Jawbone BT Headset Review

[level7]

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.

[brandon]

awesome review, 7! i find myself getting a little more envious of some members of the forum...

[forgot]

Right! Thats good to know, as my FJ is really loud inside with the windows down. The lift (and 35's I hope) come later this year!

[Brucejuice]

Did you have trouble getting your Treo to discover the Jawbone (bluetooth)? I've had my Jawbone for three weeks and it still is not set up. I have a 700p which may be the problem.

[postwick]

The black end of the device has a rubber covering/door.

Um, that's just packaging and is not intended to be left on. It just can't be, since there's no way it would stay on for more than about 10 seconds.

And yes, the packaging is out of control. If they just put it in a simple box with the booklet and the power cord, it would be cheaper to ship, cheaper for them to package, and you could have the whole things sent to your door for 10-15% less money.

I got mine today. I haven't used it on a real phone call yet because it was charging. That's a black mark in my book - the device should be charged when I get it. My biggest impression so far is they paid more attention to form than function. I think the box just proves this was their focus. I'm sure they're very proud of it, but it's all useless. They should have spent their time making this thing fit an actual person's ear. What a terrible design for the ear hook and inserts. It's like the people who designed it have never used other BT headsets before. Jabra is the king of fit, IMO. Jawbone should pay them to design the outside of the device, and stick to the fancy software and box.

I'm going to give it a chance and keep it for a few days, but I already have a sneaking suspicion I'll be returning it.

[RichC]

I posted my testing of the Jawbone on another thread, but have since added a second really loud environment audio test and figured I would post it here. (see post here and the two audio links in the right sidebar)

After using it for a few weeks with my Palm Treo 700p, I can say it is the best headset for my Treo that I have tried ... hands down. If you want a good quality $100+ bluetooth headset, the Jawbone is hard to beat IMHO.

[tabauknight]

Very interesting review. I have also retrofitted the jabra ear jells. I tried to use the plastic piece the allows the ear piece to lock into place, but that failed. What I found is that the Jabra jell ear piece fits over the receiver without doing any modification.

[DougS]

Great review Level7.

I Have a 755p from Sprint. Bought the Jawbone. At first I was so discouraged about how it didn't fit, and the awkwardness of the the appearance and how hard you have to push on the buttons, that I put it aside and tried a Jabra BT5020. I loved the feel and look of the set, but it just didn't cut it in the sound department. So I went back to the Jawbone and found if I experimented with the ear pieces and bending the ear loops, I could get a good and comfortable fit. And no interference with my glasses. Getting it on quickly is still impossible, but that I can live with. The incoming sound is very good and clear, although I would like to be able to go significantly louder than its loudest setting. The outgoing sound is good at worst, and incredibly good in some noisy environments as you described. But there is one thing drives me crazy about it that will cause me to return it. And my guess it is a phone issue not a Jawbone issue. With this 755p it constantly disconnects from the phone. Not during calls, but when idle. It beeps three times in your ear to tell you it has disconnected. It usually reconnects automatically within a few seconds, but gives no confirmation of that. Sometimes it takes much longer, and sometimes doesn't ever automatically reconnect. And you'll never know what your status is unless you keep checking your screen or you go to place or answer a call. By then it's too late. Because you can never reconnect once you have initiated or answered a call. Pressing the answer button to reconnect to the Jawbone during a call only works if you have first taken the call from the Jawbone by "canceling the headset" on your phone screen. So I have this thing beeping all day long in my ear and never know whether it's connected or not. Do you ever have this problem with your 700p? I have read that this disconnect issue is common on the treos especially the 755p.. Is anyone not having this problem with the Jawbone and the 755P?

[karibOS]

Too bad you have been having such a terrible time, Doug.

I think the issue may be related to the phone since, I too, have a jawbone-- paired with a 750, though. And I have not experienced the same amount of drops you have. I HAVE had it not reconnect immediately when I have moved out of range and when moved back into range of the phone. It usually takes a few seconds after a phone call has picked up to connect to the headphone so it can be a little ackward when this (rarely occurs).

I hope you find a BT headset that works best for you. I had a Jabra 250v back when that was new, so I do recommend the Jabra brand in that style. I actually almost got a 500 myself.

[TREOdeJaneiro]

Originally Posted by Brucejuice

Did you have trouble getting your Treo to discover the Jawbone (bluetooth)? I've had my Jawbone for three weeks and it still is not set up. I have a 700p which may be the problem.

I have the 700p and it is not a problem. Works just fine.


But as far as it being the best of the best, I'm not sure. Of course, it's the first and only bluetooth device I have gotten, so I can't compare. My problem with the Jawbone is that the volume is VERY low, too low for me. People can ususally hear me okay, but I can't hear them too well in slightly-noisy environments. Bluetooth devices are supposed to help me be hands-free but if I'm holding the damn thing to my ear to hear better (not to mention holding my other ear with my other hand), what's the point? In fact, sometimes I have to forgo the Jawbone altogether and go speakerphone, held to my ear! And this is just driving on the freeway, 1992 Peseo with the radio off and the windows up!

Do I just have a bad Jawbone?

Another thing:
DougS, you bend your ear-holder wires? I say be careful. Those things are thin and I've lost one (broken) by having it in my front pocket and sitting down to a "snap" sound.

Yes, quick to put in your ear, they're not, but as you get used to it, you get faster.

Okay, one more point... with regard to disconnects. I find that every so often, my Jawbone too disconnects. When that happens and I receive a call, I just hit the answer "button" and handle the call normally, then I turn my Jawbone off and then back on again and usually the connection gets re-established and I can continue my conversation "hands-free".

Okay there's my 2... 4... 6... okay 8 cents....