We are probably going to return these gorgeous pieces of junk, like many other reviewers.
My girlfriend and I each purchased the STONE at an AT&T store. It was a new product, and it looked pretty sweet. I have owned and loved MANY Jabra BT headsets - the 200, 250V, 500V and the 5020. To put it in short terms, however, that I just got from one of the North American Sales Managers for Jabra, "Tom:" "The headset only provides two hours of use; our marketing department chose to word the life as they did to make it look as if it lasts longer than it does." Pretty incredible admission. Kudos to him for being so honest.
It seems that the STONE's little clip-in charger device actually holds a charge for the headset, so you can RE-charge it up to three times during the day. The ACTUAL battery life, on one charge, seems to be about 30 minutes of talk and about 4 hours on standby. Don't even THINK about a lot of music or internet radio (for smartphone users) using the A2DP feature. You will suck the battery down in less than an hour. The package for the headset says "Up to 8 hours talk time"
The pity is, I love the headset! It is light, comfortable, and works REALLY REALLY well with my iPhone. Sound quality is awesome. The charger is cool. Even the little iPhone app is neat (just don't accidentally toss your iPhone!). But, the most important feature for those of us on the go is BATTERY LIFE. I complain about the lousy life I get on my iPhone 3Gs, but that now seems to last an eternity when compared to the horrible battery life of the STONE.
So, how are they misleading the public? They represent that it has 8 hours of life - TWO on a charge, and then 6 more by recharging it THREE TIMES using the stone charger. That last part is in fine print. Buyer Beware!!
I seriously hope the Federal Trade Commission nails Jabra for misleading customers on this product, and I hope they will be forced to pay damages to those of us who trusted them. They took our money for a vastly inferior product, and with obvious intentions of misleading the consumer.
UPDATE 1/29/2010
OK, there has been some things happening this week regarding the STONE saga! I got a call from AT&T Corporate. They were just as upset as I was about the misrepresentation. A memo was going out to the stores regarding the mislabeling on the packages.
However, I have been in contact with Tom Trembly at Jabra; the man who told me originally about the issues I mentioned. He emailed me an updater for the headset firmware. It made a HUGE difference in the operation and battery life of the headset! The touch controls are MUCH more responsive, transmitted audio is louder, and the battery life is considerably longer. Mind you, it is NOT what is advertised on the box, but I can get through a normal day without having to charge it 3 or 4 times!
I will post another message in a week or two with additional updates.
UPDATE 3/19/2010
I have been trying to contact Jabra regarding these headsets. They are ignoring my voicemails, and my emails. It seems that if they think they have a solution, they will talk with you, otherwise, you just don't exist.
I URGE EVERYONE TO NOT PURCHASE THIS PRODUCT. If you are a heavy user, you will be greatly disappointed. Monday morning, I will be filing complaints with the Federal Trade Commission regarding this product. Jabra cannot be allowed to lie to customers in this fashion. Period!
Check out the BT-5020; it is one of the best headsets I have ever used!