With the Motorola Wireless Helmet Headset HS830 and Pendant Headset HS830, Motorola expands their award-winning wireless accessory portfolio to further provide consumers with the ultimate tools for personal communication using Bluetooth® wireless technology. Delivering Motorola’s signature styling and wear-ability with up-to five hours of talk time**, the user-friendly Motorola Wireless HS830 helmet and pendant headsets take wireless connectivity to the extremes by invisibly and reliably creating a hands-free connection between headset and mobile to meet all on-the-go communication needs. And, like all other Bluetooth® enabled devices, the model HS830 works with virtually any make or model mobile phone that has Bluetooth® wireless technology.

Motorola Wireless Helmet Headset HS830 with Bluetooth® Wireless Technology

Juice for the Journey:  Designed for motorcycle riders who want to stay in touch on and off their bike, the model HS830 helmet headset provides clear, crisp connectivity at a pit stop or on the open road. Mounting the helmet adapter – consisting of the speaker, microphone and cover – to a full-faced or open-faced helmet is easy using the included strong 3M adhesive. The unique headset module then slips inside the cover on the helmet so that riders can leave mobile phones in a pocket or backpack up to 10 meters (30 feet) away and still make or receive calls. And with up to five hours of talk time and 100 hours of standby time from a single charge, your headset won’t run out of juice until you do.

Rev it Up:  The Motorola Wireless Helmet Headset HS830 is Bluetooth® 1.2 compliant, supporting quicker connections, better audio quality, adaptive frequency hopping and backwards compatibility with Bluetooth® 1.1 devices. For rough riding, the Motorola wireless helmet headset is manufactured with a noise reducing microphone to help minimize traffic and wind noise when riding at highway speed, as well as a cover designed to withstand whatever nature throws at you. Additionally, a rider-passenger switch allows seamless headset to headset communication while on-the-move.

Motorola Wireless Pendant Headset HS830 with Bluetooth® Wireless Technology

Still Going….  The Motorola Wireless Pendant Headset HS830 means the conversation doesn’t have to end with the ride – just remove the headset module from the helmet adapter and attach it to the neck strap to continue dialogue off the road. Use the pendant with the helmet headset or as a completely separate accessory altogether. The choice is yours.

Work with Me:  The Motorola Wireless Pendant Headset HS830 is Bluetooth® 1.2 compliant, plugs into an audio jack on the neck strap headset and has a built in earbud on the cord for easy storage and a clean look when not in use. This flexible solution is perfect for those who prefer an earbud versus on-the-ear wireless headsets. The multifunction button allows users to place, receive or end calls, all with one simple push -- freeing you up to focus on the road or walk ahead.

The Motorola Wireless Helmet Headset HS830 and Pendant Headset HS830 are designed to work seamlessly with virtually any Bluetooth enabled phone, including the Motorola A760, A768, A835, A845, A925, E398, V303, V500, V501, V600, V710 and V80 mobile phones.

**All talk and standby times are quoted in Digital Mode, and are approximate. Battery performance depends on network configuration, signal strength, operating temperature, features selected, and voice, data and other application usage patterns.
MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. The Bluetooth trademarks are owned by their proprietor and used by Motorola, Inc. under license. © Motorola, Inc. 2004

The first thing we wanted to test is how far away the unit would work from the phone.  Motorola states 30 feet, but we've found published stats to be about 50% true.  Inside our store we put the phone on the counter and walked through the store (about 30 feet) and out the back door.  It still worked.  While we could tell that we were at the max limit, and the reception wasn't crystal clear, we didn't drop the call.  We were impressed, especially since there were two concrete walls between us and phone.

On the road we had crystal clear phone calls, and found the unit easy to use.  To answer a call, you simple press the large Motorola button on the side.  Same process to end one.  To dial you will either need a phone with voice recognition, or grab the phone.  Volume is handled by smaller buttons on either side.  Up is to the front, down is on the back.  Both were easily used with gloves.  If you ride a bike without a wind screen, and get a lot of wind to your face, the boom microphone will move around a bit.  It's designed to be flexible.  On a full face helmet, or a half/3/4 helmet with a screen, we didn't have a single issue.

It was also nice to store our cell phone in a safe place while on our ride.  Because we've had way to many phones fall out of pockets, or off their clips, we've become conditioned to storing them somewhere on the bike during the ride.  When we got where we were going, and if we remembered, we grabbed the phone.  Of course with the HS830, this wasn't an issue.  We just left the phone buried in the tank bag, or trunk.

Once at our destination we used the pendant.  We happened to park our bikes near the front of the restaurant, so we decided leave our phone in the saddle bag where it was during our trip.  Once seated we made a call.  It worked fine, and the sound was again crystal clear.  Of course if we had been seated in the back of the restaurant, and the bikes were further away, we might have had issues.  We did walk to the back (bathroom) while using the phone, and it worked fine.  It does have a limit, but we couldn't find it during our practical test.

Final conclusion:

When you start talking about Bluetooth phone systems, price point is key.  Lets face it, if someone calls while you're on the bike, they can just leave a message.  However, the HS830 makes it easier to open your wallet.  We're the first to adopt the "I have more time, than money" philosophy.  But when you add the intercom feature to the phone, you get a very useable product.  We looked at it this way after the testing was done.  We would buy the HS830 for the intercom first, and hey, if I can take a call too, then great.  When looked at from this perspective, the system makes perfect sense.

If you're looking for a simple way of taking calls on the bike, and talking with a passenger, the HS830 is ideal.  We really couldn't find a single thing that we didn't like.  We even liked the fact that off the bike the system used a pendant to operate.  Having a small speaker in one ear was more comfortable than a huge bulky ear piece.  We found the reception to be great in "Real World" use, and it worked even when we thought it would fail.  What more could you ask for?