Bluetooth Headset That Actually Works [Archive]

Kevy Baby

01-02-2008, 07:23 PM

I, for the most part, have never liked Bluetooth headsets. My key dislikes have traditionally been:

hard for me to hear the other person
hard for the other person to hear me
background noise affecting aboveOther people hearing me has always been the biggest problem (and I typically have a hard time hearing people that are using a Bluetooth even if I am not).

I had been looking for one with a boom to get the mic closer to my mouth, but had been unsuccessful.

A co-worked told me about the Jawbone (http://www.jawbone.com/) unit. They have a demo video on their web site with a couple of calls being made from a very high-noise environment. But as soon as he turns the noise canceling on (their big feature), it sounds like he is in a zero sound noise booth. You can watch the video here (http://jawbone.com/demo.php).

Now, I am a natural skeptic on this kind of stuff. But I will attest that this thing works just like advertised. As soon as it came in today (and I charged it up), I put it to the test. I was able to walk out into a noisy room where machines were operating (where I wouldn't dream of talking on a cell phone, even without using a Bluetooth), and no background noise whatsoever could be heard. Watch the video (http://jawbone.com/demo.php) - it is amazing and it is no lie.

I am sorry for sounding like a commercial here. But I am so blown away by this unit that I wanted to share with everyone here. No, I have no fiduciary interest in this company.

BTW: their site lists the phone at about $120, but I was able to find it on Amazon for under $90 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RUPEOA/ref=pd_cp_cps_2?pf_rd_p=278363001&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000RZFNN2&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1M9XS0A70K8CKW031AR3). A quick spot check reveals that you can find it cheaper still on eBay.

NirvanaMan

01-02-2008, 08:11 PM

I have recently heard good things about this product from other people. If I ever feel I have a need for such a device, I will definitely check this out.

For now, I have Bluetooth in the car and that suffices for that and the legal requirements without forcing me to stick something in my ear. In terms of other times, well I really use my phone for text and data. I don't really enjoy talking on the phone and tend to associate the phone with business.

Capt Jack

01-02-2008, 08:17 PM

I need to take a look at that. yeah, mine drives me and everyone else buggy

thx

CoasterMatt

01-02-2008, 08:32 PM

Is this post spam? ;)

Kevy Baby

01-02-2008, 08:34 PM

Is this post spam? ;)Sorry. I know that sounded like a commercial, but I was REALLY impressed with it.

CoasterMatt

01-02-2008, 08:35 PM

I'm just teasin' ya pal.

Alex

01-02-2008, 08:36 PM

If it is one that has that flashing blue light, be warned that eventually I will go on a murderous rampage taking out all of the people who sit somewhere in front of me at the movies with one of those things attached to their ear exactly where they can annoy everybody but the person actually wearing it.

Just a warning.

Kevy Baby

01-02-2008, 09:54 PM

Mine would not be worn at the theatre. Since I am not going to be on the phone, there is no sense in wearing it.

Kevy Baby

01-02-2008, 09:56 PM

Is this post spam? ;)Oh my gawd. You obviously all hate me. This place sucks. I'm never going to post here ever again.

keith - SuPeR K!

01-02-2008, 11:35 PM

I like my Jawbone, too!

Chernabog

01-02-2008, 11:49 PM

I like my Jawbone, too!

Pfffft you're just trying to get on Kevy's good side. ;)

Not Afraid

01-02-2008, 11:50 PM

I wish I knew this a week ago.

Deebs

01-03-2008, 12:01 AM

I need to look into this purchase.

Do you know how many times I have made phone calls from Disneyland when I was not supposed to be there? You have no idea.

Edit
Just read this, from here: (http://www.qdepot.com/content/accessories/9-32--1931.htm)
Although Bluetooth is a standard, not all Bluetooth is uniformly configured, causing potential compatibility issues between some phones and Bluetooth headsets. Currently, the Bluetooth on the Motorola Q is configured differently than on most phones resulting in compatibility issues with the Jawbone. While we have seen a few encouraging posts on forums regarding the new Q9m, until the Q Bluetooth configuration is closer to other phones on the market, we are unable to recommend our headset for use with it at this time.

