Bluetooth (BT) is quite popular these days. Coming in a variety of devices to establish communications between them for printing, for file transfer, GPS navigation links, and more, there is no use more common for BT than for hands free sets. Most people know of BT by the use of the these hands free sets and there are just so many to choose from! The bulk of these hands free sets out there currently are rated at class 2 – which means they’ll work up to a distance of 10 meters or around 33 feet. But now, Callpod, the makers of ChargePod and the Phoenix have thrown their lot into the fray with the class 1 rated Callpod Dragon.

This state of the art bluetooth earpiece which comes in 3 different styles (Titanium Silver, Black Chrome, and Carbon Fiber) intends to crush the competition using “Brute Bluetooth Strength” boosting a whopping 328 feet under ideal conditions as well as Dragon 2 Dragon communication which functions essentially as a class 1 bluetooth walkie talkie. Does the Dragon hit the mark?

Watch the unboxing and read after the jump to find out!

Unboxing

First Looks

So what’s inside the box?

- Rechargeable Bluetooth “Dragon” Headset
- 2 Different Sizes of Ear Clips
- Protective ChargePod travel Case
- Lightweight USB Charging Cable
- Chargepod Charging Attachment
- AC Charger 100-240V
- Car Charger
- Instruction Manual
- Quick Pairing Guide
- Phoenix Promo Insert

After charging the headset overnight via the A/C adaptor and USB cable, it was time to give it a test drive. As many people have told me before to RTFM (Read the Fine Manual), I decided to use the “Quick Pairing Guide” first and then jump into the instructions. But before we get into the fine manual, I decided to try the headset on. I’m certainly glad they included 2 ear clips. I had need of the smaller one as I have small ears. The weight of the Dragon (1 oz) took me by surprise as I’m used to headsets with half the weight – the Motorola H700 and the Jabra BT125. Still acceptable as long as you don’t decide to have that thing clipped for many long hours at a time (more on this later). The Dragon also has a tubular extension which goes into your ear canal to channel the audio straight into your ear.

It took a little while to get the headset on – I wasn’t used to the stiff ear clips as my other BT headsets were of softer rubber or plastic construction which allowed some gentle bending. The unit fits comfortably and can withstand turns of the head, but unlike my Jabra BT125, it cannot stay on when I violently jerk my head from side to side – the unit flies off my ear due to its greater mass (the Dragon was not harmed during this test as it fell on a very cushy carpeted area). Also during some quicker turns of the head, I need to readjust the tubular portion of the Dragon back to my ear canal.

Instructions

The illustrated instructions are well written covering most if not all the aspects of using the device – charging, pairing, attaching the ear clips, and advanced operations such as pairing a second device, Dragon 2 Dragon (more on this later). Even though it has some troubleshooting in the individual sections, it would have been nice if it had a FAQ section / chart for potential problems that may arise. The manual also includes a Spanish version.

Pairing

The Dragon was relatively easy to pair. It did take a bit of time to get used to the combo power/volume rocker switch. First time turning on the Dragon, it automatically went into a discoverable state which was very convenient and it paired with my i-mate JAQ3 flawlessly. Pairing with a second device (in this case my mom’s AT&T 8525) required pushing of the power button to put the Dragon into a discoverable state (the red and blue lights flash alternately). Switching between devices is automatic making things a breeze (until some special circumstances which will be discussed very shortly). Reconnecting a device is easy as well as the Dragon automates that function.

Here’s where the trouble begins though – having 2 Dragons and not labeling to differentiate Dragon A from Dragon B. Mom and I got confused over which Dragon was mine and which was hers. Because of that, we actually paired both Dragons to both of our phones. Oops. Now whoever has turned on the Dragon first would win the war of “I’m the BT headset” due to the Dragon would automatically be searching for the device in memory which happened to be both phones. Only way to fix that problem was to clear both Dragon’s memories and proceed from there to repair accordingly or get phone and Dragon far enough away from the offending Dragon. So, if you have multiple Dragons, it would be wise to label them.

