[Review] ePure BH01u Bluetooth Handset with Charging Station by Swissvoice

Trust me, I know what you are thinking, “Another Bluetooth device review by the awesome people at AndroidStory.”

What can I say? We love things that we can connect to our devices wirelessly. Let’s get something out-of-the-way right now so you’re not worried about this being the same old review stuff. I’m not your everyday writer/review guy and I like to put my own AndroidStory on things. (Yes pun intended LOL.)

So without further ado I would like to introduce you to the ePure BH01u Bluetooth station from Swissvoice.

 

I just have to say his product really excited me because it was different. It wasn’t the normal everyday Bluetooth device that I always see while down at our local electronics store. It has an Old School design with New School technology. It’s designed by the Swiss and is very versatile. It has multiple uses and options just like my Swiss Army Knife. This thing would impress MacGyver, I’m telling you. I’m seriously all about that!

I could so get off track with things, but this is a review so I’m just going to get down to business. The ePure Bluetooth Station has three main features:

Handset Voice Calling

• Fulleco technology: less exposure to the potential harmful effects of using your mobile phone
• Go wireless: extended Bluetooth range up to 20m line of sight
• Voice dialing by an easy click on the handset
• Improved comfort and voice quality with earpiece design
• Allows you to see your phone display whilst talking

Handsfree Voice Calling

• HD Voice: High Definition sound quality
• High quality full-duplex conversation experience
• Clear wireless conference calling with reduced background noise

Wireless Music Playback

• HD music playing with high quality stereo speakers
• High fidelity music streaming over Bluetooth
• Easy music volume control from handset

Those are some serious quality features packed into such a small package, but it doesn’t surprise me at all considering it’s a Swiss design. Have you seen the quality and stuff they cram into their watches and knives? Simply Amazing!

Having said all that, I bet you’re curious to see what they crammed into the box, “Hurry up, the suspense is killing me!” Okay here you go.

What’s in the Box?

• ePure BH01u Bluetooth Handset with Charging Station
• Standard USB to USB Mini Cable
• User Manuals with an additional Customer Service and Safety Information Sheet

That’s all you get! I know and after building up everyone with all the suspense even. To be honest it’s really all I needed. I’m Old School and a guy, so I rarely read the manual to figure out things. I just start pushing the shiny buttons and ask questions later. I will admit, it would have been nice to have some sort of wall/plug adapter. This was not really a deal breaker for me because I always have a few extra adapters and cables lying around the house. I also have plenty of USB ports on my home computers to plug into. However, for those who don’t that could really be an issue and added cost, so just be aware folks.

The Charging Station

  I know what your thinking from the pictures. That thing is Huge! I mean it almost takes up the entire rug that it’s laying on. Relax, it’s a mouse rug. I have had it forever and I thought it would give everyone a good idea on the size of the base. It’s barely bigger than my Logitech wireless mouse by 1/2 an inch. I would say about one inch bigger on the bottom of the base. The dimensions are 10 x 3.4 x 6.3 inches and the weight is 1.7 pounds with the handset. On the backside it has Standard/Mini USB ports and the top has the two metal prongs that connect with the handset for charging it.

The Handset

 This my friends is the business end and where the magic happens! It also looks amazing! I figured out the controls pretty much right away considering the design. All I’m going to say is my Old School Nintendo Controller skills helped me out. Up and down is obviously the volume control, right? You would think so but in this case they skip back and forth between songs. The side to side buttons are a little more complicated. The right side is the play/pause button, the left side turns the device on/off and it also answers/hangs up the calls. The volume buttons are located on the right side of the handset. In the natural position of a standard Android phone. This way makes it easier I feel.

The speakers in my opinion sound really nice, both in phone calls and when used as speakers and the range of the handset is pretty spot on. So whether you’re listening to your favorite band, making personal/business calls or just walking around the room with it on the speaker phone option, you will be able to hear and understand everything really well without issue. It makes some really fun sounds when it rings, gets hung up and when you put it on the base to charge. They aren’t sounds that you would think a phone should make, but are really nice and pleasant and well, just different. They’re sort of like something out of a Disney Princess Movie mixed with Beat Boxing! Maybe it’s The Sound Of Music, but I’m totally used to it now and love them.

The Battery Life

Even though it says for first time use it is recommended to fully charge the device, I just turned it on, synced it to my phone and started playing with the thing. I played with it for an hour straight then turned it off. It worked awesome and nothing started blinking red to tell me it was dying, so things were cool. The next afternoon when I got up I did plug it in and gave it a full 3 hours of charge time. I never had any issue with battery life in general or it dying on me but I also don’t talk that much on the phone and usually only listen to music about and hour at a time. It does have a 500 hour standby time which is really crazy so for an average user like me, I know the thing would have never died on me.

I did really want to give it a run for its money, so I took it down to my sister’s work. She is crazy busy all the time and is pretty much on the phone non-stop! I synced it to her phone, showed her how to use it and let her go to town on it. It said in the manual that normal talk time was about 3.5 hours. Surprisingly it lasted her whole 9 hour work day, but she said at least 4 of those hours she was running around the city. With the stand by time and the 4 hours she wasn’t using it, she still got a good 5 hours use out of it. So, all in all not bad and it did the job that she needed it to do. We’ll give it another shot to see if we can make it die and do a follow-up for everyone.

The Pros and Cons

Pros

Just like with everything the Swiss make, the handset is beautifully designed and multi-functional. The device is quite ergonomic and is clearly built from quality materials. If you miss the look and feel of a traditional Old School handset then this will definitely fill that void.

Like I said above. The sound quality is really nice, both in phone calls and when used as speakers, and the range of the handset is pretty spot on. You do have to remember though that these aren’t your Bose Surround Sound or Dr. Dre Beats Speakers. So, don’t expect them to blow you out of your seat.

Cons

The interface isn’t exactly intuitive, but does the job. If you’re a pretty technical person you will be fine. If you’re like my dad, then you will need help and should consult the manual. Better controls and a small LCD could go a long way in improving how the device interacts with everyone.

Even though it does mention on the box in tiny writing that it needs a power adapter and USB cable to mobile phone, it would be nice if the Swiss would throw in a few extras like an adapter or a regular wall power cable. I mean they threw it a toothpick and some tweezers on their knives! Just saying, haha.

Overall Thoughts

I’m still enjoying it and I love showing it off to everyone! When I move around the house, it moves around the house with me. It’s a small compact James Bond Gadget that I can hook to all of my Android devices. I especially love syncing it to my computer and holding it behind my head to get the stereo sound. Yeah, I’m a nerd I know haha!

It has multiple uses; it’s designed by the Swiss. They make great watches and knives, which I personally own a few of and it brings me joy. At around $140 at Amazon, it’s a good deal and would recommend it. I give it 4 stars, but I’ll bump it up to 5 if they throw in some of that Swiss Coco and a charging adapter.