The latest Bluetooth headset to come out of Plantronics' kitty is the Savor M1100. The headset has none of the colourful accents of the M100, which I reviewed a few months ago. Instead, it's a more discreet, professional device.

The V-shaped M100 has a gunmetal coloured plastic frame, with rubberised front and back panels. There's a mini-USB charging port located on top, and the sides hold a slider power switch and a volume control button. Unfortunately, Plantronics hasn't opted for a toggle switch to control volume, and it's a bit time consuming to go through power levels one by one. The front rubberised panel actually conceals two buttons, but these are well disguised so you can't even make out they exist. The top of the panel holds the call button, while the bottom holds the voice recognition button.

The USP of the headset is pretty much its voice command functionality. When you get an incoming call, the headset prompts you to say ‘Answer' or ‘Ignore'. The M1100 was pretty moody when it came to recognising voice commands, and often I wound up shouting ‘answer!' at my desk and nothing would happen, except ten pairs of eyes staring at me like I was crazy. I mostly ended up using the call button to answer calls.

The voice recognition button performs a couple of other functions too. If you press the button when you're not on a call, you can dictate a number of commands to the headset. For instance: ‘Am I connected?', ‘Check Battery', ‘Redial' and ‘Pairing'. The headset was pretty prompt to follow these commands, so I don't know why it got confused when I tried answering calls.

The M1100 comes with the signature Plantronics silicone gel ear tips, which I'm pretty used to now, after reviewing a couple of their headsets. They come in three sizes, and were quite comfortable to wear for a few hours at a stretch. They also don't block the ear like some in-ear gel tips, and don't threaten to fall out either.

You don't require an over-ear support like some other headsets, although there is a detachable support provided in the box if you choose to wear it.

Call quality on the headset was average, and I was able to hear callers quite clearly. I did feel that the volume could have been better, because it was difficult to have conversations in noisy environments. There are three embedded microphones in the headset, which relayed my voice clearly to the other side. Battery life is estimated at 4 hours with 7 days of standby time.

The M1100 is a good buy only for those who like using voice commands. If you'd prefer being more discreet, you could opt for other Plantronics headsets like the Voyager Pro or Discovery 975 instead.

Rs 4,790

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