I have the Q, so I'll be waiting.

flippyshark

01-03-2008, 06:20 AM

I have to agree with Alex about the flashing blue lights. (Also, the horrid white glow of various text-message screens, iPhones and so on, which have become a CONSTANT at theaters. I wish the "Silence Is Golden" ads would be joined by "Glow-ers Are Annoying" ads.)

So, what is the function of the little flashy blue light? If the wearer can't see it, why is it there? To look cool? It doesn't. Though it matters not a whit, my perception of bluetooth headsets is that they give their wearers an appearance of middle-managerial self-importance. (I'm not saying I wouldn't wear one, mind you, just that I flinch when I notice them on others. I'll get over it.)

Stan4dSteph

01-03-2008, 06:59 AM

:na:

DreadPirateRoberts

01-03-2008, 07:54 AM

So, what is the function of the little flashy blue light? If the wearer can't see it, why is it there?

I think the intention is to show other people when a call is in progress.

Snowflake

01-03-2008, 07:59 AM

I wish I knew this a week ago.

Can't you return with a receipt? Or no longer got the receipt?

Alex

01-03-2008, 08:01 AM

I think the intention is to show other people when a call is in progress.

No, it seems to blink all the time. Not once when I have approached a person in a theater to ask them to take it off or turn it off has that person been in conversation on the phone.

Moonliner

01-03-2008, 08:07 AM

I'm just teasin' ya pal.

Is that spam?

Moonliner

01-03-2008, 08:10 AM

:na:

Doh! That's a headset. It always looked like a lamb (with an evil eye) to me.

Alex

01-03-2008, 08:11 AM

There's a thread somewhere from when that one was first added listing all of the things other than a blue tooth headset that we thought it looked like.

DreadPirateRoberts

01-03-2008, 08:15 AM

No, it seems to blink all the time. Not once when I have approached a person in a theater to ask them to take it off or turn it off has that person been in conversation on the phone.

I'm not sure of other headsets, but on a motorola h700 (http://www.motorola.com/mdirect/manuals/QG-H700_9499A88O.pdf), blue (slow pulse) means they are on a call, blue (quick flash) means the headset is on standby, so I agree, it would appear blink all the time.

Ghoulish Delight

01-03-2008, 08:56 AM

I have the Q, so I'll be waiting.That makes that decision easy for me as well. Considering my plan is to purchase a bluetooth headset solely for the legal car requirement, I'd have a hard time justifying a near-$100 purchase, but since it won't work with my phone anyway...

DreadPirateRoberts

01-03-2008, 09:28 AM

That makes that decision easy for me as well. Considering my plan is to purchase a bluetooth headset solely for the legal car requirement, I'd have a hard time justifying a near-$100 purchase, but since it won't work with my phone anyway...

I got an h700 at costco for the legal car requirement. It works with the Q. I don't have much experience with headsets so I don't know if it's any better or worse than any others.

Ghoulish Delight

01-03-2008, 09:36 AM

I got an h700 at costco for the legal car requirement. It works with the Q. I don't have much experience with headsets so I don't know if it's any better or worse than any others.
You've got the new Q, less worry about compatibility.

Actually I think most do work, but I still don't plan to spend much money on something that I don't really want to use anyway and will be used only rarely in the car.

Kevy Baby

01-03-2008, 10:07 AM

Though it matters not a whit, my perception of bluetooth headsets is that they give their wearers an appearance of middle-managerial self-importance.I would have to say that is my single biggest beef with Bluetooth headsets. But I have yet to see one that got past that and doubt I ever will.

That makes that decision easy for me as well. Considering my plan is to purchase a bluetooth headset solely for the legal car requirement, I'd have a hard time justifying a near-$100 purchase, but since it won't work with my phone anyway...Aside from non-compatibility issues, I think that buying a poor quality headset is not a good idea. If you can't carry on a conversation properly, then what is even the point of having the headset?

It's like getting a great deal on cell service that doesn't provide decent coverage.

