Nokia Luna Bluetooth Headset Review
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Among others things, the Bluetooth headset is a symbol of the modern-day, sunglasses wearing douchebag. Some of us dislike using them even though they're a must-have accessory for the daily driver, that is unless you're driving a car with built-in creature comforts. Bluetooth headsets have become a tool to avoid tickets and accidents in the wake of country and state laws that require the use of a hands-free headset while driving. With so many different features and styles, choosing a Bluetooth headset isn't easy. Nokia's Luna is not your typical Bluetooth headset, it's a cute little dongle that features NFC technology for mindless pairing. We've got more to tell you after the jump!
Nokia's Luna headset is pretty, and shares a strong design sense with Nokia's Lumia smartphones. The beautiful cyan color can be seen across the Lumia line of phones and accessories like the Purity headphones we reviewed. It's almost safe to say that Nokia has taken this shade of blue as their flagship color. The Luna also comes in other vibrant colors like green, pink, white and of course black. We rarely use the word 'cute' to describe a gadget, but in this case the Luna is too cute to resist. With its petit form factor and in-ear style, this is one Bluetooth headset that we wouldn't mind wearing. Although I can't help but think of this cyan colored Luna of looking like a shiny Viagra pill that was cut in half.
Did you know? Despite the fact that the Luna was designed for the Lumia series, it's compatible with both iOS and Android smartphones as well as just about every modern-day Bluetooth device in need of a pretty headset.
At $80, Nokia's Luna is a moderately price Bluetooth headset. And out of the Jawbone-inspired packaging, it comes with a charging holder/base, two different sizes of silicone ear tips, a USB wall charger as well as a micro-USB to USB 3 charging cable which I've discovered charges the entire headset with its charging base blazingly fast compared to the seemingly Jabra Stone 2 headset. The good folks across the pond, at MobileFun we're awesome enough to have us test this little headset out, so that explains the European wall plug. MobileFun carries all kinds of Nokia headsets and Bluetooth gadgetry in case you were wondering.
Being so lightweight has its advantage, and the Luna's glossy plastic enclosure seems to be durable enough to last a very long time even with occasional drops. The Luna is so small and designed as a one-piece headset that unlike other Bluetooth headsets, there's nothing here to break or snap in half, and we like that about the Luna.
The Luna comes with a mediocre set of graphic instruction on how to use and fit the Luna into one's ear. Without clear instructions, it's hard to tell which is the correct way to insert the Luna into your ear because of its symmetrical shaped body and utter stupid button placement. Well, the secrete answer is to insert he Luna with the button facing flat towards the back of your head. Now you're beginning to understand why putting the sole button of a headset in hard to reach area is a stupid by design. Reaching that little button and pressing it is doable, but can drive you nuts. Every time you want to answer and end a call, you'll need to stick your finger behind and in-between your ear and the headset while it will undoubtedly slide out each time you do so.
A single button, and Nokia couldn't even get that right. It's a big shame, the Luna's smooth flat surface is an ideal place to put a multi-use, touch-sensitive button that'll be much easier to use instead of having to dig for a small button that isn't even easy to press. So much potential, tossed down the drain.
The Luna comes with no ear hooks or other forms of ear attachments to help keep it in. Instead, the Luna uses its in-ear stem just like a pair of in-ear headphones to remain snug inside your ear canal. I can say that after I found the right ear tip that fit my ear, the Luna successfully remained in my ear for well over two hours before I decided I no longer required its hands-free assistance. Of course, with these types of in-ear Bluetooth headsets, your mileage may very.
Once you've found the tip that best fits you, the Luna is one of the most comfortable headsets you can wear. With that said, not everyone is going to find the Luna to be as comfortable to use because everyone has different ears, and that's why ear hooks and other forms of support were invented.
Features? What features? The Luna is purely an unadulterated Bluetooth headset that does what it's supposed to and nothing more. While it does use Bluetooth 2.1, it doesn't support the A2DP profile for audio streaming which means you cannot use this headset for listening to music and all that follows.
Actually, the Luna does have two notable features that are actually found in its charging cradle. The obvious feature is that the base doubles as a portable charger with a built-in rechargeable battery that will charge the Luna whenever it's docked inside of it and will provide an additional 6 hours of extended talk time. Push the Luna flush into the round base and it'll begin charging instantly. Doing so will also disconnect the Bluetooth connection with your device, so it's a second way of ending a call or reverting back to handset use. When you push to click the Luna out of the base, it'll instantly pair up again with your device without a hitch.
The Luna's charging base is also NFC enabled, meaning that if you have an NFC enabled device you would then tap it against the back of the charging base to seamlessly pair the two together. As much as this is an effortless way of pairing for the first time, the Luna's standard pairing mode is really simple and quick. Bluetooth 2.1 doesn't require a PIN code to be entered leaving you with a flawless and frustration-free pairing that'll take you literally a few seconds. What's more is that you can pair the Luna with two devices simultaneously.
I haven't found any negative things to say about it as it works flawlessly and keeps you away from having to plug your headset in for charging at a stationary place. Charging the base is done using the supplied USB cable. A tiny red LED indicator will light up letting you know you're charging the base and/or both the base and the headset.
What's most important is being able to hear and be heard loud and clear using a headset. Fortunately the Luna performs above and beyond in the regard. Voice clarity is one of the best I've heard in a Bluetooth headset. That's not only true for a one way call, but both ends of a call can be heard loud and clear. You're not going to find superior audio quality though, the Luna will still have that trace of tinny audio quality, but that's a given. Incoming calls will sound your ringtone thru the headset without any fancy caller-id voiced to your ear by a sexy female voice.
The mic has no trouble picking up your voice being so far away from your mouth. In fact, it's so sensitive that the caller on the other line will hear your heavy breathing, and just about all the unwanted background noise and wind as well. The Luna has no special noise-canceling technology to help reduce background noise and that's not acceptable at this price range. Some notable headset offerings that have it all include Jawbone's Icon and Icon HD at $80 and $100, respectively. Although these options do lack the Luna's minute size and portable NFC-enabled charging base, you'd be well off choosing a different headset if you want active noise-cancellation and loads of features with a more mature design.
The headset itself will last around 2 hours of talk time or have the standby time of what seems like forever if each time you remember to plug it into its charging base. Battery life has been really great using the Luna, and with the ability to recharge it using the charging base on-the-go, you'll be set for the entire day. The Luna's in-ear style is comfortable to wear, however, be warned that you won't hear as well with that headset stuck inside your ear canal.
At $80, Nokia's Luna is a moderately priced Bluetooth headset with a very solid performing battery life and call quality experience. We like the Luna's unique candylicious looks, fit and bright audio quality and you probably would as well. If only the Luna had some more sophisticated noise-cancelling features to offer and better implementation of a multi-function button, we would have been happy to recommend it. Alas, the Luna falls short in delivering a proper hands-free experience that many other equally priced headsets are more than willing to serve you with. We expected a lot more from Nokia at the $80 price tag.
