Motorola S10-HD ($35 ebay)
Jaybird Bluebuds X ($150 ebay)
Philips Tapster ($85 ebay)
I'm not a review web site so I'm not going to go into too many details. Bottom line, is that if you want a pair for running in the gym, the Motorola are fine and cheap and if you ruin them "so what". If you want to run or play sports --outdoors--, you'll want the Bluebuds. If you want a cord-free headset and don't intend to jump up and down, then the Tapster is the best.
BEST
Audio:Tapster - by far. Don't know what they did - but Philips squeezed 128kbps quality audio into a bandwidth compatible to bluetooth. Bass is hands down the best bluetooth experience I've had. I don't even bother changing headsets when I get to work any more. Bluebuds were advertised to have better sound, but I don't hear it.
Signal:
Bluebuds - by far. Finally, something they advertise which was accurate. Can hold a signal OUTDOORS when all the others fade away. INDOORS, Tapster actually has the best reach at 60ft through two walls in the men's bathroom. At that distance, Bluebuds was cutting on and off, but Tapster was strong. But outdoors, the only one to play non-stop with the phone in my pocket was the Bluebuds.
Controls - Ease of Use:
Tapster - by far. Once you learn HOW to control it, it's a pleasure to use. Bluebud's controls are convenient to reach but buttons themselves require long presses or really long presses - who's got time for that??
Fit - Stays in place and solid seal:
Tapster
note: Bluebuds WITH their extra ear attachment are actually better at staying in your ear, but cheap plastic mold is a far cry from the solid seal the Tapster makes. But this could be by design, because too much seal and you hear your own footsteps and movements (as in the Tapster), which for a product made for active people, would be a deal-breaker.
Design:
Bluebuds are just so itty bitty and I love the foldable (therefore form fitting) wire they have.
Construction:
Tapster. SD-10 seems cheap and the Bluebud's internals come unglued too easy (which needs to be sent in for repair).
Looks:
Love the cool factor of the Tapster touch panel, but what can I say: "smaller is better", so Bluebuds win here.
WORST
Signal:SD10. Indoors and nearby work just fine. Anywhere else, not so much.
Audio:
SD10. With the "HD" in the name, I expected more. And they are MUCH better than your normal BT dongle. But still, the worst of the three.
Flexibility:
Tapster. Can only sync with two devices at a time. Adding more than that eventually leads to an "unsteady state" and you might end up with a comatose headset which you have to let -completely- drain of battery before you can use it again.
Functionality:
Tapster. Takes a long time to figure out the gesture controls (the instructions are useless) and buggy. Several times I accidentally sent the device into a "unsteady state" where I had to let the battery drain completely (thereby loosing it's state information) before using again.
Summary
Moto SD10 - Cheap, decent.Jaybird Bluebuds X - Perfect for sports, outdoors
Philips Tapster - Best audio and easy to use, but has it's own equivalent of the "blue screen of death".
My personal choice is the Tapster. I've learned it's quirks and now I get to relax and enjoy the highest quality BT audio available.