Alex

01-03-2008, 11:07 AM

Here's my view. For 90 we got along fine without the ability to talk on the phone while in the car. The world didn't end because we were out of reach for those minutes or even hours.

It won't end now if we go back to that.

Watching other people and myself, I feel confident saying that no matter how well you think you drive while on the phone (hands free or not) you are wrong. Do the world a favor, if you absolutely feel the need to hold a phone conversation, pull over.

Ghoulish Delight

01-03-2008, 11:11 AM

Do the world a favor, if you absolutely feel the need to hold a phone conversation, pull over.

Interestingly enough, one of the observed, unintended side effects of the hands-free laws in those places that have had them has been people doing just that...anywhere and everywhere. In the middle of the road. My brother-in-law witnessed it in Israel, and I witnessed it in NY. Cars just stopping, blocking intersections and roads simply because they didn't want to get caught driving while on the phone.

Snowflake

01-03-2008, 11:17 AM

Perhaps we need phone pull out spots on freeways. Ugh, what a thought.

I have to admit, some phone calls during the 3000 mile trek west across the vast wasteland of highway 80 helped a good deal with boredom.

Alex

01-03-2008, 11:21 AM

Interestingly enough, one of the observed, unintended side effects of the hands-free laws in those places that have had them has been people doing just that...anywhere and everywhere.

Well, if they're stopping in the middle of the road, then they aren't doing "just that" since I said to pull over.

And I'm not advocating laws requiring it (I haven't yet decided if I think they are warranted and justifiable), just asking that people of their own free will stop having phone conversations while driving because despite everybody's self assurance that they are one of the people good at it, almost all of us are wrong.

Alex

01-03-2008, 11:24 AM

Perhaps we need phone pull out spots on freeways. Ugh, what a thought.

We already have them. They're called off ramps and connect to surface streets where it is safe to stop and talk. Except in the most desolate parts of the country one is never on a freeway and more than 10 minutes away from one.

My favorite observed cell phone accident was a woman in a stick shift on a hill in San Francisco. She didn't notice she was rolling backwards and front-ended the car behind her at the grand speed of about 2 miles an hour. Despite the honking of that other car.

Not Afraid

01-03-2008, 11:47 AM

I talk on work calls while driving all of the time and have used a bluetooth headset for several years now. It''s a necessity with my job as I'm either driving or walking dogs when I'm out and can't handle a phone safely while I'm doing those things. My bluetooth was eaten by Thurston a week ago and, I'm am only grateful that I didn't have a lot of phone work to do while I was without a headset. I have the non-bluetooth ear buds I can use while driving but they aren't practical while walking dogs.

The other advantage of my headset is that it rings in my ear before it rings on the phone. So, I actually hear the phone when it rings as opposed to it being in it's case and I miss a call. Missing a call means dialing and I really don't like to even look at my phone while driving.

As for the blinking light, the only purpose is to signal that the headset is on. I always take mine off in theaters or other dark places. Even I can see the blue glow and it is annoying and, I'm not going to be using my phone there anyways.

Kevy Baby

01-03-2008, 12:52 PM

Here's my view. For 90 we got along fine without the ability to talk on the phone while in the car. The world didn't end because we were out of reach for those minutes or even hours.

It won't end now if we go back to that.We lived for years without the internet, and yet we wouldn't want to live without it (chances are pretty good that most people reading this are doing it from work). We lived for years without automobiles. You can't look back.

Watching other people and myself, I feel confident saying that no matter how well you think you drive while on the phone (hands free or not) you are wrong.Speaking strictly for myself (and myself only), I feel very confident in saying that I am a SAFER driver when I am on the phone.

How you ask?

Simple: I drive slower (usually the speed limit), don't change lanes, and stay within the flow of traffic when I am on the phone. Whereas when I am usually speeding and frequently changing lanes when I am not on the phone.

No, that isn't the right solution, but it is mine.
_______________________

Similar to NA, I use the time I am driving (usually on my way home from work, and almost exclusively on the freeway) to talk to people that I might otherwise NOT call. It is a productivity tool for me and I use it as such.

