I've had these Blueant Interphone communicators for a few weeks now and thought I would post my opinion, likes and dislikes with the system. For those who aren't familiar with the Interphone it's a communicator that uses wireless bluetooth technology, heres a link to their website:
BlueAnt Wireless North America - Bluetooth InterPhone motorbike helmet handsfree and intercom kit
The interphone system has many functions as do most communication systems. What I was looking for, in order of importance to me, was (1) rider to passenger communication, (2) bike to bike communication (3) to get music from my phone to the helmet via bluetooth and (4) finally a feature I didn't care anything about, cell phone capability.
I bought 2 headsets, which are sold seperately, and found they appear to be well made. After charging the units, I installed the units on my helmets. Installation is accomplished by either a clamp system or double sided tape. Installation was simple and took less than 15 minutes per helmet which included removing the liner to hide all wiring. "Pairing" the headset to my phone (LG) was simple and straight-forward. I was more than a little disapointed (MAD)
to find the headset would not receive music from my phone. I don't know if its a phone issue or headset issue but the interphone system apparently can't be used to receive music via bluetooth.
Pairing the two headsets together for communication wasn't as simple, as the directions were a little vague. After a few tries,I was able to get the right combination and get the two paired.
It was time for a road test. The system worked well for rider/passenger communication up to about 55 mph. The one speaker didn't provide enough volume for me to hear at speeds greater than that. The company says audible at speeds up to 80 mph, maybe on a Goldwing with an ultra-quite helmet. The headsets communicate at a distance great enough for bike to bike talk but again, audible only at speeds less than 60 mph. The headsets will only communicate with one other bluetooth item at a time, it can be set to "phone" mode or "communicator" mode and only one other communicator can be linked. In other words, its not possible to talk with your passenger and another bike at the same time or two other riders at the same time.
Finally, the phone feature was a pleasant surprise. Now before you guys start flaming me for using the phone on the bike, please read all this. The headset beeps when you have a call. You can ignore the call by staying silent or simply say a word to answer the phone, never having to remove your hands from the bars or eyes from the road. If you decide to take the take the call, tell the caller to hold on while you find a safe place to pull over and then have your conversation, all without having to remove your helmet or take the phone out of your pocket/bag. I DON"T RECOMMEND RIDING WHILE TALKING ON THE PHONE! Now I understand some of you guys are glued to the job by your phone and you don't want it near when you ride, for me, I get very few calls other than my wife or kids and I like that they can have access to me if needed.
The interphone is relatively in expensive compared to others and works ok for my style riding, mostly back road and mountain twisties with the majority of my speed being under 60. If you do alot of miles on the super-slab with speeds greater than that, these are probably not for you.