Side Tone

Am I the only one who can't detect any side tone on almost every mobile phone I've ever used? I'd say that this relatively high side tone will be a real boon in noisy environments where you can't hear yourself speak, but your caller is getting deafened by your voice.

Side tone is how you hear your own voice when you are on the phone. So you can hear yourself speak, handsets inject a small amount of your captured voice back into the speaker. If they inject too much, your voice sounds too loud and you start whispering. Too much, and you start yelling. The ideal is about -18 decibels, but the iPhone seemed to have a problem here: we measured the side tone at -8.8 decibels. That's pretty high, so you might find yourself whispering a bit when you use the iPhone.

Technorati Tags: Apple, iPhone, phones, Product Design, technology, Telephony, Usability