Treo Forum - Treonauts - View Single Post

level7 · 02-02-2007, 11:50 AM

Hello.

This is my review of the Jawbone BT Headset
Platform:Jawbone/Treo680 Locked
Provider:Cingular

Yesterday, I stopped at the only Cingular store that had a Jawbone in stock. I must have called 6-7 Cingular stores. The Jawbone can be purchased online at Jawbone.com. They only sell the red and black online. Cingular only carries the silver.

The device retails for $119.00 + tax. A princely sum for such a small gadget. The good news is, I'm still alive and my wife didn't kill me. Every now and again you have to treat yourself.

The packaging is quite large for such a small device. I guess there isn't enough trash in the landfills so Cingular/Jawbone went above and beyond in helping fill the earth with more trash.

I struggled to free the device from the packaging. It is held on the stand via small rubber bands. I was afraid I would break the device. I had to use the end of the ear hoop in order to pick the small rubber band off.

The device itself is not that compact but, it's not huge either. I would gather that the form factor is a result of the electronics inside.

The Silver color is more of a flat gray. It won't attract any additional attention then you're already getting having a piece of plastic sticking out of your ear. For the folks that wear these things all the time even when not on the phone. Please stop, you look like an idiot

. Red and black can be bought at the jawbone website. Silver can only be purchased at Cingular.

The device comes with 2 pair of ear hoops (large/small-left/right) and 5 or 6 rubber ear buds. Having never worn a device such as this, it was a series of trial and error fittings to get the best fit. I wore it for a couple of hours (at home) to get acclimated to the device. I think I finally got it to fit comfortably but I am going to explore retrofitting some Jabra ear jells to improve the fit a little bit more. PLEASE NOTE THAT MY COMMENTS HERE REPRESENT MY OWN EXPERIENCE AND SHOULD NOT BE USED IN YOUR BUYING DECISION. YOUR EXPERIENCE WILL VARY. (we are all different, thank God, otherwise, we'd all be goosestepping to the mall.)

I am not going to go into the BT pairing procedure. It worked and it worked easily. It was a non issue.

The buttons on the device could have been better designed. It is hard to get a tactile feel for the buttons. You have to press hard to work them. With the device on your ear, it may be irritating if you're constantly turning the device on and off or playing with the volume. I think once people have the device set to the way they talk/listen, it will become a non-issue. -1

The black end of the device has a rubber covering/door. This is where you connect the power cord to for recharging. Over time, I'm sure that this piece will fall of or get lost. It doesn't take much to remove it and it's not connected to the device. It doesn't look too bad with the little door off if you lost it though. -1

Now the hype....
I have had only one other BT headset and I really didn't use it for what it is intended for. I used it for my wireless speaker helmet setup so I could listen to music while I road my motorcycle. It worked great for that.
I did use it once for it's intended purpose but the clip on was such a pain and the person on the other end couldn't hear me clearly. I stopped using it. It wasn't a good solution.

I drive a Jeep Wrangler. A lifted Jeep Wrangler. A lifted Jeep Wrangler with big noisy 33" all terrain tires that haven't been rotated in 12-14 thousand miles. After the tire rotation last weekend, the Jeep's tire hum gets VERY loud. It is so loud that people often look my direction when I pull up next to them at a light or pass them on the highway. Inside, the sound is worse.

I typically stay off the phone in the Jeep and I only use it to have very brief conversations with my wife. My wife can barely understand me over the hum of the tires. I will not even attempt to take a phone call from work, it's that bad. I made the mistake once of answering my cell phone. It was like the low talker episode of Seinfeld where he agreed to wear the puffy piriate shirt (classic). I was just saying "uh hu, uh hu"

Today on my way into work. I had my Jawbone on and armed. I was waiting for "the" phone call from my wife like she does every morning to ask me how i'm progressing to work. The phone rang and I took the call. The window was down and there was a Semi truck to my left. My radio was on.

My wife and I chatted. I asked her how I sounded and she said fine. We spoke for a bit and I quizzed her about the jawbone. She said "...I hear you fine but, there is a little bit of background noise.". All this while I had a Semi truck to my left, my 33" tires humming like there's no tomorrow and my radio turn on and my window rolled down.

Then she even went as far to say, "yeah...it's worth the hundred dollars". Wow.

I conclude my review.

I will give it 8 out of 10. For this amount of money, i felt that they could have done a better job with the design of the buttons and the charger door/cover. I will easily live with those two issues, easily.

