Product Reviews

Microsoft is, of course, the world's most successful software company, but it also attracts praise for its well-made hardware. Here's a new wireless headset that connects to your PC for hands-free chat.

Well, we say new, but in fact this is basically a dark grey version of the Xbox 360 Wireless Headset, which has been out nearly a year. It's a bit of a giveaway that the bundled wireless receiver is labelled 'Xbox 360 Wireless Receiver'. It isn't Bluetooth-compatible, so it won't help you connect other devices such as mobile phones, but it can be used to connect wireless Xbox 360 controllers to your PC, should you want to.

The package contains all you need to use the headset in Windows, plus a larger ear-loop for those who find the standard one too small. It installs as a standard audio device, so it'll work with any chat software: we tested it with Skype and Windows Messenger

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and had no problems.

Before use, the device must be charged for at least four hours. While it charges, its four LEDs light up in a pleasing pattern. You're supposed to get eight hours of talk time between charges, and it won't run out on you unexpectedly, as the headset bleeps about half an hour before the battery expires, then again with five minutes to go. There's no visual charge indicator, though, which seems odd for a device with four LEDs.

The headset has four buttons: volume up and down, an on/off button to conserve battery power, and a pick up/hang up button for use with Windows Messenger. These buttons aren't properly explained in the scant literature - you have to delve into the help files for the info.

Enabling the headset in Windows was simplicity itself, just a matter of pressing two buttons, but in-call sound quality was disappointing. We had no problem making out what colleagues at the other end of the line were saying, but the sound was fuzzy and distorted, making it hard to enjoy the conversation. Things were worse from the other end: the ZX-6000's tiny microphone produced quiet, indistinct speech, so we had to take care to enunciate clearly to be understood.

The ZX-6000 is generally a well designed product, but it has a few quirks and is weak at its most crucial task. The battery may be good for eight hours, but we got fed up of over-pronouncing everything well before that. There are plenty of better wireless headsets around.