Customer Reviews

Jawbone ICON-Series Hero Bluetooth Headset (Black)

5 star:		(108)
4 star:		(65)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(30)

 

 

So, I returned my Jabra Stone (see review just posted)to the AT&T store where I purchased it with my iPhone. Before I left the house, though, I decided to see what other bluetooth I might want to try as a replacement. That very day, Aliph had released its Icon, and I read a couple of reviews from tech-types who had managed to snag one the moment they could get their hands on it. It sounded promising. However, the AT&T store did not have it yet, so I went to Best Buy. The clerk had not heard about it and called out to another clerk who was approaching with his arms full of boxes. Turned out that those boxes were the new Aliph Icons that he was about to put on display.

I am not what anyone would call an "early adopter," but hey, I needed a bluetooth for a trip I was going on the next day, so I bought it, knowing that I could return it in 30 days if needed. We paired it to my phone quickly and I was on my way.

Bottom line: I really like this bluetooth! It is the fourth I have owned and by far the best. I like the location of the button that turns it on and off. I like the location of the button that initiates, terminates and redials calls. I personally don't mind at all that I control the volume from my phone. I do use it with the detachable ear loop because I like the additional stability, but I have tried it without the loop and it seems to actually work just fine---I just worry that I will knock it out of my ear when I take off my jacket, or adjust my sunglasses, or whatnot. It's fine, though; the ear loop is more comfortable than the first two bluetooths I have owned. I like the charger---no cords to deal with. I like the clear indicators that signal that it needs charging and that charging is complete. I also really like the voice that tells me approximations of talk time remaining and tells me when the jawbone is ready and waiting for my phone to connect it. And honestly, it is so comfortable that sometimes I forget I have it on, even after wearing it for several hours. If it had a storage case like one of the Pantronics and like the Jabra Stone, I think it would be pretty much perfect. And the price, while not inexpensive, is $30 less than the Jabra Stone.

So far there is nothing I dislike about it. It has good talk time and good standby time. The sound is crystal clear to both me and to the other person on the call (according to them). It isn't goofy looking. I honestly think I prefer to use this bluetooth than to take a call on my phone, even when I'm not driving or needing the hands-free operation. There may be a bluetooth out there that is just as good, but I'd be surprised if there were one that is better for me.

Pro:
I bought the Icon as a replacement for the original Jawbone I got several years ago. So far I am very happy with the Icon, no one has mentioned a word about the voice quality, even over lengthy (45 minute) calls while I'm driving in traffic. I also like the fact that this unit not only speaks the incoming phone number but also can give me an indication as to the remaining battery life.

Con:
I had the same issue with this model that I had with the original. The earpiece fit drove me absolutely crazy. Either it was too loose to maintain decent contact with my face (and thus the noise assassin was useless) or after about a half hour my ear hurt so much I felt like someone was pushing a stick into my scull.

My solution for the Icon is the same I employed for the original jawbone: dump the painfully offending design of the Aliph earpiece, and substitute the gel earpiece I loved from an old Jabra headset. I bought these: JABRA OEM MINIGELS and use these in place of the foam torture piece that ships with the Jawbone. They slip on and fit perfectly. Personally I like the long one which slips in my ear and gives a great snug fit and is only about 10% as bothersome over time as the foam pieces that ship with the Jawbone Icon. They work even better with the Icon than they did with the original jawbone, and unlike the original jawbone, switching from left ear to right ear if they do start hurting is much easier.

I recently purchased the Jawbone Icon and Plantronics Voyager Pro at the same time so that I could test them both out and return the "loser" in my tests.

I've owned several Plantronics models over the years have never been particularly impressed by their noise reduction capabilities. The new Voyager Pro turned out to be no exception.

