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Invisio G5 'world's smallest' Bluetooth headset

Truly tiny... or truly tinny?

Now, we've tried a range of Bluetooth headsets, and we've yet to try one that generates the same sound as holding a phone up to your ear, so we don't want to give the impression that the G5's output is poor - it isn't. But there is a price to be paid as you miniaturise the speaker.

The rubber earpiece doesn't go so far into your ear as to muffle out external sounds to any real extent - it's not like those in-the-ear noise-reduction earphones, for instance - and may actually muffle the sound a bit.

NextLink quotes a talk time of four hours. That's not long as far as modern Bluetooth headsets go. Jabra's almost equally tiny JX10 will let you chat for six hours and will run for 200 hours between charges if it's unused. That's 50 hours more than the G5 can manage, according to NextLink's specs.

The G5 weighs 6g to the JX10's 10g, but that difference is barely noticeable. However, the G5 is by far the smaller of the two, and it doesn't have a big round-your-ear clip, of course.

Nextlink Invisio charging case

The G5's case-cum-charger: strike a light

We got just over four days' usage out of a single charge of the G5's battery, and made around an hour's worth of calls. Not fantastic power performance, perhaps, but then the G5 does have its wireless charger. The G5 fits into it even when the ear clip is attached.

Since the charger can power the headset even when there's no AC connection, NextLink likes to say the G5 actually has a talk time of 20 hours - five times four. Charging the G5 up takes around three hours, and curiously the charger was still registering full when the headset was done. We doubt that's actually the case, but it bodes well for future charges. As when the charger finally gives up the ghost and needs recharging itself, we'll let you know in the comments.

One flaw with the charger is the arcane set of codes used to display each device's power status. The charger has a row of five green LEDs: the sequence in which the light up shows you whether the G5, the charger or both are charging, or indeed charged. You can't charge the G5 directly, which is probably a good thing: our JX10 bit the dust because the tiny power connector built into the headset broke through frequent use.

Of course, a new JX10 costs around £50 - £30 less than the G5. We liked the JX10 - it was comfortable and the sound was good - but the G5 just comes out on top. There's not much to choose between then in weight, but the G5 fits so much better, and despite being smaller is less fiddly to use, thanks to the JX10's too-tiny controls.

Verdict

The Invisio G5 is truly tiny as far as Bluetooth headsets go and one of the most discreet that we've seen. Its novel earclip not only works but is comfortable too - despite its looks - and while we've had better sound out of other headsets, the G5 is entirely usable even in a noisy car. And the smart charger means it'll run and run.

85%

Invisio G5 'world's smallest' Bluetooth headset

Small, comfortable and easily recharged... what more can you expect from a Bluetooth headset?
Price: £80 / €130 RRP

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