Functionality and Design

The Dragon functions well. Clarity was excellent but the dual-mic noise surpression technology seemed best at screening out sounds of water as this was noted during a conversation I had with my mom while I was washing the dishes. I believe that at times it is difficult to judge on the efficacy of the noise surpression due to me having 2 ears…so what do you do in that case? Earplug one ear and have the headset on the other. I noticed that a lot of background noise could not be filtered out because they were human voices. This test was conducted in a busy Sam’s Club. Regardless of the noise, I’ve noticed that I can hear the other speaker just fine…providing also that the tubular portion of the Dragon was well adjusted. If not properly adjusted, the audio would be very difficult to hear. As for clarity in a quieter situation such as my home, the Dragon was a pleasure to use.

The controls of the Dragon to me seemed awkward due to the rocker switch type design. I believe it would have been better for a more traditional approach to separate the power from the volume controls as well as labeling the volume controls with + and – signs. The Multi Function Button (the circular button where part of it lights up in blue in the above picture) also lacks the feel of
a button as it feels kind of mushy. I do enjoy buttons that “click” and have a clean feel of being pressed.

Dragon 2 Dragon

This indeed is the paramount reason to own a pair of these headsets. The ability to use the Dragons as full duplex walkie talkies. Yep, full duplex – 2 people can talk simultaneously without any cancellation. With EXTREME range tested inside the uber spacious Sam’s Club and it was almost give or take about 10 feet off from full coverage of the rectangular shaped store on a diagonal! Of course, a true numerical measurement is difficult given the amount of obstacles blocking a direct path to run a tape measure (I wish I had one of those walk distance measure tools but that the result of that would still be skewed as it’s not a direct walk on a straight line). As the Dragon reaches the limits of transmission range, static increases until the audio finally skips and goes out. This is perfect for things like car communications when tailing somebody, security, restaurants and diners, shops, shopping in a department store (or in my case, a Sam’s Club). What do you want to talk about with your 100 meters?

Battery

The battery life could definitely be improved upon. The stated claim was up to 8 hours of talk time. This is unfortunately nowhere near reality. During my 3 months of usage, I got out a little over 4 to 4.3 hours consistently on both Dragons. I tested this method multiple times using 2 different tests.

1) Establish Dragon 2 Dragon and keeping the channel on and speaking with my mom until the batteries died. At the end of the 4 hours we both had tired and semi painful ears due to the weight of the Dragon.

2) Establish BT connection with our phones (i-mate JAQ3 and AT&T 8525) to the Dragon and then use AT&T to establish a call which we just kept the phones and headsets on chatting our heads off. The result was the same in that after 4 hours and roughly 13 mins, the headsets ran out of power within a few minutes of each other. Both phones still had enough juice to continue on so it for sure wasn’t a phone problem.

With that said, I am disappointed at the Dragon’s battery life due to its claim. Perhaps quality control needs to see what’s happening with this as 4 is quite a difference from 8 hours. One thing I’m learned so far in retail is always under promise and over deliver – otherwise things can turn a bit sour. I was not able to test standby time as I was not able to catch when the headset would go off.

Final Thoughts

The Dragon is certainly is not for everyone, but it certainly is still a good headset. Providing the best of range and ease of use, the Dragon especially shines on its “walkie talkie” Dragon to Dragon feature which is, in my opinion, worth the price alone. Battery time is not exactly stellar, but it does provide enough talk time for the average user. The Dragon is a bit on the heavy side, but certainly after a while, your ears would have probably adapted like mine to carry a heavier payload which makes my former headsets now feel feather light.

I’m excited at the innovative products that Callpod has put out. I am greatly looking forward to their upcoming bluetooth products slated for release this coming month – like the Drone and the Phoenix which are sure to bring the use of BT to new heights!

Vital Statistics

Name: Callpod Dragon

Manufacturer: Callpod

Where To Buy: Callpod

Price: $99.95 each

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5. Clinton Fitch’s Adventures in Bluetooth (the HTC BH M200 Bluetooth Headset)