Sony Smart Bluetooth Headset SBH50 Review

rkanwar

Senior Member
Aug 23, 2010
1,259
62
0
West Bromwich
Hey guys hows it going?

I just purchased one of the new smart bluetooth headsets from Sony which is the SBH50 model and I received it yesterday. Been using it for a day now. Just here to give you a review.

Now first I wasnt sure if it would work the way I assumed originally or if any of the features were compatible with the Xperia S. But bought it anyway as I mainly need it for calls.

As soon as I took it out of the box I immediately touched the headset to the back of my phone and boom. It was connected immediately. Received a notification to download the companion app. Downloaded and thats it. I was soon enough set up ready to go. So simple.

Sound quality is awesome for calls and music. Even the FM radio. The signal for the radio is also good. Unlike on the mw600 where the radio would cut out because the signal was weak.

When you receive a phone call the number pops up on screen with the name, compared to mw600 would be just the number. The notification for text to speech I still havent tested properly however so far seems to be working. I also havent checked the messaging notifications yet however I have seen the email and gmail notifications.pop up on screen.

The multipoint feature is excellent. You can select one device as a primary device and still receive notifcations from both devices and listen to music from the other.

The battery life is also amazing. Switched it on at 7 am and its still on id say about 75%. Most of thr battery has been consumed by me listening to the fm radio this morning.

Oh and there is an option to view your call log on the device too which is quite nice, especially if you want to ring back a number in the call list.

Build quality is very good I found. Feels slightly plasticy but good quality. Not the cheap plastic feel.

Theres a lot more which can be covered and I will add to this review the more I get to know the device and its features.

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk 4
 

Idan73

Senior Member
Jul 19, 2010
2,770
749
193
Got mine as well few days ago. Lost mw600. Not sure what Sony is thinking with 'smart' range as it regresses, since any bluetooth ever, had double click to redial and long press to voice dial. These, including mw1 are missing those functions. Also in comparison with mw600 now we need app to display contacts (sure not it shows names as well), but permanent ongoing notification in status bar and notifications kills this softaware for me.
As long as it does not allow me to change button options and setup, this smart bluetooth is not gonna be 'simply smart' for the foreseeable future. Opening api for Devs might help.

Also don't understand why bluetooth with basically same features, sans NFC, as mw600, is 30 percent larger in volume, while offering same talk/music times as it.
Rant over!

Basically, only reason I'm keeping it is because of possibility of firmware updates (if mw600 had this it wouldn't be obsolete yet and would buy again. Than again that company does not exist anymore) , making it somewhat future proof. This only applies if Sony keeps their end of the bargain.

Sent from my SGH-I337M
 

PRofec

Member
Nov 24, 2012
19
2
0
I got one of these in the mail this week for my Xperia Z.

I was after a bluetooth unit with a 3.5mm output so i could hook it up to my Logitech Z2300 and control the music from my phone. Works well, only the bluetooth range is up to approx 15m line of sight. It'll do for my home entertaining.

I havent tried yet, but if i can connect my pc to it via BT as well i can play the songs off there too.

I dont really see the need for NFC since pairing with BT is simple enough.

Firmware can be updated on it via SUS.

The instruction manual included doesnt have any operating instructions. Im not 100% sure what the icons in the menu means.

Its very light if youre gonna clip it to your clothing, but to handle it is a little tricky cos it is too light.

Ive seen the Pro version of this, with usb on the end of it, so it can be used as standalone mp3 player. Wish i had seen that earlier.
 

Jaguar4u

Member
Mar 31, 2013
8
1
0
Toronto
Use with Skype

The only thing I cant get it to do is connect to skype on my nexus 7 1st gen or on my xperia s

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk 4
I had no problems using this headset with Skype on my Xperia Z1 and Razr HD

Some phones have settings in the Skype menu to use Bluetooth. Check the settings in the Skype menu.

Hope that helps
 

rien-ne-va-plus

Senior Member
Nov 6, 2010
109
19
18
Got mine as well few days ago. Lost mw600. Not sure what Sony is thinking with 'smart' range as it regresses, since any bluetooth ever, had double click to redial and long press to voice dial. These, including mw1 are missing those functions. Also in comparison with mw600 now we need app to display contacts (sure not it shows names as well), but permanent ongoing notification in status bar and notifications kills this softaware for me.
As long as it does not allow me to change button options and setup, this smart bluetooth is not gonna be 'simply smart' for the foreseeable future. Opening api for Devs might help.

Also don't understand why bluetooth with basically same features, sans NFC, as mw600, is 30 percent larger in volume, while offering same talk/music times as it.
Rant over!

Basically, only reason I'm keeping it is because of possibility of firmware updates (if mw600 had this it wouldn't be obsolete yet and would buy again. Than again that company does not exist anymore) , making it somewhat future proof. This only applies if Sony keeps their end of the bargain.

Sent from my SGH-I337M
Well, I am somewhat happy with the SBH50 - I only had the MW600 for a short while before sending it back because of the volume controls.

However, it's terrible that you cannot launch voice dial with the big button (what does it anyway?) and the music controls will launch the standard music app if you hadn't launched a different one on the phone before...

I'm praying that this will become better.
 

mankvl

Senior Member
Apr 2, 2011
865
120
0
Kaunas
Can anyone confirm the battery life of sbh50 when you only listen to fm radio, with no device connected? how long is it? because I need at least 10h of fm radio at work :)
 

Overheat2747

Member
Aug 19, 2012
45
6
28
My first one after a few weeks died. Wouldn't switch on at all thankfully Amazon replaced it for me.

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk
My MW600 stopped working (showing that its charging but not turning on) after a few months so I'm scared to buy another type from Sony. Anyone else ran into problems with the unit not turning on or are you all recommending it?
 

rkanwar

Senior Member
Aug 23, 2010
1,259
62
0
West Bromwich
My MW600 stopped working (showing that its charging but not turning on) after a few months so I'm scared to buy another type from Sony. Anyone else ran into problems with the unit not turning on or are you all recommending it?
Personally I'd recommend it. I mean I have had no problems since I got my replacement and the battery life on it is awesome. For me anyway. I was going to purchase the sbh52 but I wasn't too sure about it

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
 

114a

New member
Jan 12, 2014
3
0
0
I'm just looking for a replacement for my MW600 (first one got lost, second one got the clip broken and the last one all of a sudden died for no obvious reason :mad:).
Now I already kind of decided to go for the SBH50 but coming across this thread I don't feel so confident any longer..

and the music controls will launch the standard music app if you hadn't launched a different one on the phone before...
Just to get this right- once you've started another app the buttons will control the playback of this particular app or start the default player instead?? (Which would be horrible since I'm exclusively using Spotify)

And something else which got me confused after having read too many reviews: Does the display turn off while listening/having calls? (The MW600 did and I would prefer it this way.)

And a last question especially for the previous MW600 users: Is the SBH50 comfortable to wear? From the pictures the clip doesn't really look secure to be attached compared with the old model..
 

rkanwar

Senior Member
Aug 23, 2010
1,259
62
0
West Bromwich
And something else which got me confused after having read too many reviews: Does the display turn off while listening/having calls? (The MW600 did and I would prefer it this way.)

And a last question especially for the previous MW600 users: Is the SBH50 comfortable to wear? From the pictures the clip doesn't really look secure to be attached compared with the old model..
Hi there. Yes the display turns off after a few seconds in a call, listening to music or when you stop pressing the buttons.

The clip is comfortable to wear however you will either need to clip it on to the neckline/collar of any top or anywhere along the zip line. You can't just clip it anywhere.

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk
 
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