Customer Reviews

Jabra FreeSpeak Bluetooth Headset for Bluetooth Equipped Phones

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

I have the Jabra BT200....the UPDATED version...and I am quite pleased with it. It is light weight at less than an ounce, comfortable fitting behind the ear with the ear plug resting gently against the ear canal. Volume on the lowest setting it better than the volume coming directly from the Sony Ericsson T616.

In the last several months there has been a great deal of confusion regarding the BT200 because there are two versions of the headset. The original supports only the the headset profile of Bluetooth, while the later version supports both the headset and handsfree profiles.

The later version of the headset began to be shipped by Jabra in June 2003 and carries firmware version 21B or higher.

You won't know you are getting the later version unless there is a blue sticker on the outside of the box that says, "Now compatible with Nokia 3650 and Siemens S55".

Even if you have a Bluetooth cell phone other than the Nokia or the Siemens, this is still the one to get because with the newer firmware, there are enhanced features for _all_ bluetooth phones.

If you get the later version, there will be a blue card in the box that says, "Enhanced Features".

Once you have completed "pairing" the phone by holding down the button with the phone icon AND the Volume Up button....remember, BOTH buttons must be held down to "pair" the phone...you will then have the following enhanced features if the headset has 21B or later firmware:

..Last number redial (when not on a call)

..Rejecting an incoming call (when not on a call)

..Call-waiting (swapping between two calls)

..Putting a call on hold

If you have a voice dial enabled phone you will love that feature on the headset. I found I did _not_ have to retrain the voice entries on the headset to make outgoing calls.

Hope this helps.

First off, the headset is only $20 if purchased with a Sony Ericsson T610. For that much, this is a must buy.

The concept is wonderful, and it works well for the most part. I can speak wirelessly with my phone elsewhere. The headset itself is comfortable - especially the eargel. It fits snugly and sound is clear.

Two gripes, however:
1) Battery life is less than impressive. Jabra claims 3 hrs. I have yet to get beyond 2. In fact, last night when I used it, I got a warning signal at exactly 1:51.

2) Bluetooth range is 30 feet only when in a clear path. My bathroom is 15 feet away. I get noticeable static on my end. If I close the door, everything becomes unintelligble. The interesting thing is that the person on the other end doesn't seem to notice a thing.

All in all, it's a great concept and works well aside from the two gripes listed above. I recommend it.

I'm loving my SonyEricson T68i, Jabra Freespeak Headset, iSync, Bluetooth & OS X!!!

Christmas came early this year! And this is just to freaking cool not to speak up about it...

I can sync the T68i with my computer, Addresses and iCal stuff. I can use the T68i to connect, both via Bluetooth & IR to most any ISP (it's not hard to setup OS X to pair and use the phone).

But the real power of this phone is demonstrated by coupling it with a wireless Bluetooth headset like the Jabra Freespeak. It is so easy to initiate and answer (or reject) calls via voice commands. The headset is small, light and it fits well without totally occluding the ear canal, so you can still hear ambient local sounds.

The reception is pretty good, and it's secure (unless you're paranoid) but the range is nowhere near 30 feet, more like 10. Can't comment on battery life as I've only had it a few days.

I'm impressed. This could be a paradigm shift in the way people use cell phones to communicate, or at least make driving safer.

Two things left to explore. Sending and/or receiving fax via IR or BT (with Cocca eFax), and using the Jabra headset with my PowerMac 867DP as a sound input device. Maybe some nice programmer will write an open-source driver to do so. Or maybe Jabra or Apple will do so. We can hope.

I purchased my FreeSpeak about a month ago and have been using it daily with my Nokia 6310i GSM phone.

Overall, this is a great product. I was a little hesitant when I purchased it, as this device is an "over the ear" design, and past experience with these types of devices has not been positive (I am an eyeglass wearer, and many times these devices do not "sit" well). I am happy to report that the FreeSpeak fits very well, and easily qualifies as the most comfortable headset I have ever used.

Other positives: battery life (3 hours talk and about a week on standby), voice quality (excellent up to about ten feet away from the phone, and people on the other end of the connection report near-corded quality), weight (very light--I hardly know that I have it on), and safety (no more wrapping of headset cords around the steering wheel, plus the FreeSpeak design allows you to hear out of both ears, even when it is in use, as the product does not fully block the ear canal).

