Plantronics Voyager Legend + iPhone 5 + Instant Meeting

This is not the coolest looking bluetooth earpiece, but I’m pretty sure it’s the best.

I’ve been tied up on several extremely complex transactions, and somehow or other, lawyers all over the country began calling me on my cell — at all hours. And I just hate talking on my cell.

You see, it hurts my neck and shoulder to hold the phone up to my ear for long periods of time, and lawyers — well, you know lawyers — they can go on forever. (Clients don’t talk long at all because they know they’re being charged by the hour!)

I tried a Jawbone, because it looked really cool, was real small, and got good reviews. But I’ve given up on it. The Plantronics is infinitely better because —

* It never loses the bluetooth connection with the iPhone. With the Jawbone, I kept having to re-sync.

* It knows when it’s on my ear and turns itself on and off automatically. One less button to mess with!

* It audibly tells me how much time is left on the battery. I kept running out of power with the Jawbone (surprise!), but never with the new Plantronics.

* I can answer hands free by saying “Answer.” And it tells me who’s calling. And so I can go for hours and never touch the phone in my pocket and only touch the earpiece to hang up.

* It plays music (the Jawbone did not). I didn’t buy it for the music, but very occasionally, it’s nice to be able to listen to a little Pink Floyd in the doctor’s waiting room when I forgot to bring headphones.

While I’m on the subject, for $4.99 I downloaded the InstantMeeting app, and it takes my many, many conference call calendar entries and automatically dials both the number and the passcode. No more having to memorize 11-digit passcodes to get on a conference call while on the road.

In fact, I’m now taking most of these calls on my cell rather than on the landline at the office — just to avoid fiddling with long passcodes! (And my law partners are quickly taking the same attitude.)

Oh, and my iPhone 5 finally came in Monday. Obviously enough, I love my electronics and toys. But I’m not much of a photographer and don’t really care that much about the bigger screen or lighter weight (other than for making others envious, of course. Is that wrong?)

But Tuscaloosa has Verizon LTE service, which is MUCH faster than 3G — and I do a lot of reading on my phone — especially using Google Reader. The speed is very nice indeed. So is the faster processor.

But I was surprised at my adoration for Siri. It’s imperfect, but with the Plantronics headset, I can say “Call 123-3456” and it does exactly that — meaning I can be truly hands free while driving in traffic — which is just so much safer.

In fact, I can also say “Call Bubba,” and it’ll recite all the Bubbas in my contact list and ask which one I mean. Again, my eyes stay on the road, and I don’t have to fiddle with the phone. I only have to hold the button thingy at the bottom down for a couple of seconds. Everything else is hands free.

So, yes, I’m still on break. And in fact not yet writing theology again. I’ve been fighting a pretty nasty upper respiratory virus, hip pain (something called “trochanteric bursitis”), and working too much — and just kind of got worn out. But what better mood enhancer than cool electronic toys?