WHITE PAPER DW OFFICE Comfort. The key to efficiency. Productivity at the workplace requires efficient tools with user-friendly interfaces and time-saving technologies. Comfort is a key issue for smooth office communication. Introduction Employees become more productive when using headsets. A headset allows you to use both hands while talking, so you do not have to hold the phone in ways that put a strain on your body. If the headset is wireless you also have far more freedom to move around the workspace. These generic characteristics of headsets, both wired and wireless, are well known. However, there are several important issues that need to be addressed before users can enjoy all the advantages to their full extent. For the engineers at Sennheiser Communications it became obvious that the key to greater efficiency and the elimination of old habits was comfort. In order to succeed, the wireless headset had to deliver an unparalleled level of comfort in all areas. With this in mind, the company's engineers set out to improve the technology and the level of comfort in our wireless headsets. Comfort in detail The aim of this White Paper is to highlight what it takes to create a level of comfort that truly enhances productivity. The Paper includes the following topics: Wearing styles User-friendliness Charging concept Talk time Easy pairing Conference calls Range Sound quality Safety Wearing styles In order to make it comfortable to use a headset for maybe several hours each day, it is vital to acknowledge the individuality of the user and more specifically the shape of the user's ears. Ears are as individual as fingerprints, which makes it even more important to focus on various wearing styles when it comes to wireless headsets.
There is no way of telling what kind of wearing style the individual user might prefer. Earhook, headband, duo, mono, left, right the challenge for product developers is to come up with an intelligent, modern look that integrates the different styles without compromising the overall design concept, or one of the wearing styles. To resolve this issue, the developers behind the DW Office from Sennheiser Communications opted for a solution which incorporated all the popular headset wearing styles to make it easy for a company purchasing the headset to accommodate the wearers and their preferences. Wearing styles overview Corporate office home/small office DW Office earhook over the ear left or right side DW Office headband with integrated ear pad left or right side Call / Service Centres helpdesk environments DW Pro1 (mono headband) left or right side DW Pro2 (duo headband) left or right side The switch from ear hook with in-ear speaker to headband with integrated ear pad was thoroughly investigated by the designers and engineers to ensure a userfriendly process. Furthermore, the different headset styles for the DW series can all be used with the same base station. User-friendliness Even the most sophisticated technologies are worthless if the product itself is difficult to use. The fit and feel of a wireless headset, and the daily use of its features, must be intuitive yet simple in order for the user to benefit from all the advantages. Otherwise, some users might want to revert to a traditional handset. The designers and developers behind Sennheiser's DW Office appreciated that simplicity was the key to user-friendliness. A simple layout, straightforward design and a very limited use of buttons and lights were absolutely vital elements. Base station The DW series was designed with one and only one base station to accommodate all wearing styles. No add-ons to the base station were necessary in order to suit various styles or features. At the same time, the front of the base station was made very simple with only three elements: Battery indicator how much time is left on the headset Switches for operating desk phone and softphone Cradle for resting and charging the headset This means that the operator always knows how much talk time he or she has left. The switch between phone and PC is quickly done. And the headset can easily be placed in the magnetic cradle, which automatically positions the headset correctly. Headset
The same kind of simplicity applies to the wireless headset itself: One button for accepting calls, one control for adjusting volume. The user will instantly feel at home with the way the headset works and feels. Finally, the ear pad is integrated in the headband on the DW Office to ensure maximum wearing comfort for the user. Charging concept Many headsets require very precise positioning in the charging cradle to make sure that the headset is recharged. The cradle on the base station of the DW Office headset is magnetic, which means that the headset is automatically in the correct position every time it is placed by the user in the cradle for recharging. But the engineers working with the DW Office did not stop there. They considered the fact that sometimes users inadvertently leave their headset on their desk when leaving the office to go home. This led to the development of the intelligent charging concept for DW Office, which ensures that the headset is 50% charged after only 20 minutes. The battery status indication bar in the front of the base station is divided into 20 steps. This gives the user a very precise reading of the headset's remaining battery power. This concept was chosen in order to prevent users from experiencing a sudden unexpected loss of power. Talk time More and more jobs require unlimited connectivity, whether you are in an office environment or in a call center. That is why comfort and talk time are such important issues when it comes to wireless headsets. The user does not want to be bothered by having to recharge the headset during the day. In other words: There has to be plenty of talk time if the user wants to experience all the familiar advantages of a wireless headset the freedom to walk around, the use of both hands, and being able relax the shoulders. Operating at full speed throughout the workday means having a reliable headset without recharging downtime. With the DW Office the user is always in control of the talk time via the status indicator on the front of the base station. And even in power-demanding wideband mode, the DW Office provides 8 hours of talk time to cover a full workday. In narrowband sound mode it even delivers 12 hours of talk time to allow for the occasional late evenings. Thanks to intelligent fast charging of the headset, the DW Office will rarely ever leave the user without a comfortable, working connection at the office.
