My review of the Jawbone Bluetooth Headset

[liddlefeesh]

Dear all,

I've made a review of the Jawbone Bluetooth Headset here: http://blog.evolvedsoftwarestudios.com/2008/02/19/noise-what-noise-introducing-the-jawbone-bluetooth-headset/

The basis of the review was a bluetooth headset purchase with noise cancellation for use with my HTC Kaiser.

I hope that you find the review useful. Feel free to comment here or on my blog, critisism (please do not be rude) or thoughts are welcome.

Many thanks!

[dis39tif]

Good review, I like all the points you covered. I agree that the Jawbone is probably the best I've heard (pun intended) for noise cancellation. I've tested it under several conditions (extremely loud music; car at highway speeds with windows down; NYC streets) and it cancels noise well.

My only two problems are
a) I can never seem to get the device loud enough. The automatic volume works well enough, but it doesn't seem to go up high enough to cover very loud scenarios, like the NYC streets scenario.
b) I can't get the thing to fit my ear. I've tried every combination of ear buds and ear hooks, but it never fits my ear well. I always have to readjust it every few minutes so it doesn't fall off. I might try that link in your review for the custom ear bud company.

[RemE]

Nice review, the only additional issues I see are;

1 - The Jawbone on Kaiser has a lower inbound audio level that many other phones (an HTC problem really, but other headsets do work OK with kaiser). I use it but it's barely acceptable to me. It would be better with a custom ear bud to direct the sound better.

2 - The Jawbone's noise cancelling is awesome in a speeding car, in a room with lots of background noise, BUT, it fails miserably when exposed to direct wind of almost any velocity. In wind many callers have said that they can barely hear me until I turn and hide the Jawbone from the wind.

3 - The US price is List $129 USD but $80 Street, not bad at all.

4 - The custom charge dongle is a negative, however after you become completely attached to this headset, you'll eventually loose one, or two, and soon have spares! I now have two :)

[liddlefeesh]

Hello,

dis39tif: My Jawbone is pretty loud. The startup beep is uncomfortably loud and leaves my ears ringing if I turn the Jawbone on whilst wearing it.

Initially I had fitting problems as well (falling off), so I chose one of the hooked/lipped earpieces and hook the Jawbone earhook over my ear like putting on a pair of sunglasses. Then I hold the Jawbone with one hand and twist the front part upwards. This puts the sensor on my cheekbone and not my jawbone, but still it works well and the fit is more snug.

RemE: I've read that the Jawbone on Kaiser has been reported ot be quieter. I can't say I've really noticed when trying with the Hermes. Seems the same to me. A custom earbud should help (based on info from other users). I've also read that wind noise isn't blocked while the user is talking, but it isn't blocked on any earpiece and Jawbone still does better than the other sets on the market at keeping unwanted noise out. Re: US pricing, I live in "rip off Britain". Prices for everything is higher here. I wonder if I can get a VISA to live in Delaware :P Re: charging cable, I'd like to have seen a micro usb port.

[dis39tif]

liddlefeesh -

I agree, the startup beep is quite loud. I wish the volume during calls was louder. I've tried pressing the button which turns off the automatic volume and lets you manually change the volume, as well as messing with the volume on the kaiser. Don't get me wrong, it's still quite usable. I just wish it went a bit louder.

Thanks for the fitment idea. I'll try it out.

[cushcalc]

. . .
b) I can't get the thing to fit my ear. I've tried every combination of ear buds and ear hooks, but it never fits my ear well. I always have to readjust it every few minutes so it doesn't fall off. I might try that link in your review for the custom ear bud company.

Get a pair of Jabra ear gels from RadioShack, attach them to the Jawbone - better fit, better sound. The combo works great for me.

[RemE]

Get a pair of Jabra ear gels from RadioShack, attach them to the Jawbone - better fit, better sound. The combo works great for me.

By chance do you still have the Radio Shack part number for these gels?