Verizon Cellphone for use with Headsets

April 14, 2005 5:14 PM

I am looking to upgrade my cellphone (using Verizon) to one that works better with standard (non Bluetooth) headsets. Specifically, all I require is that the phone can both answer and dial (using voice) by pushing the button that is on the cord of my headset. I typically keep my phone in my pocket, so don't want to mess around with the phone itself while I'm commuting. After spending an hour with the Verizon stooge in his Circuit City booth without success, I thought that this would be a much more efficient place to find my answer. The phones that I saw seemed to answer incoming calls by pushing the button just fine, but they didn't seem to be able to make outgoing calls in the same way.
posted by jimmereeno to technology (6 comments total)

I have the LG VX7000 which works relatively well regarding voice-only dialing, but you have to push the button on the side of the phone to get that feature started. My boyfriend just got a new Verizon phone, too, and his is EXCELLENT for voice dialing. I'll direct him to this thread.
posted by abbyladybug at 6:36 PM on April 14, 2005

I don't know if Verizon offers it, but my old Sony/Ericsson T616 did exactly as you describe with either wired or wireless headsets without any problem. The T616 is a fairly old model, and has been replaced by the T6somethingelse, which is pretty much exactly the same phone but with more memory. Maybe you can score an old unlocked 616 and just put your Verizon SIM card in it.

The S/E interface for configuring voice dialing is very easy to use, although the voice recognition sometimes takes a couple of tries if there is background noise.
posted by majick at 8:11 PM on April 14, 2005

I would also advise you to go to a Verizon-owned store; the people tend to be more knowledgeable and helpful at the company-owned stores (I found this to be true of Cingular, anyway).
posted by Doohickie at 8:12 PM on April 14, 2005

When it comes to voice recognition, I'm blown away by my Verizon Samsung A670. No training needed at all and it's got an interactive thing that is amazing. I can say any name in my phone book and I've never had it be wrong. It's the most surprising thing about the phone, I think.

As for hands free, the ones I have don't have any buttons but this one explicitly states it can initiate calls via voice dialing.
posted by aaronh at 9:09 PM on April 14, 2005

I appreciate all of the feedback. I was leaning towards the Samsung A670 after reading aaronh's review... but then decided to give Verizon a call directly. They weren't able to confirm that it would do what I needed it to.

In the end, I think I will be getting an LG6100 which they claim will work for me.

thanks.
posted by jimmereeno at 12:08 PM on April 15, 2005

Well, after all that, the LG6100 did NOT do what I needed it to, and ended up getting a phone with BlueTooth afterall.
posted by jimmereeno at 9:30 AM on April 19, 2005