Matt M reviews his XDA II after a full month of usage - has his opinion changed? Read and find out ...

Bluetooth, the Jabra headset, and others

It's well known that the Bluetooth implementation on the XDA II is lacking. It doesn't support the handsfree profile - and this causes many problems with assorted headsets (certainly the Nokia Wireless Clip-On Headset HS-3W previously reviewed by forum user Paul C). However, I do feel that - while there's certainly problems with the implementation - the XDA II does get somewhat more of a bad reputation than it deserves.

Firstly - it supports Bluetooth. That's a major step forward. And yeah - they didn't support everything they should have. But that's most likely rectifiable via a firmware update, and I can live with my Jabra bugs until then.

Secondly - not all the problems are the fault of the XDA II. It makes no sense to point a finger at the XDA II and say it's the source of all Bluetooth problems, when some bluetooth headsets do work very well. Not only that, but you have some models - such as the Jabra Freespeak BT200 - which have two different sets of firmware revisions (A and B), and one revision works correctly while the other doesn't.

I am overall very happy with my Jabra Freespeak BT200's operation with the XDA II, in spite of the problems I mentioned in the First Look. They are easy problems to get used to working around, and I feel far more patient with this issue than any I encountered with my original XDA. These bugs are so minimal by comparison that I can't see how they won't be resolved.

Nonetheless, you should be very cautious with bluetooth headsets. You have recourse to the stereo headset - which is quite good - and it may be wise to wait for the next ROM update that will hopefully resolve these issues.