02-02-2007, 11:50 AM	#1 (permalink)
level7 A Few Questions.... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 19 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Jawbone BT Headset Review Hello. This is my review of the Jawbone BT Headset Platform:Jawbone/Treo680 Locked Provider:Cingular Yesterday, I stopped at the only Cingular store that had a Jawbone in stock. I must have called 6-7 Cingular stores. The Jawbone can be purchased online at Jawbone.com. They only sell the red and black online. Cingular only carries the silver. The device retails for $119.00 + tax. A princely sum for such a small gadget. The good news is, I'm still alive and my wife didn't kill me. Every now and again you have to treat yourself. The packaging is quite large for such a small device. I guess there isn't enough trash in the landfills so Cingular/Jawbone went above and beyond in helping fill the earth with more trash. I struggled to free the device from the packaging. It is held on the stand via small rubber bands. I was afraid I would break the device. I had to use the end of the ear hoop in order to pick the small rubber band off. The device itself is not that compact but, it's not huge either. I would gather that the form factor is a result of the electronics inside. The Silver color is more of a flat gray. It won't attract any additional attention then you're already getting having a piece of plastic sticking out of your ear. For the folks that wear these things all the time even when not on the phone. Please stop, you look like an idiot . Red and black can be bought at the jawbone website. Silver can only be purchased at Cingular. The device comes with 2 pair of ear hoops (large/small-left/right) and 5 or 6 rubber ear buds. Having never worn a device such as this, it was a series of trial and error fittings to get the best fit. I wore it for a couple of hours (at home) to get acclimated to the device. I think I finally got it to fit comfortably but I am going to explore retrofitting some Jabra ear jells to improve the fit a little bit more. PLEASE NOTE THAT MY COMMENTS HERE REPRESENT MY OWN EXPERIENCE AND SHOULD NOT BE USED IN YOUR BUYING DECISION. YOUR EXPERIENCE WILL VARY. (we are all different, thank God, otherwise, we'd all be goosestepping to the mall.) I am not going to go into the BT pairing procedure. It worked and it worked easily. It was a non issue. The buttons on the device could have been better designed. It is hard to get a tactile feel for the buttons. You have to press hard to work them. With the device on your ear, it may be irritating if you're constantly turning the device on and off or playing with the volume. I think once people have the device set to the way they talk/listen, it will become a non-issue. -1 The black end of the device has a rubber covering/door. This is where you connect the power cord to for recharging. Over time, I'm sure that this piece will fall of or get lost. It doesn't take much to remove it and it's not connected to the device. It doesn't look too bad with the little door off if you lost it though. -1 Now the hype.... I have had only one other BT headset and I really didn't use it for what it is intended for. I used it for my wireless speaker helmet setup so I could listen to music while I road my motorcycle. It worked great for that. I did use it once for it's intended purpose but the clip on was such a pain and the person on the other end couldn't hear me clearly. I stopped using it. It wasn't a good solution. I drive a Jeep Wrangler. A lifted Jeep Wrangler. A lifted Jeep Wrangler with big noisy 33" all terrain tires that haven't been rotated in 12-14 thousand miles. After the tire rotation last weekend, the Jeep's tire hum gets VERY loud. It is so loud that people often look my direction when I pull up next to them at a light or pass them on the highway. Inside, the sound is worse. I typically stay off the phone in the Jeep and I only use it to have very brief conversations with my wife. My wife can barely understand me over the hum of the tires. I will not even attempt to take a phone call from work, it's that bad. I made the mistake once of answering my cell phone. It was like the low talker episode of Seinfeld where he agreed to wear the puffy piriate shirt (classic). I was just saying "uh hu, uh hu" Today on my way into work. I had my Jawbone on and armed. I was waiting for "the" phone call from my wife like she does every morning to ask me how i'm progressing to work. The phone rang and I took the call. The window was down and there was a Semi truck to my left. My radio was on. My wife and I chatted. I asked her how I sounded and she said fine. We spoke for a bit and I quizzed her about the jawbone. She said "...I hear you fine but, there is a little bit of background noise.". All this while I had a Semi truck to my left, my 33" tires humming like there's no tomorrow and my radio turn on and my window rolled down. Then she even went as far to say, "yeah...it's worth the hundred dollars". Wow. I conclude my review. I will give it 8 out of 10. For this amount of money, i felt that they could have done a better job with the design of the buttons and the charger door/cover. I will easily live with those two issues, easily. Last edited by level7; 02-02-2007 at 12:06 PM.