If you’re like me and find most Bluetooth headsets uncomfortable and/or inconvenient to use, the AXVisor (model TRIBC200) from Tritton Technologies might be just what you’re looking for. This is a Bluetooth speakerphone unit that, as its name suggests, clips to the sun visor in your car for hands-free conversations.

The AX Visor measures 4.75 inches long by 2 inches wide by .75 inch thick (without the clip) and can also be used on a tabletop for conference calls. It has a built-in mini-USB port for the included charger and data cables.

Tritton’s Web site says the product comes with a user manual and car charger, but the review copy I was sent didn’t include these items. I was able to obtain a PDF of the user manual which sufficed, although it was laid out all on a single page too large for output on a standard printer; I ended up taking screenshots of each section in the manual and printing them out so I could follow along when I tried out the AX Visor in my car.

Since the AX Visor includes power-saving features (the OLED screen turns off when not in use), it’s unlikely that the average user would need to charge the unit in his or her car, anyway. The speaker is small enough, when the clip is removed to stow into a purse, briefcase or other bag, it’s easy to port it around for charging elsewhere. 

Most likely, carrying the AX Visor with you when not in the car is a good idea anyway, since like most electronics it’s not intended to be exposed to extreme temperatures, especially heat.

Tritton claims the AX Visor charges in less than 3 hours and will run for 15 hours of talk time or 400 hours of standby time. The unit came mostly charged; I plugged it in and a few minutes later it notified me that the battery was full. 

I tested out the Tritton AX Visor with my AT&T (News - Alert) phone, a Nokia 2085 clamshell. I quickly discovered that, as with any Bluetooth device, the functionality of the AX Visor is limited mostly by the hands-free function on the phone being used. While my phone allows voice dialing, without prior programming, for any person in the contacts list, I found the process of making hands-free calls to be somewhat fiddly. I tried to specify a particular person I wanted to call several times before the phone recognized what I was saying. This was not the fault of the AX Visor, of course. 

The AX Visor acts just as a headset would — audio is piped through it rather than the mic/speaker on the phone. So, if the phone’s hands-free functionality is limited (as with mine), the AX Visor’s functionality will be limited as well.
 

The AX Visor is almost disarmingly simply in its design and functionality. It has four buttons: one for muting the handset (on the left side of the unit when it is set on a table), a + / - button for controlling volume (also on the left side), an on/off switch on the right side, and a large button (looks like part of the unit’s surface) on the top which Tritton refers to as the “MFB” (for “multi-function button”?).

On the bottom edge of the AX Visor are two small holes (the microphone) and a mini-USB jack for charging and firmware updates. On the back are four small rubber feet (for tabletop use) and a slot for the included clip.

The top surface of the Visor has two ‘levels’ — one for the speaker, one for the MFB, with the OLED screen connecting the two at a slant. As noted earlier, when the clip is removed, the unit sits flat on a table and can be used as a speakerphone for conference calls. In a tabletop setting (referred to by Tritton as ‘Speakerphone Mode’) the AX Visor automatically sets itself to omni-directional audio. (For ‘Car Handsfree Mode,’ it operates uni-directionally.) 

I performed a run-through of AX Visor’s basic functions in my car, with the unit clipped to the sun visor. The OLED screen automatically ‘flips’ orientation when the unit is turned upside down for clipping to a visor. The instruction manual shows it clipped to a visor in the “up” position (against the ceiling, as you’d put it on an overcast day or at night); I found it works just as well if clipped over the top edge of the visor when it’s flipped down to block the sun. 

 


AXVisor with sun visor flipped up



AXVisor with sun visor flipped down

The first task at hand: pairing the AX Visor with my phone. This was almost instantaneous. It took more time for me to navigate into my phone’s Bluetooth pairing menu, and enter the key, than it did for the two devices to recognize one another.

As noted earlier, the OLED display automatically switches off after 10 seconds, and since it’s completely black there is no way to tell by looking at it that the unit is on. The instruction manual said that a short click of the MFB turns the screen back on; however, with my phone a short-click instead re-dialed the last called number. At first, I found the powers-saving feature disconcerting — I’m accustomed to every device having a screen that’s constantly on, showing connectivity status or other details. But I soon realized that when info is needed, the AX Visor will display it on the screen briefly.

Next up: placing a call. I dialed from the phone as I normally would. With some phones, it is necessary to short-click the MFB to switch call audio to the AX Visor; with my phone, this routing was automatic — as soon as the call began dialing, I heard the rings through the AX Visor. Conversing was easy. I can’t say that I noticed much of a sound quality difference using the AX Visor compared with the speakerphone on my cellphone. But then, my heading isn’t particularly refined. The audio quality was certainly fine; the person I spoke with had no trouble hearing me, and vice-versa.

Ending a call using the AX Visor was a snap: a simple short-click of the MFB, and that was that. Tritton’s device, clipped to the car sun visor, is certainly easy to reach and click without taking one’s eyes off the road for more than a split second. Another nice touch: on disconnect the OLED screen briefly displays the call’s duration.

The instructions from Tritton included details about how to reject incoming calls from the AX Visor unit, mute the microphone, and perform second line/3-way calling. I haven’t tested these features yet, and based on functionality with short-click of MFB when paired with the Nokia (News - Alert) 6085, I have a feeling they may work differently than presented.

Overall, I found the Tritton Visor to be quite simple to use, and appreciate the ability to make (mostly) hands-free calls while in the car without using a Bluetooth headset. If you do a lot of traveling alone in a vehicle, I would say it’s well worth the roughly $90-$100 the device is currently selling for.

Mae Kowalke is senior editor for TMCnet, covering VoIP, CRM, call center and wireless technologies. To read more of Mae’s articles, please visit her columnist page. She also blogs for TMCnet here.

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