I performed identical tests in my home, leaving voicemails for myself to test the sound quality of both headsets under various conditions. My tests included:

Sitting on the couch with the TV louder than I normally listen to it
Sitting on the couch with music playing pretty loudly
Standing at the kitchen sink with the water running
Coffee grinder running
Silent room (to test general voice quality between the two headsets)

After listening to the voicemails I left for myself with each headset, the Icon was the clear winner. Noise cancellation was MUCH better with the Icon (at least with my iPhone - perhaps other cell phones would have different results). In a silent room, the voice quality for both headsets sounded pretty much on par from what I could tell.

I also called a friend and repeated these same tests during a "live" phone call and he confirmed that the Icon was the clear winner on his end as well.

The only thing I didn't test was wind noise, but that's not a particularly common scenario for me. Mainly, I needed to ensure that I can work in public places such as coffee shops and not have my clients distracted by background noise and the Icon seems like it will do just that!

This is the second Jawbone that I've purchased and from my personal experience this new model is not as good as my old one. I find the volume level to be very low making it useless in a noisy environment which negates the whole purpose of the NoiseAssassin technology. The only volume adjustment is via the cell phone. Jawbone is supposed to automatically adjust the volume but this one doesn't seem to do that. What good is reducing background noise if I can't hear who I'm talking to? Otherwise the call quality is very good.

What I do like about it is that it displays it's battery life on the screen of my iPhone as well as giving me a voice prompt of it's status and caller ID's. The battery life is just okay with 4.5 hrs of talk time. If you use it constantly this could be an issue.

Updating the firmware is easy, simply attach it via USB to your computer and go to their website. It checks for an update and gives you the option to install the new software.

I purchased mine from UnlockedCellphoneKings here on Amazon. Nothing in the ad said anything about bulk packaging, reconditioned or used. I thought I was buying a brand new item and what I got was a package that read "Universal Bluetooth Headset". It's NOT the normal retail packaging that Jawbone uses. After pairing the headset I wanted to setup some things so I attached it via USB to my computer to access the setup menu. It was there that I discovered that this headset was not brand new. The Jawbone keeps a list of all phones that it has been paired to (up to 8). This Jawbone had been paired to 4 phones total not including mine. I don't appreciate paying full retail for an item that is either used or a Refurbished product. I could have purchased it directly from Amazon for the same price and been guaranteed that it was new. Buyer Beware.

I have been purchasing items over the net for over 10 years now and this is the first review that I have ever written. The icon is the 3rd bluetooth that I have owned but it is by far the best. I am a farmer by profession and I purchased this gadget so that I can talk and still have my hands free to operate tractors, combines, trucks, grain systems, etc. (all of which are very loud). People are amazed that they can still understand me in my environments whereas before with other headsets all they could hear was the background noise. I have even held a conversion while mowing the yard and I am sure many of you know how loud that is on a tractor mower. The other day after being out in the field I came home and threw the clothes in the wash on the heavy-duty cycle (with extra rinse) then transferred them to the dryer. When the dryer buzzed I opened the door, the jawbone dropped out, and my jawbone dropped. I couldn't believe what I had done. After spending the night in a ziplock baggie with some rice (to help soak any remaining moisture out of the device) I charged it up the following day. Amazingly the Icon powered back on and still works flawlessly! For this fact I would highly recommend this to anyone who is in a noisy environment and can also be a little careless with their little bluetooths.

Have had for a couple of months. I bought into the possibility of having apps and updates. Not many apps. Only voice upgrades and some config settings you shouldn't have to go to a website to change.

Fit is fair, not TOO uncomfortable (I use the in-ear option so I can wear sunglasses too). Stays in pretty well unless your chewing. If you like gum, don't get this ear piece, or use the over-ear option. Would have preferred a true in-ear fit, as it really just wedges itself in the outer ear and does not go IN your ear, as I thought it might do. The 'wedgie' you get can be a bit irratating at first. You don't want to try and wear it in-ear style for more than a couple of hours as the 'wedgie' starts to hurt after that long.

Incoming sound quality is fair, not fantastic. A lot depends on the fit in your ear. If not exactly tight, will be weak.

