Mobile Workers Highlight Sound Quality And Good Communication Tools As Paramount To Success

London, UK – 2nd November 2010 – According to a new UK study conducted by Plantronics (NYSE:PLT), today ‘s mobile worker is increasingly spending more time working outside the office, in so-called ‘transitional’ spaces. Defined by Plantronics as public spaces used while in transit, such as a hotel room, in the car, on public transport or in a café. Improvements in technology have boosted the number of mobile workers with predictions that 1.2 billion people – more than a third of the world’s workforce - will be mobile by 2013.*

Flexible, mobile and dispersed working practices are now becoming the norm and workers need technology that is reliable and supports their lifestyle. Over half of respondents (55.2%) spend almost 20% of their week working in transitional spaces, including in the car, at the airport, in hotels, restaurants, and on public transport. These locations often can cause difficulties in terms of noise levels, which impacts on concentration, productivity and ultimately business success with 82.1% of respondents admitting they find it difficult to talk on the phone with background noise and (90%) agreeing that sound quality on a call and good communication tools are essential to the success and productivity of their work.

The Power of Voice
In voice-only conversations 87% of the message’s importance is attributed to tone of voice. Therefore it is essential that confusion and misunderstanding that can arise from poor audio be overcome by using the right tools. Not surprisingly in the survey almost 90% of respondents agree that the sound quality of a call is essential to the work that they are doing and 92.1% admitted they work more productively when they have good communication tools.

More people are using a range of tools to communicate, including laptops, broadband Internet, wifi and multiple hard and softphones (VoiP). The headset is part of this and a foundation to a seamless, connected and flexible ‘smarter living’ way, where in their increasingly hectic lifestyles, mobile workers can make the most of the technology and devices they buy and create more out of the time they value.

Delivering Smarter Sound
Through a combination of advanced ergonomic design and built in ‘audio intelligence’, the latest Plantronics headsets produce ‘HD’ quality sound whether talking on a smartphone, or VoIP calling from an iPad. Noise-cancelling technology eliminates unwanted background noise on the move and detailed design features – such as a perfected balance between battery and boom – make for better sound, with greater comfort. Today Plantronics headsets work across phones, Tablet or PC – thus offering the ability to carry on talking while using applications.

The new Plantronics Voyager PRO+ improves on an award-winning design and defines a new vision from hands-free convenience, made to complement life on the go. The Voyager PRO+ is part of a range of smart headsets that are geared for the growing smartphone userbase and is encased in environmentally sound packaging featuring a new brand identity.

“The headset is a powerful tool to support our demanding lifestyles and the Voyager PRO+ offers busy people on-the-go exactly what they need by pairing advanced audio performance with a comfortable design “ said Stuart Bradshaw, EMEA consumer product manager. “The Voyager PRO+ sounds natural, feels natural and is intuitive to use, making it the ideal companion to the latest generation of smartphones and devices.”