Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth Headset user reviews (Silver/Grey)

Pros Noise cancellation works

Cons Falls off your head too easily

Summary A review from a real end-user:

The new Aliph Jawbone is attractively (expensively) packaged and looks techno-chic, but falls well short on usability.

It is fairly easy to set up and pair with a phone. Slipping the Aliph on is a bit of a chore at first until you get used to guiding the unique ear loop onto your ear. Once it's on, your work is not done. I tried every combination of earloop and ear insert, but none fixed the basic problem with the Jawbone staying in place. The headset is large and heavy by 2007 standards, and much of the weight is set out away from the ear toward the mouth. This causes the headset to easily rotate downward on the ear, which causes two immediate problems: (1) the earpiece that is in the ear pops out and (2)the voice sensor loses contact with your jaw. If you sit still, it's no problem, but if you just walk around a little, the slight jostling from your gait will cause the Jawbone to fall out.

So do you need glue to use the Jawbone? Not quite. I was about to return it, but gave it another shot by taking one of the earloops and bending the embedded metal loop . Being well versed in adjusting wire eyeglass temples, I managed to get the Jawbone to stay put even as I walked around the room.

Next, I tried out the voice and calling quality for a couple weeks in various environments: in the office, in the car, at the coffee shop. There is no doubt it is one of the best, if not the best, voice quality for those listening to you talk. "Sounds like you are on speakerphone in a quiet room." said one listener while I was speaking to them from a noisy airport. In addition, the range was very good, one of the first headsets I've used with a true 30' range.

However, I found the sound quality on my end to be average to poor. Everyone sounded tinny and small compared to the quality of very average bluetooth headsets. Workable? Yes. Ideal? No.

Also, in day to day use, the tiny button used to answer and end calls is very hard to use. I found that I had to grab my phone and answer from there, otherwise I risked missing calls.

Finally, the pairing logic is just fair. When either the phone or the headset has been turned off or disconnected (which happens when the Jawbone is charging, for instance). They re-pair only about 80% of the time. The rest of the time you have to manually reconnect via the phone menu. In comparison, the Motorola and Jabra models I've used recently worked great, and the paired devices always re-paired without user intervention.

A keeper? Well, that depends on whether you work in demolition . . .

Pros Attractive design, fairly good sound filtering technology, light and comfortable to wear

Cons Sound filtering technology not as impressive as advertised, impossible buttons, ill fitting ear bud

Summary I have used a variety of bluetooth headphones in the past, including those from Jabra and Logitech, and generally been satisfied with them, but since I was shopping for a new one (the old one got stepped on) I was hoping for something that would be an upgrade. This isn't a first generation technology any more so as I shopped around my expectations were kind of high. Other than Jawbone, however, no one seemed to be offering anything other than smaller, or "cooler" looking (neither of which was a draw for me). So I gave the Jawbone a shot.

My biggest problems with all the headsets I have ever used is not background noise. While I do live in NYC and frequently use it in loud environments people have always been able to hear me, if not perfectly. What always defeats my calls is wind, and it's no different with this headset. A mime doing the "walking into the wind" bit nearby is practically enough to make me incomprehensible to the person on the other end. As for the general noise cancelling ability that is supposed to be this headsets big selling point, I thought it worked well, but it didn't "wow" me. It's evolutionary, not revolutionary which is really what I was hoping for, especially for the price.

I agree with some of the other reviewers that the volume is kind of low and the voice quality is somewhat tinny, but to be honest the earbud doesn't fit me very well so that could be part of the problem. This of course brings me to the next problem. No matter what bud I use it doesn't actually fit into my ear. It seems the general shape of the headset is designed to keep it in contact with the users jaw, however in doing so it keeps the earbud from reaching far enough into my ear. I never had this problem with other headsets so I don't think my face/ear structure is so statistically odd as to make my problem unique. At any rate for my optimal use they would need to either include a greater variety of earbuds or perhaps attach the earbud to some sort of adjustable stem.

My final problem is the buttons. I don't know who can use that itty bitty stud that serves as the answer button. Besides being tiny, it also offers no tactile feedback, or even an audible beep to let you know when you have sucessfully activated it. On many occasions I have accidentally hung up on calls since I was unaware of having sucessfully triggered it to answer in the first place. The same is true when hanging up. At times I have tried repeatedly to hang up on a finished call, and after unknowingly doing so, continue to press the button at which point the phone dials the last number that called me. It means I'm forced to use the handset to answer and end calls. Frustrating.

Still, despite these disadvantages the phone generally works well. It paired easily with my Sony-Ericsson, the range is superior to any other headset I've ever used, and so far the battery life is good as well. It's very comfortable and lightweight, and I frequently forget it's even on. I think it's also true that it has an very sharp and unique design that sets it appart from all other headsets. If the cost is not prohibitive I'd recommend it to anyone who prizes style as much as substance.

Pros Clear sound quality, works wonders with ms voice command

Cons earbuds..thats about it

Summary I tried two other bluetooth headsets with my ppc-6700 and they both let me down. I needed one that worked flawlessly with Microsoft Voice Command because its a pain to answer the phone while driving.

A friend recommended the Jawbone but I was skeptical to pay that much for a headset...man was it ever worth it.

The sound quality is superb. I can hear crystal clear and the ppl on the other end can hardly hear when im outside or even in the car with music.

The only real problem with it is the earbuds. They give u 4 different ones but they all werent the right fit and would make the headset fall off with ease. The remedy to this owever is to get a set of Jabra eargels. i found them on ebay for $4 and they work perfectly. The earpiece is really solid once its on.

Again def best one out on the market..especially if u have a ppc or mda with MS voice command.

P.S. heres a tip: if u have a ppc or mda with ms voice command, look for a program called buetooth ID transfer and with it installed voice command will say what name is calling, read u new text messages and even new email over the headset. to me its better than the beep that u hear from the headset. the program also comes with an audio program that allows u to listen music or even slingpayer through the headset.

Pros Appearance

Cons Fit, sound quality not what it was cracked up to be

Summary I bought the Jawbone the day it came out in December at Cingular. I really wanted to like it as I'm constantly searching for the bluetooth holy grail of fit and sound quality. Unfortunately, I found that the Jawbone underdelivered on both fronts.

On fit, despite the multitude of loops and earpieces, I could just never get the device to sit well on my ear. Beyond comfort, this had two significant negative effects.

First, I had a hard time maintaining adequate volume when the ear insert started to slip. Given the quirky volume control, it was hard to adjust the level back to something sufficiently loud.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, the unit MUST fit well against your face in order for the sound cancellation technology to work appropriately. There is a little rubberized nub that is supposed to sit against your cheekbone to pick up the vibrations. Since I could never get a good solid fit, I was constantly losing the benefit of the special technology.

One additional issue: the device did not pair well with my Motorola Q (which has the latest software). It would randomly switch between hands free on and off, even when I tried to initiate a call from the device itself.

As such, I've decided for now to stick with my less than ideal, but better fitting Plantronics 510, which at $50 from Amazon, is a much better deal than this device for $120. Even at equal prices, I'd still pick the Plantronics. The Jawbone has gone back to Cingular...

If you try it, I hope you have better luck than I did!