Over the past week we’ve had the opportunity to try out Sound ID’s SM100 EarModule Bluetooth headset which resulted in a unanimous vote of “impressed” from those of us who spent some time with it. The headset seems pretty cool from its looks alone but there are also some less visible features that add to the uniqueness and value of the SM100. We tested the headset with the Motorola MOTOSLVR and the new Motorola MOTOROKR Z6m which were both very easy to connect.

For starters, and one of the most important things we watch for in these devices, is the general size and comfort. If you find yourself wanting a wireless headset its probably because you spend a fair amount of time talking on the phone and the last thing you need is something that’s too uncomfortable to wear for those multiple and long conversations. The comfort was not an issue for us with the SM100, and in fact after a few hours of wearing it I found myself once even having to check with my hand to see if it was in my ear. The headset measures about 1.75 inches by 1.0 inch by 1.2 inches and weighs only 0.4 ounces.

When first seeing the device we weren’t too sure about the small loop on the earpiece but quickly learned that it acts as a little “spring loaded” band that helps hold the headset in your ear quite well without the need for the over-the-ear attachment. Sound ID does include the over-the-ear hook however, just for that added security or if for some reason it doesn’t quite stay put. It also comes with three different sizes of the earpiece, one of which is likely to fit snuggly into your ear, and a small USB charging adapter to allow charging directly from your computer in addition to a standard wall outlet.

A small detail that can sometimes be a big deal on a Bluetooth headsets is finding the buttons to answer calls, change modes and especially adjust the volume. The main button on the face of the headset to handle calls on the SM100 was very easy to find and use. The other small buttons on the sides, although small, were well defined and easy to locate with their square edges.

The not-so-visible features we found on the Sound ID SM100 were equally impressive to its small size and comfort, if not more. While talking voices came through exceptionally clear and the device displayed excellent background noise reduction, which is another of the most important features we look for in a headset. Despite windy conditions or noisy environments callers stated they could still hear our voices clearly when we spoke. On our end while listening to conversations the clarity remained good as well despite surrounding wind or noise, and the headset seemed to automatically increase the volume when we moved into noisier conditions. Even though the volume buttons where easy to find I never really needed them due to this feature.

When listening, the headset also has three PersonalSound (or Hearing Enhancement) modes which can be toggled through by pressing the Personalized Program button on the side of the headset. The three programs -Normal, Moderate, and Strong- gives different sounds levels for different preference however the three of us that had tried the headset all found the Normal mode as the most preferred.

Something else we found very cool about this headset was the Environmental mode. One of the issues with having a headset in your ear is that it muffles the surrounding sound. This Environmental mode turns on when you are not actively in a conversation on the phone and acts as a little sound amplifier for surrounding noises. It too has three different sound levels or can be turned off completely. When on, even in the lowest setting there is a background hum which can be somewhat annoying but was better than having the sound muffled. In the highest setting it would actually give us “super hearing” almost like a spy device, allowing us to hear far off conversations that we would normally not be able to hear. Putting our hand directlyover the headset when it was in my ear in the loudest mode would even produce some squealing feedback due to the sensitivity of the device. Using the Environmental mode does cut down on the battery life, though. Adding to the spy-like qualities is something called One2One mode. Two people that both have SM100’s can set them to connect to each other directly within Bluetooth range without the use of a phone at all.

All in all we found the Sound ID SM100 to be a very good headset that was very comfortable to wear and had excellent sound quality. It of course houses many of the common features through the main button as most headsets do, such as answering, ending, and rejecting calls, call-waiting, voice-dial, mute, and has a handy lighted battery life indicator. It’s rated for a talk time of 8 hours and a standby time of 70 hours. Running the Environmental mode cuts the standby time down to 22 hours.

The SM100 retails for $129.99 and comes in the pictured silver color or in a new, even more discrete matte black model currently only available at Best Buy.

Sound ID SM100 Ear Module Bluetooth Headset