Easy pairing Flexibility is important in modern office environments. Employees often move around to work in different offices and in different groups. In order to support this flexibility it was important for the DW Office developers to offer a new level of easy pairing and sharing. Instead of adding more buttons to the headset or base station it was decided to make the pairing of the base station and headset an automatic process that feels to the user both natural and intuitive. All it takes to pair the headset and the base station, is to place the headset in the magnetic cradle of the base station for 5 seconds, after which the headset and the base station are paired. The user does not have to push any buttons or perform special actions. Pairing is done automatically within seconds. The indicator LED on the base station lights up blue when there is an active link to the headset. The LED on the headset flashes blue slowly when there is an active link to the base station. Conference calls These days, conference calls are becoming very popular. Expense accounts for business travelling are being scrutinized ever more closely in order to avoid unnecessary costs. Conference calls are the natural answer to this development, which is why the conference call feature on the DW Office has been designed to be very simple to use. When a DW Office user (master headset) receives an incoming call, one of the user's colleagues can simply pair his or her headset with the user's base station by placing the headset in the base station for 5 seconds. The master headset then accepts the pairing, and the conference call can take place. When the call is finished the established connection with the colleague's headset is automatically terminated for security reasons. Range An important part of the comfort achieved by using a wireless headset comes from the fact that the user is free to move around the office environment, use both hands and find documents etc. while talking on the phone. The user experiences freedom of movement and the caller experiences an enhanced level of customer service. This is where the issue of range plays an important part. Naturally, the freedom of movement has less value if mobility is very limited. In the real world there are many factors that influence this range. Like the materials used in the office building concrete, steel, glass, wood or tiles. This diversity of construction types makes it difficult to claim a fixed distance for wireless headsets. At Sennheiser, our wireless headsets are tested under realistic conditions and the company takes great care not to publish any specifications that are over optimistic for use in common office environments. The performance of the DW Office is at least equal to the competition, but the range is stated as "Up to" to underline the fact that the distance will vary in real life depending on the individual operating environment.
DW Office range Typical office building: Line of sight: Up to 55 m (180 feet) Up to 180 m (590 feet) Sound quality To ensure a clear sound quality, the DW Office delivers Sennheiser HD voice clarity in wideband mode. The idea behind the technology was to create a headset that sounds as if the caller is sitting next to you. At Sennheiser, the engineers have succeeded in providing a both warm and natural sound without metallic, artificial interference. This has two major benefits: First, the user experiences a level of comfort that enables him or her to talk all day long without getting tired and without losing concentration. And secondly, the caller and the employee hear each other better, which leads to fewer misunderstandings. Switching to the less power-demanding narrowband mode, which is used when connected to traditional land lines and GSM networks, the DW Office still delivers perfect sound quality. The reduced power consumption of the narrowband mode provides the user with up to 12 hours of talk time. Finally, the noise-cancelling microphone on the DW Office headset filters out unwanted background noises which further enables the employee to concentrate on high-quality customer service. Safety The human ear is an extremely sensitive part of your body. It can pick up all the little details in another person's voice. And it is very exposed and can easily be hurt by loud and unexpected noises. As audio specialists, Sennheiser Communications aims to provide a clear sound, yet secure maximum protection from acoustic shock. The DW Office offers ActiveGard, an important technological feature that protects the user by cutting off the acoustic shocks that can occur during a phone call. It does this in an intelligent manner in order to maintain a natural sound throughout the call. The limits for daily noise exposure at the workplace are regulated through various guidelines and different pieces of legislation. Countries in the EU must comply with the EU Noise at Work Directive 2003/10/EC. The DW Office headset from Sennheiser Communications is well within the limits when this feature activated on the base station. About Sennheiser Communications Sennheiser Communications is the result of a joint venture between the electro acoustics specialist Sennheiser Electronic GmbH & Co. KG and the hearing healthcare specialist William Demant Holding Group. Decades of experience in pro music and
hearing healthcare has helped the six-year-old company produce award-winning, innovative headsets. WHITE PAPER