Headset turns computer into office phone ; Switch can save money and add several layers of convenience for users

ANNE EISENBERG
International Herald Tribune
01-17-2011
Headset turns computer into office phone ; Switch can save money and add several layers of convenience for users
Byline: ANNE EISENBERG
Type: News

Companies can save money by simply buying employees headsets instead of desktop phones, with manufacturers offering sleek new models that plug into desktops, laptops or notebooks.

Headsets are staples for call center workers, travel agents and many other people who talk frequently on the telephone. With a headset, both hands are free to work, and a shoulder does not have to cradle the phone stiffly.
Now, headsets could start making many office telephones unnecessary, as businesses decide to let workers make calls with their computers.

Companies can save money by simply buying employees headsets instead of standard telephones, said Tavis McCourt, a managing director and analyst at Morgan Keegan, who follows the Internet telephony market. Software like Lync from Microsoft makes it possible to use computers efficiently for voice, video and other communication over the Internet, he said.

Headsets are useful because the computers common in most offices are not set up well for conducting conversations, said Gregory Burns, a telecommunications analyst at Sidoti, an equity research firm in New York. "You need an attachment for audio input and output," he said.

Desktop computers can have built-in microphones, but these are not ideal, he said. Conversations over a computer's microphone can distract people in other cubicles, the same way speaker phones can.

All of this has created an opportunity for companies that make headsets. Such manufacturers are ready to offer sleek models that plug into desktops, laptops or notebooks for quiet conversations and conference calls. Some of the new headsets switch easily among desk phones, computers and even cellphones.

"Put on your headset, and it gives you access to whatever device you choose to use," said Bob Hafner, a managing vice president at Gartner, the marketing research firm in Stamford, Connecticut.

The move toward telephony for computers will gain ground quickly in the coming years, he said, as people communicate more by computer, clicking on the names of people they want to reach, for example, instead of dialing them.

But computer calling will not work for everyone in the office, said Mr. McCourt, the analyst at Morgan Keegan. Dialing on a computer, for example, is not as fast as on a standard telephone. Many employees use their telephones mainly to receive calls or to reach other people in their companies. In such cases, he said, a headset connected to a computer will work well.

Plantronics, a headset company in Santa Cruz, California, will offer a wireless headset, the Savi 730, this year that works on a computer, a standard telephone or a mobile phone, said Karen Auby, a company spokeswoman.

A stylish new wireless headset, the OfficeRunner, made by the German audio company Sennheiser, lets people communicate as far as 400 feet, or 122 meters, from their telephones, said Mike Faith, chief executive of Headsets.com, its U.S. distributor. The headset can work with most telephones, he said, and with PCs or Macintosh computers by connecting the base to the USB port.

People who want to use a headset with an iPad can buy the Jawbone Icon. The headset also works with Macs that have Bluetooth, said Jenny Noyola, a customer service representative at Headsets.com.

Jerry Plant, who is deaf in one ear and wears a hearing aid in the other, bought an OfficeRunner in part because of the sound quality. "It couldn't be any better," he said.

Mr. Plant wears a headset so his hands are free to use the computer as he manages portfolios and offers investment advice at the company he founded, Mark 1 Asset Management, in Oklahoma City.

If headset sales soar, it will be in part because of PC software, said Mr. Hafner of Gartner.

For example, people can easily use their computers to set up conference calls by dragging and dropping the names of colleagues across a screen.

"The key component driving headset activity is software that makes a PC more effective and functional than a desk phone," he said. "That's why business communications are converging on PCs and mobile smartphones."

Copyright International Herald Tribune Jan 17, 2011