Customer Reviews

Jabra FreeSpeak Bluetooth Headset for non-Bluetooth phones with 2.5mm Jack

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I've been using mine with my Sony Ericsson T68i for about three months now. Setting the headset up took a little while to figure out, the documentation was just plain wrong. But once I paired the headset with my phone I was up and running.

PROS: No headset wires to get tangled up in. The phone can be in your pocket, on your belt, or in your purse. Also the shape and size makes it comfortable to wear for extended periods. It's lightweight and not bulky. Although the earpiece can plug directly into your ear I suspect it was designed to actually sit slightly outside your ear canal. You can adjust the volume directly from the earpiece and it can easily be switched to wear on either ear.

CONS: Although the sound is intelligble and loud, the overall quality is not as good as a corded headset. Also the sound quality appears to be inconsistent. Some days I'll get alot of static, other days I'll get a clear reception. Callers say that they are able to hear me clearly, but could also hear faint background noise, some have reported a very faint buzzing sound. The Bluetooth signal overall is pretty weak, sometimes turning your head slightly can result in static. Not having a clear line of sight between the headset and phone can sometimes result in static. I found that it's best to keep the phone within 3 or 4 feet. But sometimes I couldn't get a connection to my phone even when my phone is sitting right next to me! I suspect other 2.4ghz radio signals in the area were jamming me.

Overall the headset isn't bad, but unless you do alot of talking or HAVE to have the latest gadget & technology, you may want to wait for the next generation of Bluetooth headsets. I suspect future headsets will have better range and sound quality. The average consumer might want to wait till the Bluetooth sound quality matches corded headset quality.

After using no fewer than ten headsets with wires over the years and having wires wear out, break, snag or whatever, the idea of a wireless headset caught my attention. I spend HOURS in the car with my phone and this headset is comfortable, light, easy to use and has great voice quality. It can be a little sensitive, but it's easy to adjust.

The best part is that if you get out of the car for gas, etc. you don't have to "rewire" yourself. The phone can stay in a charger base and you are free to wander up to 30 feet. (Yep, it works!)

Well worth the money!

I am the king of computer toys, just ask my wife. I go through cell phones like my dog goes through rib bones. I tried the headset that came with my phone but my earhole is not round. I tried the Jabra wired headset, it sounded tinny. I tried the BodyGlove, I tried them all. Then I saw the Plantronics M1500, wow! I bought it online. It works, but it is heavy. It feels like I have a lobster hanging on my hear. So I ordered the Freespeak and got next day delivery. WOW!!!! It sounds like a land line phone! I don't even have the cell phone noises! No static, no noise, PLENTY of volume, I handed it off to a co-worker and had him walk around. Plus the unit rests on he ear and behind it, so the weight is more even and actually hardly noticeable. I will buy one for my wife and let other try it out, I swear I can be a sales rep, because it WORKS! Good job Jabra, you did good on this one!

Have to agree with an earlier review. It's not quite ready for mainstream use, but oh! how I love it. I hate making calls without it.

PROS
-The rewards you'd expect from a wireless headset.
-Not too hard to use.
-When I upgrade to a Bluetooth-capable phone, I won't have to get a new headset.
-Surprisingly light and comfortable.

CONS
-Inconsistent sound quality. Clear as a bell to horrible static.
-Falls out of the clip too easily. Keep dropping the dang thing when I clip it on my belt next to my cell phone. Had to drive back to a restaurant once when I realized it had fallen out inadvertently. And it's so light, you don't hear it fall like you might with your cell phone.
-Too easy to accidentally hit the button putting the headset in active mode. I've had that happen a couple of times and couldn't use the headset until I recharged the battery.
-Battery life is poor. I charge it at every opportunity because I'm on the phone a lot.
-It won't work with the power plugged into the cradle. When I'm working in the office, I like to leave my cell phone and the headset charging. You can't use this without first unplugging the charger.
-Kind of a pain to get in the habit of donning the headset, putting it in active mode then hitting the "talk" button to answer a call. Sounds simple, but it's added steps and I've missed a handful of calls because it took so long to do them and have the headset connect. And, while the headset is light, I hate leaving it in my ear for too long because I start to get a "phantom" effect when I take it off. ;-)

OVERALL
I'd buy it again, even knowing all this. It's just too darn convenient and handy, despite all the problems.

Great product except for when you are receiving and ending calls. For receiving, You need to press receive on both the phone and headset. When ending a call, you also need to hit the end buttons on both the headset and phone. Pretty dangerous when you are driving and even more so when your phone is a flip phone and you are driving...figure it out. I have a headset which is not wireless but I can answer and end calls with a button on the headset. Jabra needs to fix the switch so that calls can be answered and ended with one switch.

