Bluetooth headsets and WP8?

[Guzzler3]

OK, I have not used Bluetooth headsets, ever. I have always been a wired earbud person, but I am getting curious about them. So can someone enlighten me on their capabilities, or short comings? My neighbor uses a Bluetooth earpiece with his WP8 (Lumia 521) and he is not very happy.

One thing I noticed is that the button on the Bluetooth device doesn't interact very seamlessly with WP8. I would like the BT device to use the phone's speech recognition for doing things. I noticed that his BT device is basically a "middle man" that has it's own weird quirks with speech, as it does it's own speech recognition before sending commands to the phone. Or it has it's own button press combinations that are different than the phone (i.e. long press = redial last number instead of initiating speech recognition). Is this normal? Or is it just that particular BT device?

Please enlighten me with an "idiots guide" to Bluetooth on WP.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Do you know what Bluetooth headset your neighbour is using?

 

[Guzzler3]

Samsung (not sure of the model number).

But again, I am not educated on what you can and can't do with Bluetooth. I interested because I've been looking at Bluetooth accessories for a motorcycle helmet.

 

[Guzzler3]

Ok, I got to work with my neighbors BT device: Samsung HM6000, with his Nokia Lumia 521

What a P.O.S. device. Yes, it is a "middle man" device, meaning that it won't pass your speech through to the phone. It intercepts and does it's own speech recognition (poorly) before sending information to the phone when you tap the HM6000 talk button. Trying a long press of the HM6000 talk button, redials the last phone number.

Now if I do a long press of the Window key on the phone, then and only then, can I use the native WP speech capabilities via the BT device. Which ruins the idea of keeping your phone tucked away (pocket, holster, etc.) and using it "hands free".

Is this normal with all BT devices?