As other reviewers have mentioned, no volume adjustment. Is done with phone. I use a Nokia XpressMusic 5800 and sound in some apps is low and suddenly gets really loud when taking calls (especially OVI maps GPS navigation where you can barely hear the turn by turn directions until you get a call and suddenly it's so loud you can't hear the person on the other end when the app gives directions).

I do like the light weightness of it, buttons and the on/off switch which connects to the phone very fast, almost instantaneously.

Is kind of pricey and the car charger available is really only for older Jawbones. Will work with the Icon, but comes with an incompatible USB connector and you will have to use the USB that comes with the Icon. The USB that comes with the Icon is really short, which in most cases is advantageous, but would have liked an additional one to keep in the car and not have to carry around.

Staying power is fine. Was concerned a bit about long trips in the car not having enough battery time and having to recharge a lot. Not the case unless you are a non-stop talker on the phone.

Overall, would have looked closer into the Plantronics Discovery 975 Bluetooth Headset having had this for a while now.

After reading the reviews on this site, I was a little bit skeptical of the fit of this headset. I received it yesterday and haven't had any problems. I first tried the standard earbud that comes preinstalled on the Icon and thought it felt too loose. I then tried the larger earbud and it felt very solid and in place but after a few hours, my ear hurt. I decided to go back to the standard size one and trust in the design. After a few more hours, the unit hadn't moved. I decided to go jogging to make sure, it didn't budge one inch and felt like it wasn't even there except when I had a call come in. I think the problem was that I was used to an obtrusive feeling device like my previous Plantronics 655, a great headset in it's day but it hurt after a few hours as well.

I went to the mytalk.jawbone.com web site and downloaded the A2DP update as well as a new voice. They both installed flawlessly and now I can hear turn-by-turn directions from the TomTom app on my iPhone. I can also vouch that the Icon works very well with two phones. I paired it to my BlackBerry and it handled switching calls between phones just like call waiting. It is very nice that the battery level just appears on my iPhone without installing an application. There was some guy who complained about it running down his battery, I didn't notice that at all. I can only assume he didn't have bluetooth on prior to installing the Icon and there is a difference in battery life with the bluetooth radio on vs off.

I have yet to find someone to do some audio tests but I was on a conference call while in a room of people talking very loud and no-one on the call complained about any background noise.

Overall I am very impressed with the Icon and look forward to using it more.

This earpiece is wonderful. My friends tell me they can hear absolutely no background noise while I'm in the car or walking outside in the wind. I really enjoy being able to walk around without worrying that I look outdated, and because of that I don't feel the need to use my hand-held as much, which makes for safer driving.

I have an iPhone 4 (iOS 4.0.1) and got the Jawbone Icon Hero black a few days ago (7/30/2010). I went to Jawbone's site and updated to newest firmware/software. The biggest problem is the ear pieces do not fit at all and the over the ear clip is of no help. Second issue is the Icon will work with AD2P music and podcast streaming if you reset it and re pair before each and every use. So it does not work for me at all and I am returning it. I have a Jabra BT 350 that works great with the iPhone, but wanted a smaller unit and had read the Jawbone had implemented better noise canceling technology. Not recommended for the iPhone 4. I have since read numerous threads on forums where many people are having trouble with this item and the iPhone 4. BTW, if it worked perfectly, I would still return it because of the very poor fit, will not stay in my ear.

This is an important update. Some new earphones have AI software built in that is not compatible with the iPhone's SIRI AI. I just tested this earphone with the new SIRI and found that it was completely compatible. Just push the earpiece's call button, the phone will automatically wake up and go directly to SIRI, then you just ask it questions as you would to the phone itself. I tested "What is the weather like"; "Dial XXX-XXXX"; "Call Ann". The responses were immediate and accurate. This is a great earphone for the 4s! Never even have to take the phone from your pocket. Makes SIRI not only a marvel on AI, but extraordinarily convenient.

Wow, was I happy. No need to use the wired buds that come with the phone.