. Turning up the volume on my phone helped, but the point of using the hands-free device is to be able to control the most important functions easily without having to fuss with the phone itself. When I had my radio turned down and my kids were quiet or absent in the vehicle, people on the other end of the call said I could be heard perfectly without the typical hollow speakerphone sound. Unfortunately, when my children were present, it didn't do as good a job of canceling out the noise that my Plantronics headsets are capable of doing. Still, I feel I'm nitpicking a little bit since it should be rather easy to obtain a fairly quiet environment inside a vehicle. The lack of a more advanced noise cancellation technology probably serves to keep the cost down and achieve better value.
FM TRANSMITTER
Until I received the K100, I didn't know that it had a built-in FM transmitter. I found out that a couple of other speakerphones on the market also have this feature, but I was pleasantly surprised. I did keep my expectations in check though, since my experiences with FM transmitters have been very mixed over the years. My problems with FM transmitters in general are that they rarely perform consistently and the sound quality tended to be poor. To my delight, the K100's FM transmitter worked fantastically! When I pushed the FM transmitter button, I was prompted by voice to tune my FM radio to the station it recommended. The 5 frequencies that the K100 uses are 88.3, 88.7, 89.1, 89.5, and 89.9. Though 88.3 wasn't completely clear of audio from the radio, once the transmitter decided to use it, it superseded whatever source that frequency had been receiving signals from. Since the K100 supports A2DP, I was able to use the music player on my Droid X to listen to MP3s as well as my streaming audio apps like Pandora and Slacker. GPS navigation instructions also fed through to my car speakers flawlessly.
BATTERY
The lithium-ion polymer battery inside the Plantronics K100 speakerphone takes 2.5 hours to fully charge. Since it's a lithium-ion battery however, you can top it off at any time without worrying about discharging it fully in order to get the best performance out of it. Talk time is rated at 17 hours and standby at 15 days. Included in the box is a micro USB cable and a cigarette lighter adapter. Since the charging port of the K100 is micro USB, the same as my Droid X, I was able to use all of my Droid X chargers to charge the K100. The micro USB cable is very handy. Imagine this scenario. You're driving into work and while using the K100, you hear the voice status alert say, "low battery", which means you have about an hour of battery life left. You want to use the K100 on the drive home but you've already made it to the office and can't just sit in a parked car charging the K100! Well, with the micro USB cable, you can bring the K100 inside the office with you and just plug that puppy in to your computer's USB port and in a couple of hours, will have a fully charged K100 for your drive home-yay!
MISC
No doubt, Bluetooth speakerphones are extremely convenient. They mount easily to your vehicle's sun visor and you get to be a good law-abiding citizen while you close that last big sale of the quarter or talk to your spouse about your kid's birthday party planning. Great. But um, has anyone considered what happens when it's sunny out and you know, you actually have to flip your sun visor down?? Now you have to remove it and flip the speakerphone to the other side, which probably isn't the safest maneuver to perform while driving in direct sunlight. My idea? Make a magnetic mount that allows the speakerphone to be quickly removed from one side and placed on the other.
CONCLUSION
The Plantronics K100 Bluetooth Speakerphone is a great hands-free solution for your vehicle. It's easier to deal with than headsets and great for people who don't like sticking things inside their ear. The K100's versatility is magnified with support of A2DP and the inclusion of a surprisingly functional FM transmitter. If you or someone you know refuses to use headsets, the K100 is a great alternative and definitely worth a look. Heck, I love using my headsets but I think I just might end up using the K100 a lot more.
* Review sample courtesy of Plantronics, Inc.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Plantronics K100 almost thereFeb 12, 2011
By Emily Orth
The Plantronics K100 is a bluetooth speakerphone designed to be used for hands-free driving. It basically replaces a bluetooth earpiece for in-car use.
I bought this because I strongly dislike wearing an earpiece to talk on a phone. I find earpieces fussy, hard to fit, and potential distracting if the earpiece masks sounds from outside the vehicle.
The K100 addresses these issues. It clamps on the visor in front of the driver. Two microphones pick up the drivers voice. A speaker projects sound that can be heard throughout the car.
It has voice commands that definitely help keep the driver's eyes on the road. It announces things like "connected" when the bluetooth finds your phone, "call terminated" when you hang up- no need to glance at your phone. I consider this a real improvement over other typical phone/earpiece. It has the ability to transmit the audio to your car stereo system via FM. The FM has only a few frequencies that can be used for this purpose.
Pros
Simple operation
Large buttons that are easy to find without taking your eyes off the road
Clever design places the microphones right in front/above the driver
Large dial for volume control
Great for people who don't like to stick foreign objects in their ears
Battery life seems to be long
Cons
Maximum volume is not always enough. It really could use a more powerful amplifier.
FM transmitter is virtually useless in my city. All of the frequencies the K100 uses are already in use by local radio stations. The radio will pick the strongest signal, which means if a weak radio station competes with K100, you will hear little bits of both your conversation and the FM station; annoying at best, impossible at worse.
See all 58 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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