I've had this product just over a year and had decent success using it w/ my Sony Erickson T610. I didn't use it much, however, and now it's practically useless, cause the battery runs out after 20-30 minutes of use (and starts beeping before that). Since I didn't use it much, I'm guessing I recharged the battery 20-30 times at most. Since you can't replace the battery, that means it's time to buy another, but it wont be a Jabra!

I've owned the Jabra Freespeak for 6 months now, and I will swear by it. Unlike any corded headset for any cell phone I've had, it is loud, I have to turn down the volume, but I can talk in the car comfortably. Second, I originally owned the BT200, and it had a 2-3 hour battery life + standbye, I really never needed much more. Last, the microphone went on the BT200 and Jabra replaced it with the BT250 in a week. So the Freespeak has proven it's value to me, no cords and it's loud. It's a great piece of equipment.

I saw the review written by rbell95 and felt compelled to corrrect his apperent misconception about the headset. The BT200 for non-bluetooth phones *does* have an answer/end function that can be enabled by using the included stylus. Press and hold the recessed button in the base unit for 12 seconds and release. The status light on the base unit will blink 4 times indicating that answer/end is active and will blink 5 times to indicate that it is inactive. I activated answer/end on my BT200 and it's been working flawlesly for me for about a week now. As an added bonus, when that fuction is enabled, it's pretty much impossible to leave the headset in 'active' mode for any appriciable period of time.

I've been getting enough life out of the base unit and headset to last through an entire day of moderate-to-heavy use, and it charges pretty quickly when I plug it in at night. There is some static at higher volume settings, as well as some echoing, but I like being able to hear myself in the headset. If I turn the volume down (easy to find button on the boom), the static and echo both go away.

Highly reccomended, especialy if you can find it on sale for $80.00 like I did.

Way back in the dark ages (when Bluetooth was something you got from chewing on a ballpoint pen), an electronic device would have an on/off switch. My, how times have changed. Today, instead of an on/off switch, Jabra BT200 users must endure the following:

To turn on the headset, "press and hold [] for 3 to 5 seconds until you see a burst of flashes on the blue indicator light, then release." While this is going on you hear "Ascending (low-to-high) tones." You will see the following: "The blue indicator light will flash while the power is on (see the following Status indicators table)." Got that? Now, to turn the headset off, "Press and hold [] for 3 to 5 seconds until you see a burst of flashes on the blue indicator light, then release." You will hear "Descending (high-to-low) tones" and "The blue indicator light will stop flashing."

Oh, and one other thing: "IMPORTANT: Do not hold the [] button down for more than 3 to 5 seconds when turning the headset on or else it may go into pairing mode, and the blue indicator light will turn solid. If that happens, turn off the headset, wait 3 to 5 seconds, and repeat process for turning the headset on."

If your phone rings and the headset is off, it must first be turned on, then you must press another button to turn on the audio link between the headset and the "multi-adaptor" connected to your phone. This link can take several seconds. You hear "a quick series of 2 tones - low to high pitch - when active mode starts." Almost done -- now you have to answer the call with the phone's keypad. I've found it much faster to just answer the phone without the headset.

Sound quality is pretty good, though the signal-to-noise ratio is a bit less than with the phone alone. Earpiece volume is more than adequate, even if the earbud is not tightly coupled with your ear, which is a comfort advantage and useful in noisy environments.

The multi-adaptor connects to your cell phone's 2.5mm jack via non-removable lightweight coiled cord. A blue LED flashes periodically to indicate charge status. It can be clipped to your belt and acts as a holder for the headset when not in use.

It multi-adaptor also acts as a charging cradle when attached to the compact and lightweight "wall wart," which is included.

The headset shell is made of thermoplastic polyurethane ear-side (with a grippier texture to keep it from sliding around), while the contrasting silver back around the buttons is harder polycarbonate. The headset can be fitted for left or right ear by simply rotating the supplied "MiniGel" earbud. There are two types included.

Finally, the headset has a NON-REPLACEABLE BATTERY. When the battery starts to lose its ability to hold a charge (the progression is non-linear), you are out of luck. I'm guessing this would probably be about a year for a heavy user, but the user manual sheds no light on this issue. That's a 1-star deduction.

Thing only good thing I have to say is; it was comfortable. Hard to hear when driving, didn't work at all with the driver window or any window down, moving or not. Battery life is minutes not hours. Takes too long to recharge, if it even completes the recharge cycle. It takes to many operations to answer a non-bluetooth phone. And whoever designed it, never really used it, looks great but doesn't function well. Finally, customer support, there really isn't any.