As a follow-up to our review of i.Tech Dynamic’s stellar bluetooth headset from last week, we decided to look at their eco-friendly, SolarVoice 908.

Our findings? It’s a straight forward bluetooth headset with a solar powered twist. A tiny, plug in ear bluetooth headset with noise reduction (not noise canceling) technology. Nothing really fancy here, but throw in a sexy design and solar charging, and you’ve got a real unique headset solution.

i.Tech’s packaging and included accessories are on par with pricier competitors like Plantronics or Motorola headset. Four total silicone ear pieces are included so you’ll be able to find the exact size that fits your ear hole. There is an included ear loop, but you won’t really need it if you find the right ear bud cover.

There are no surprises here, only happy finds like an included dash mountable (or on your desk) and included USB+wall charger adapter. We found you could charge through powered USB port, wall plug, or solar panels. Having all 3 options is pretty unique for a bluetooth headset.

The “dock” doesn’t really plug into the wall or anything. It’s designed to hold the headset angled towards the sun to capture the most amount of light for charging. I have to admit, the dock is heft enough and well built. It really adds a nice touch to the overall package and something you really don’t expect.

There’s sticky tape on the underside that lets you mount to the car dash, but we were happy just leaving it on our desks.

Onto the key selling point about this headset, the solar charging.

About 3 hours or less for full charge when plugged into the wall or about 8 hours of direct sunlight to charge. During our tests, a full wall charge took a little under 2 hours (about 100 minutes). We did a full drain on the battery and then proceeded to do a full charge from the solar panels. We were going in about 8 hours of sunlight from behind a windshield. Same test in direct sunlight, out in the open with no glass, took much less about a little over 7 hours. Keep in mind, there is no battery gauge here, only tones to tell you’re running low on battery power. So we emphasize here that we were able to use the headset after about 7-8hours of solar charging.

Also, understand that the manual tells you to charge through a powered USB port or using the included wall adapter. It’s not that big of a deal, but the solar panels in this type of device really isn’t designed to juice it up from zero charge to full charge. Ideally, you’ll want to plug in for best results.

However, our testing shows that i.Tech’s unit is capable of getting a charge from the solar panels. Make no mistake about it, SolarVoice is freakin’ amazing. Our testers went a full week without charging the unit and that’s with normal usage of about 4-5 hours daily and stowing the unit in our bags or in the car somewhere when we weren’t using it.

My personal testing followed a slightly different plan. I did a full charge plugging into the wall and never charged again. Normal usage of about 3-4 hours daily and stored the unit on my car dash, not on the dock. I was careful to put the unit somewhere non-descript so as not to provide any motivation for breaking into my car, but also light enough to capture sun to keep charging it.

That was about two weeks ago. I still haven’t charged it and I’m slowly becoming convinced that I’ll never need to plug in SolarVoice 908 ever again.

The headset is really small. Probably one of the smaller headsets that we’ve seen on the marketplace. That’s a AAA battery next to it in the picture. The design features and angled ear piece that fits sung into your ear. No need for ear loops here. It’s really well designed and fits so well that we’re surprised more manufacturers don’t follow i.Tech’s idea.

Talk quality on the unit isn’t that great, but it’s not terrible either. It’s not the i.Voice Pro, so there’s no real noise cancellation going on, just noise reduction technology.

Our wind tests (car, 65mph, all windows open) proved really tough on the unit and people we called could barely hear us, but we heard them just fine. Walking around town is no problem, but if you happen to be in a really noisy store like Abercrombe, you’ll be switching away from the headset and onto your phone.

Let me stress, in our tests normal everyday situations the unit did just fine. The occasional noise in the background wasn’t really an issue. However, our testing indicates that people know you’re on a headset as it does sound like you’re talking through a can sometimes, but that’s how about 80% of the headsets on the market are like.

Keep in mind, we’re testing in situations that normal everyday users will probably only face 15%-20% of the time. The majority of use will be in your car, office, or some other quiet place. Talking in an airport or walking through a mall proved to be no problem though. If the background noise starts to kick up, don’t expect SolarVoice to act like i.Voice Pro or other noise blocking/cancelling headsets in that class.

Overall though, you’re not buying i.Tech’s SolarVoice 908 because the sound is average. No, that’s actually good thing here. It’s not terrible like the other gimmicky headsets that are out there today. Instead, i.Tech delivers a unit that is fully capable of keeping it’s charge (once you charge it up from the wall) for a very long time (2+weeks and counting) from just the rays of the sun.

You’ll find all the bells and whistles here that you’ll find from an average headset: multi-point technology, bluetooth 2.1 + EDR Class 2, etc. Now, throw in the fact that it’s got a pretty decent solar panel that’s not just a gimmick, and you’ve got an above average headset.

Unfortunately, we just couldn’t give it a Golden Bucket Award because of the call quality. It’s not bad, but it’s not on par with i.Tech’s own i.Voice Pro 901. So, that’s why it’s missing an award.

All this comes at a premium as well. MSRP of $74.99 (street pricing on Amazon.com is around $60-$74.99), so it’s a bit pricey when it comes to bluetooth headsets. Still, the solar panels are pricey and they work well, so we recommend it if you’re hunting for a unit that’s gone 2+weeks without a charge.

(Editor’s Note: Again, we’ve looked at a few on-line reviews for this unit and found that users are very hard on it. Sound quality is not as good as noise canceling unit like Plantronics’ or i.Tech’s own, but it’s on par with a more expensive Moto unit (wihtout the solar charging), Jabra or other headsets. If you want something that works in a wind tunnel, then look to i.Tech’s i.VoicePro 901 or Plantronics’ Voyager Pro. Also, the notes on solar charging are really unfair. The manual again tells you to charge fully before relying on the solar panels, otherwise it’s going to take a long time to charge from just the sun alone. Keep those few things in mind and then make your buying decision. If you buy for the solar charging capability and average call quality, you won’t be disappointed.)

(Legal Note: Our lawyer wants us to tell everyone that this is an independent review of i.Tech SolarVoice 908. Tech Bucket Blog LLC did not pay for the product being reviewed. We requested and received this item from representatives of i.Tech. We are never and were not compensated for our opinions or recommendation of this or any other product we review. We offer our opinions based upon our own independent testing and offer no express or implied warranties on any statement that we make. It is simply our opinion. Your experience may differ. As our policy is not to be compensated for our reviews, we are never directed in one direction (positive or negative) about this or any product we review.)

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