Jabra Cruiser

Summary: When I got my new car, it didn't come Bluetooth enabled so that I could handle my cell phone calls through my car's speaker system. I considered getting an after market system installed but I learned that you had to get a "Bluetooth Ready" unit, then buy the "Bluetooth adapter", and then finally have it instatlled (for a price). There are, of course units that are truly Bluetooth enabled but they are very expensive even before the installation costs. THAT'S A GOOD THING!

Its a good thing because I was turned off to the Bluetooth car system until I came across the Jabra Cruiser which offered the same thing the installed unit would do and so much more at a much much cheaper price.

The Cruiser, of course, pairs with my cell phone and handles all my calls through my car speakers. The sound is very clear and the radio frequency output has little static that is so often a big annoyance for lesser quality models. I can change my frequency by merely pressing the the up or down buttons on the unit without ever taking my eyes off the road.

What's also good about this device is that I don't have to make my calls over the air. Should I choose, I can handle my calls from the unit's speakers and have my car radio playing low in the background (or not at all). So if there's no radio present, the unit will still work.

But that's not all. My cell phone has an 8 gig media card filled with some of my favorite MP3s. I can play those through the Cruiser and hear them on my car radio. WOW WOW WOW I must say, however, the volume, although clear, is just a bit lower than the car's radio volume. I'll even listen to Pandora (internet radio) from my phone and hear the songs through my car.

It also allows you to control your cell phone's playing to pause, replay, skip forward and backward, from the Cruiser. This way, you don't have to pick up your cell phone to look at it to control the music. You just press a button on the Crusier and it will do it. On the cell (pending on the brand and model), it can also access many of your cell phone's functions. For example, to access my cell phone's "Voice Dialing" feature, all I do is press and hold the Jabra's speaker button.

The Jabra Cruiser is also totally portable. I'm so glad I didn't pay all that money to get a radio installed in my car because if I did, I wouldn't have been able to simply take my unit with me and have the same experience in any car. Not only that!
Any stereo in the house can also pick up the signal so you can enjoy your music/phone calls where ever you go within range (which is not to shabby). WARNING - over the air is not secure at all so if your call is considered private at all, you will not want to "broadcast" it.

Other stuff :::
The Cruiser also conveniently offer voice instructions where it "tells" you what to do.

It offers dual mics for greater quality and being able to use 2 devices simultaneously.

And it's talk time is an impressive 10 hours (although I wasn't able to verify this.

On the negative side, instructions out the box are a bit ambivalent and the unit has a tendency to power off of radio mode mode every once in a while which is an easy fix but nontheless annoying.

This unit is well worth the price point.