One advantage to using a BlueTooth headset that I didn't think about before I purchased the product is the that, due to the fact that you can place the phone up to ten feet away from the headset, it allows you to position the phone in a location that provides better signal (like a window sill) and still use your phone. I use this feature all of the time, as cell coverage in my office is marginal, and placing the phone up on a filing cabinet vastly increases the signal quality.

The biggest negative: when I press the 'answer/hang up' button on the FreeSpeak to answer an incoming call, my Nokia phone answers the call and then immediately terminates the connection. I have sent email messages to Jabra about this but have not received a response (over a week ago).

The second biggest negative: so far, Jabra tech support is AWOL. Using the button to terminate calls works fine. Another niggling problem has to do with the phone and headset occasionally losing contact with one another, which is easily corrected by pressing the headset's 'phone' button.

Overall, I highly recommend this product to anyone that is a frequent headset user (and that owns a BlueTooth compatible phone). Setup was a breeze (about 2 minutes), the device works as advertised (mostly), and the quality and comfort are exceptional.

I use this headset with the sonyericcson t68i phone.
- easy to set up, although you have to put your phone into "discoverable" status, then have the headset try to find the phone. Not too hard, but not simple either
- the multifunction button works great for picking up calls, ending calls, inititating voice dialing and voice answering, and for swapping calls
- i've never let it go more than 2 days without charging, but it seems to hold a charge well
- it is light, and can easily be worn for hours at a stretch. Fits over the ear well.
- people will ask you if you are a borg - I always respond "you will become one with the borg."

Latency
- the headset starts ringing about 1.5 seconds after the phone
- when you say "answer" to answer a call, it takes 1.5 seconds before it kicks in and stops ringing, so you're not always sure that it heard you. You have to speak, then wait and have faith through one more ring before it picks up
- same delay when using voice dialing - speak, wait and hope that it heard you

However, these may be bluetooth issues, and not a problem with the headset. I highly recommend this little guy.

I'm a total Bluetooth junkie. I have three Bluetooth mobile phones, USB dongles, adapters, a Palm Tungsten|T, and three Bluetooth headsets.

I have a Sony Ericsson HBH-20, a Nokia HDW-2, and a Jabra Freespeak BT200.

I knew ahead of time that the model I bought didn't support the new Bluetooth audio profile (called Bluetooth Handsfree) in addition to the older standard, Bluetooth Headset.

I shipped it back to Jabra, they sent me the newer model in a week, and I have to tell you - out of all three headsets, the Jabra is:

* The most comfortable.
* The loudest.
* The most versatile.
* The most useful.
* The most comfortable.
* And, the most comfortable!

The Jabra Freespeak sits comfortably around your ear, I wear two different pairs of glasses, one thin wire-style and one thick plastic kind (both from Matsuda if you are into eyewear) and this headset can be worn comfortably with either pair. Huge plus.

The mic swings down nicely and has great pickup, and the range of the headset to my 3650 and 6310i from Nokia seems to be the advertised 30 feet, even in my house where wireless tech in that band abounds - I keep a multi-room AV unit from Terk in my house, as well as 802.11b WiFi equipment. Bluetooth doesn't seem to interfere with it one lick, and it works great.

This headset can get VERY LOUD. No other headset I have used has NEARLY the same range of volume, and I keep the phone set to "2" on volume (out of what, 8?) and the headset kept quiet too. If I push the phone volume up or the headset volume up much more, it actually annoys me.

You can hear people in a car with the roof open and the windows down, though the mic can get lost on a windy day - you can cruise at 70mph down a freeway with the windows down if you're on mute for that important conference call your boss made you join even though you have nothing to say.

The belt clip doesn't work so well for me. I don't tuck in my shirts very often, so it will fall out of that. I put the headset in my pocket. Or, if it's a button-up shirt, I loop the headset through the shirt over one of the buttons on my chest. It's handy.

I really think I could fall asleep with this thing on my ear, which I certainly couldn't do with the HDW-2 (Which I have for sale by the way!) To be fair, I have smaller ears I think, and they're very sensitive to things touching them.

Really I'm completely enamoured with the Jabra headset, I recommend it to everyone. It's inexpensive, comfortable, and a solid performer.

The new version with Bluetooth Handsfree supports new features too, like redial, answering a call while on another one, and swapping between them. It even rings in the earpiece so as to not make a huge racket when you get a call. Excellent!