BarTopDancer

01-03-2008, 12:57 PM

Bluetooth is not an accessory; unless you're this guy.

http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/funny-pictures-shark-bluetooth.jpg

Alex

01-03-2008, 01:02 PM

And I feel confident in saying you're wrong about being safer. But yeah, if you're an asshole driver normally it may be hard to tell the difference and maybe it is a net improvement. Though if you're an asshole driver normally, I'd just go ahead and ask you to stop driving.

I also would encourage people to not use the internet while driving either. Or watch TV. Or put on their make-up. Or read the newspaper. Or paint their toenails. Or sew a new pair of cargo pants.

Not Afraid

01-03-2008, 01:08 PM

Talking on the phone via bluetooth is no different than talking to a person in the car.

Alex

01-03-2008, 01:21 PM

Yes it is, and studies (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/01/030129080944.htm) have demonstrated (http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr071205.html) it repeatedly. The nature of phone conversation seems to differ in some fundamental way with talking to other people in the car.

Kevy Baby

01-03-2008, 01:25 PM

Too bad. Still gonna use my phone in the car.

With my cool new Bluetooth.

Alex

01-03-2008, 02:21 PM

Didn't expect otherwise.

CoasterMatt

01-03-2008, 07:44 PM

But if all the drivers are wearing headsets, how am I supposed to reach in and throw their phone in the gutter after they almost run me over in the crosswalk?

(Not that I ever did such a thing)

€uroMeinke

01-03-2008, 07:45 PM

My company banned the use of cell phones and other devices while driving earlier this year. Exceptions were given to hands free units, but their use was also discouraged as there didn't seem to be that much improvement in safety, that cell phone use while driving in general was equivalent to drunk driving:

e.g.

I feel very confident in saying that I am a SAFER driver when I am on the phone.

How you ask?

Simple: I drive slower (usually the speed limit), don't change lanes, and stay within the flow of traffic when I am on the phone. W

Exactly what drunk drivers do to think they are driving "safer."

Apparently talking to a passenger is safer, as there is another person in the car who might be watching the road and can alert the driver of of hazards that might not be noticed - perhaps is the headset came with a webcam?

CoasterMatt

01-03-2008, 07:47 PM

http://www.gulfnews.com/world/U.S.A/10179204.html

Here's an even more recent study about people using cellphones while driving

The quote of the article -

"It's a bit like breaking wind in the elevator. Everyone suffers," Peter Martin of the University of Utah's Traffic Lab said in a telephone interview.

Kevy Baby

01-03-2008, 07:51 PM

Exactly what drunk drivers do to think they are driving "safer."But in my case, it's true :evil:

"It's a bit like breaking wind in the elevator. Everyone suffers," Peter Martin of the University of Utah's Traffic Lab said in a telephone interview.I wonder if he was on his cell phone driving during the interview?

Moonliner

01-04-2008, 07:28 AM

But if all the drivers are wearing headsets, how am I supposed to reach in and throw their phone in the gutter after they almost run me over in the crosswalk?

(Not that I ever did such a thing)

No problem, just take their ear along with the headset.

Moonliner

01-04-2008, 08:42 AM

First off the study (http://bicycleuniverse.info/cars/cellphones.html)that says cell phone use is as dangerous as drunk driving was poorly conducted.

* The comparison is to a driver at the legal limit. Not smashed. So what they are really saying is that cell phone use is no more dangerous than a legal driver.

* The researchers did not directly assess whether the phones caused accidents

* Nationwide cell phone usage is up and accident rates are down

Also can you define "accident"? Are we including just serious collisions or do fender benders count too?

Personally, what I see here is an effect that's becoming more and more prevalent. Person-A is annoyed by something Person-B is doing. They can't get an outright ban on it due to all that personal freedom crap so they drum up an excuse based on either:

Health and Safety
National Security
or
The children! Think of the children!

and try to get it banned that way.

CoasterMatt

01-04-2008, 06:19 PM

I'll just keep putting dents in car hoods when a-holes are too busy chatting with Mitzy to stop their freakin' Volvos...

