Either H500 owners who've had bad experiences are just more prone to write reviews or Motorola has a quality control problem on the headset line. My H500 seems to work just fine. The sound quality is good on both ends of the conversation. It's small, it's light, AND it charges with the same mini-usb charger my RAZR V3 takes - a real advantage, as I only need to carry one charger when I travel. I really can't find anything wrong with this headset. That said, you should be overjoyed if your biggest problem this year is a faulty H500.