Voice dial works great - but as with most Bluetooth headsets you will want to re-train the voice dial commands with this headset to make sure the phone understands the nuances and difference in your voice if any. I've gotten comments that it sounds good, I think the mic on the phone sounds better, but I much prefer to leave my phone in the trunk when I'm in the car. With voice dial and a Bluetooth headset, I don't really need to touch the phone much anymore.

I am using the FreeSpeak for non-Bluetooth phones with my new T68i and I love it. The Bluetooth multi-adapter for my old non-Bluetooth phone worked great, but the phone didn't support headset initiated call answering, voice dialing or call ending []a pain if you're going to be using any headset.

So I got the T68i and I am finally enjoying true cordless freedom.

As a note, I do notice that my range with the T68i is far less than with the Jabra multi-adapter. With the adapter I got a good 30 feet of range from the phone/adapter to the headset. With the T68i, I'm geting maybe ten feet, max. Apparently SonyEricsson's implementation of Bluetooth isn't up to par. But you can't fault the headset for that.

Also, I think the belt-clip/charger needs some sort of positive lock to prevent losing the headset which with its light weight makes little noise when it's dropped and to secure its position while charging.

An excellent solution, especially for a first generation product. My criticisms are below, but overall I think folks will find this a very good product. In cars or while getting on a plane, you don't have to deal with cords (which get tangled, wrapped around your shoulder strap, etc). After about 2 mins, you forget you have it on.

Also, it has about 1% of the radio frequency of most cell phones. My head hurts after long cell calls. Whether you believe this is a serious medical threat or not doesn't matter, all I know is that this earpiece solves that headache problem. If it is totally psychosomatic, I'm even happier.

- Sound is fine about 85% of the time, only occasionally do I get a bad cell-to-headset connection.
- Usability is ok. A little hard to find the 'pick up' button if it's on your ear.
- Interaction with the phone has got a slight delay. You pick up on the headset and there is a 1/2 sec wait before you can hear or talk. It also goes into standby mode a little too eagerly (for the sake of its battery), causing it to turn on/off/on when pretty much every time you're dialing out. It does all this automatically so its not a huge issue.
- If you have a long lasting battery on your phone, you'll feel that this battery is weak -- about 2 hrs of talk time.
- The big frustation is that it is one more charger to carry around. I now basically have a small Radio Shack store in my briefcase and this added to the selection power adaptors. That they couldn't find some way to 1) piggy back on the existing adpators already in the universe, or 2) offer a set of converter plugs to those adaptors is beyond me. If Nokia offered a bluetooth that used my existing phone adaptor, I'd buy it (big hint, N).
- It has a nice blue light that flashes.

Net-net, very cool, works well and not a premature product. You can buy it with confidence.

I own an Ericsson T68i and a Nokia 3650i. I purchased the Jabra bluetooth headset being told that due to software bugs on Nokia's part, the Jabra will not work with the Nokia. Curiously the box for the Jabra stated on a blue sticker that it was compatible, although the shop owner insisted it was wrong. After purchasing, I had no problems at all. I have the headset paired to both my T68i and the 3650i. They work perfectly together and I have been enjoying problem free usage for over one week now with no hitches.

The Jabra is comfortable to wear. The only reservation I have about it is that the ear bung can easily fall off if rubbed or jolted in ones pocket or case. Other then that it's light and very adaptable to most ears and the sound quality is clear and crisp.

If you're looking to buy a bluetooth headset and want to pretend to be captain Jonathan Archer on the Enterprise, now's your chance. Go get the Jabra. It'll keep you Jabring for hours on end on your mobile phone!

I've had the Jabra for about 6 months now and use it daily. It takes awhile to get the ear piece to conform to your head/ear. The connection to my Nokia 6310i will drop and reconnect frequently only when I don't have an active call. Range is not impressive (varies from 3' to 20') but it does make talking while driving much more manageable. I saw no need for the belt clip and it is mounted as a static charging station on my desk. And yes if you do have this device on you cannot put on your glasses as you normally would. I have had no problems putting sunglasses on and off as I drive without disturbing the Jabra or the active call. Due to changes in ambient noise levels, sometimes I cannot turn the volume down low enough and it will be quite loud in a quiet environment. It needs improvement in all areas. It should be smaller, more comfortable, have longer range, better clarity and a longer talk time. Maybe with the next version.