Chernabog

01-04-2008, 06:22 PM

I'll just keep putting dents in car hoods when a-holes are too busy chatting with Mitzy to stop their freakin' Volvos...

Mitzy from the Hamptons? Can her husband do my plastic surgery?

Gemini Cricket

01-04-2008, 07:09 PM

I like using my EE-8 Military Field Phone that I got back in World War II. Very reliable.

:D

Moonliner

02-29-2008, 07:44 PM

Hey Kevy:

How about an update are you still grooving on the Jawbone?

Kevy Baby

02-29-2008, 08:15 PM

Ab-so-frickin-lutely

As are the 6 people who I have talked into buying one. This thing really works well.

Chernabog

02-29-2008, 10:59 PM

^^ I'm totally going to buy one once I upgrade this month to the LG Voyager. I don't want to get a ticket come June when it's hands-free mandatory.

Not Afraid

03-01-2008, 12:39 AM

Make that 7.

Mine arrived today and is charging at the moment.

Gn2Dlnd

03-01-2008, 10:09 AM

8.

I've been using one for about a month, now. When my friend, Mike, went into the hospital in June, I had to upgrade my in-car phoning ability. My old phone, the one that wouldn't hold a charge in Disneyland, finally was replaced, the new phone uses a mini-usb port for the headset. Suckariffic. So, you're forced into a bluetooth. Tried the Motorola flip one. Cute, but crappy sound. Everyone complained that the sound quality was robotic and crackly. So, on the strength of Kevy's video, and after asking every customer I saw that was wearing one, I finally bought the Jawbone. While it's still not as good as talking directly into the phone, it's light years better than the alternatives have been. Weird thing though, if my phone is in my left pocket, and the bluetooth is on my right ear, it pops and crackles and drops out like crazy. Why would that make such a difference?

Oh, btw, I have a lovely Motorola flip bluetooth that doesn't work well with my phone, but just may with yours, available at a reduced price!

Gn2Dlnd

03-01-2008, 10:10 AM

Make that 7.

Mine arrived today and is charging at the moment.

I was able to use mine straight out of the box!

Kevy Baby

03-03-2008, 12:42 PM

Weird thing though, if my phone is in my left pocket, and the bluetooth is on my right ear, it pops and crackles and drops out like crazy. Why would that make such a difference?I know that because Susan dropped her phone which causes the battery to not hold a charge very well, that she is able to used her Jawbone while the phone is plugged into the charger in the back of her van (she has issues with the outlets in the front).

Moonliner

03-03-2008, 01:15 PM

8.

Now that would be funny. An entire group of swankers visiting Disneyland all wearing jawbones.... Could be the makings of a good April 1st swanking...

Gn2Dlnd

03-03-2008, 01:51 PM

April Fools Fun: A Jungle Cruise boat filled with people chatting on their bluetooth to people not on the ride. Just the thing to fill the most jaded JC skipper with AP hatred.

(of course, we present him with a nice "you're a good sport, here's a Starbucks card" afterwards, or some such)

Ugh, just checked the calendar, April 1st is on a Tuesday. :(

Mousey Girl

03-03-2008, 01:55 PM

This reminds me, I need to find my Blue Tooth and figure out how to use it. I bought it when I upgraded my phone, but it is till in the bag, in the packaging, somewhere in the mess of a house.

Moonliner

03-03-2008, 01:56 PM

Not Afraid

03-03-2008, 05:57 PM

I can't seem to get my jawbone to fit me right. Whomever i am talking to doesn't hear much outside noise, but I have trouble hearing anything.

And, why is it that whenever I'm talking about the device, I feel like I'm playing a game of Operation?

Kevy Baby

03-03-2008, 07:47 PM

I can't seem to get my jawbone to fit me right. Whomever I am talking to doesn't hear much outside noise, but I have trouble hearing anything.Have you tried the different ear buds and the different ear pieces? There are two ear hooks for each side and four different buds (side independent).

And, why is it that whenever I'm talking about the device, I feel like I'm playing a game of Operation?Or maybe playing the Hokey Pokey.