The Eaglewood Bluetooth Earpiece is a Windows Phone accessory to consider for those in the market for a hands-free solution in the tiniest of packages. Measuring approximately an inch high and weighing just 22 grams (.8 ounces) it is an in-ear device that you should be able to pop in your ear and forget about it.
I ran across the Eaglewood Bluetooth Earpiece while browsing the shelves at Amazon.com and the design jumped off the screen. A small, in-ear Bluetooth device should be a fantastic hands-free solution and the low cost helped add to the appeal. But are you getting what you paid for? A $15 earpiece with a performance level to match?
While I see this style of Bluetooth earpieces being popular, the Eaglewood does have room for improvement. However, for a low-cost earpiece, the Eaglewood Bluetooth Earpiece performed surprisingly well.
The Eaglewood Bluetooth Earpiece's design is minimalistic and very similar to some hearing aid designs. The shape of the earpiece is designed for the right ear and there is only one button to control all the earpiece's functions. Along with the central control, there is a charging port and a red/blue led on the Eaglewood earpiece.
The device itself measures 1 inch high, approximately .5 inches thick and weighs in at .8 ounces (22 grams). The Bluetooth earpiece is made of hard plastic and the portion that rests against the ear lacks any cushioning. Even with the hard plastic, the fit and feel of the earpiece isn't terrible. For me, it took about an hour of use before the earpiece started to feel uncomfortable.
Battery performance is rated at up to four hours of continuous talk time and slightly less when streaming music. Standby time was not rated, but in practice I was able to use the Eaglewood Earpiece for five days with moderate use before it needed recharging.
The Eaglewood Bluetooth Earpiece is packaged with a USB charging cable and owner's manual.
Performance
Again, the fit and free of the Eaglewood Bluetooth Earpiece was comfortable for short periods of time. After about an hour, the hard plastic becomes slightly uncomfortable and your ear will need a rest.
The earpiece is controlled through the center multi-function button. Press and hold the button for three seconds to power on the earpiece. The LED light flashes to confirm this action as well as audio confirmation that states "power on". To initiate pairing, press and hold the power button a little longer until the LED light flashes red and blue. From there, follow the steps on your Windows Phone to complete the pairing.
Powering down the earpiece is also accomplished by pressing and holding the center button for a few seconds. There are no volume controls on the earpiece and is instead completely controlled by the volume controls on your Windows Phone.
The hands-free calling features for the Eaglewood Bluetooth Earpiece include answering/ending calls, rejecting calls and last number redial. It does not support Cortana integration, but it does have audible caller ID. Audio quality is surprisingly good, however, call volume is a tad muffled. It was a little difficult to hear callers in a noisy environment, but not impossible. My guess is that the placement of the earpiece puts the speaker too close to your ear, resulting in the muffled sound.
The microphone's performance is on par with your average Bluetooth headset. The Eaglewood picks up your voice nicely using a normal tone and the microphone decently filters out background noises.
Overall Impression
My ideal Bluetooth earpiece is one that comfortably fits in your ear, doesn't stick out like a sore thumb, has quality audio performance and you forget wearing it until you get a call. Does the Eaglewood Bluetooth Earpiece fit that bill? It comes close, but isn't a perfect match.
The build quality is solid, but I think a little cushioning would help with the device's comfort. The audio quality is a mixed bag, with good microphone performance but muffled speaker performance. Battery life is good for the size and recharging only requires about two hours on a USB charger. I would have liked to have seen a micro-USB port instead of the pin connection, though — it's one fewer thing to pack on a trip, and replacing a USB-to-pin cable can be a challenge.
Overall, I have to say the Eaglewood Bluetooth Earpiece is a decent hands-free option. It may not be the Cadillac or Tesla of Bluetooth earpieces, but at $15.00 it's a nice economy model.
