Products: YUBZ Talk and YUBZ Talk Bluetooth
Manufacturer: YUBZ
Price: $44.95 (Wired), $79.95 (Bluetooth)
Author: Bill
Date: February 9, 2009

For some time now I’ve seen “retro” handsets offering the comfort of an analogue telephone for cell phones and computers. Some are wired with 3.5mm input and outputs, USB ports, Bluetooth connectivity, or 2.5mm mobile phone plugs. YUBZ has sent MaximumCPU.net their YUBZ Talk (wired) and YUBZ Talk Bluetooth (wireless) handsets for review.

Packaging

The YUBZ handsets are held in wonderful packaging. The handsets were stored upright in a plastic tube. It was unique, provided adequate protection for the products, and was light on materials use. A very creative and impressive first impression!

Handsets

Both handsets look and feel precisely how I would expect an analogue handset to. The plastic is lightweight, shiny, and seemingly indestructible. Something curious happened when I spoke into the headset though: I heard myself in the earpiece. The handset has the microphone and earpiece wired to simulate the two-wire loop of an analogue telephone system. The microphone and speaker are similar components to their traditional counterparts. A carbon microphone and piezoelectric earpiece comprise the working components of the handsets, in line with my circa 1963 rotary phone.

YUBZ Talk

The wired version of the YUBZ handset comes equipped with a volume slider, call button, and 2.5mm mobile phone plug. The cord coils like a traditional telephone cord, and to my surprise is connected with a telephone jack to the handset. With the cable unplugged, the handset is indistinguishable from an analogue handset. YUBZ sent along a 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter for use with my iPhone, which performed flawlessly.

YUBZ Bluetooth

The Bluetooth version still exhibits a telephone jack at its posterior end, this time for the charger. YUBZ cleverly adapted the power adapter’s contacts into a telephone jack. It extends the theme in a creative way, and makes the power adapter easily distinguishable from the many others I own. The YUBZ Talk Bluetooth has an identical shape and size to its wired companion, but weighs slightly more because of its internal rechargeable battery. It has a switch that selects on/off/silent modalities, power and connectivity LEDs, volume up/down buttons, and a generic call button. It paired effortlessly with my iPhone and macbook pro using a four-digit password.

Testing and Results

My chief complaint with any mobile phone or headset is always volume. The YUBZ sets bring the microphone close to the caller’s mouth producing exceptional clarity and volume.

Using the wired YUBZ Talk, callers reported being able to hear my voice with more detail and at a louder volume. Calls sounded louder my end, and sounds were faithfully reproduced when compared to other sources. I tested this handset using Skype (on a Macbook Pro) and using my iPhone.

The YUBZ Talk Bluetooth has sound quality issues as it imparts a slight hum. Callers described my voice quality as being “tinny” and reported a background hiss. The Bluetooth connection was reliable to thirty feet, and paired with my iPhone within five seconds of turning it on. One charge lasts for approximately three hours of talk time, and took six hours to charge.

Both handsets are comfortable to use for extended periods of time, and I regularly use the wired version at my desk. The buttons on both handsets almost play into the “lo-fi” theme. They are stiff, and make a pinging “click” sound in the hollow plastic handsets when pressed. The volume slider on the wired set is smooth across its entire field of motion and is noiseless.

Conclusions

The YUBZ Talk is a niche product, but it’s fun, and relatively practical if you find yourself missing a traditional handset resting on your shoulder. I found the attention to detail in recreating the overall experience of analogue telephony charming. I rarely see this kind of attention to detail in product design, so I tip my hat to the YUBZ team. The Bluetooth model suffers sound quality issues, and the general size of the product raises questions as to why Bluetooth would be desirable. I personally prefer the wired version, and would recommend it to anyone who has replaced his or her landline with a mobile phone, but misses the comfort of a handset.

PROS

+ LO-FI styling
+ Comfortable use
+ Sound quality (wired)
+ Ease of use
+ Detailed design and attention to the theme of analogue telephony

CONS

- Cheap looking design (is this really a con for this product?)
- Buttons feel/sound annoying
- Sound quality (Bluetooth)
- Price

Tags: Bluetooth, Handset, Phone, Talk, YUBZ