Joby Zivio Boom Bluetooth Headset (Black)

by Joby

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2.1 x 0.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001BAO5F4
• Item model number: Boom
• Batteries: 1 Lithium ion batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #96,060 in Cell Phones & Accessories (See Top 100 in Cell Phones & Accessories)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

As Bluetooth headsets get tinier, the Zivio by Joby adds length to the headset with a boom microphone that helps to maximize the voice to background noise ratio. The elegant, high-performance Zivio features an ultra-sensitive, retractable, flexible microphone boom that helps you enjoy crystal clear sound quality even in noisy crowds. It comes with sets of interchangeable earpieces to provide all-day comfort, as well as an optional ear loop for a custom fit.

The retractable, flexible boom microphone helps to maintain the clarity of your conversations. See larger image.

Nobody likes a loud talker. With the Zivio's retractable boom microphone, you can maintain discretion while discussing the details of your legal brief or your date last night--the taxi driver won't hear what you are saying, while the person on the other end will hear you perfectly. And by extending the boom, you communicate to passersby that you are engaged in conversation rather than talking to yourself.

The illuminated Joby button offers a view of current function and battery life.

The Zivio has three buttons along its side--two for volume up and down and the Joby light indicator button, which controls most functions and offers an illuminated view of battery life and currently used function. You can make and end calls, switch between calls, and conference between calls.

A sleek and lightweight headset, the Zivio can be worn in the left or right ear using one of the two shapes of gels--mushroom or scoop--each of which comes in three sizes. For a more secure fit, you can add a magnetic ear loop. This headset provides the latest version of Bluetooth connectivity--version 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), which makes pairing with your headset as well as other Bluetooth-enabled devices a snap. And with EDR, you'll get a faster connection than with the previous version 1.2.

Specifications

• Talk time: up to 10 hours
• Standby time: up to 200 hours
• Charging: via USB
• Bluetooth technology: 2.0+EDR
• Range: Up to 10 meters (33 feet)
• Dimensions (mic retracted): 2.1 x 0.6 x 0.28 inches
• Weight: 0.5 ounces

What's in the Box
Zivo headset, dual USB power adapter, short USB cable, long USB cable, three scoop earpieces, three mushroom earpieces, two mushroom connectors, two ear loops, two ear loop magnets, user manual

Product Description

The Zivio Boom ™ is a new Bluetooth headset from Joby that raises the state of the art for delivering audio quality. By using a retractable, flexible microphone constructed from a durable memory metal called Nitinol, the Zivio provides crisp, clear natural sound, even in environments that traditionally cripple most Bluetooth headsets. Engineered for exceptional comfort, the headset offers a set of interchangeable earpieces that mount to a speaker attached via ball-and-socket joint for a completely customized fit. The optional magnetic earloop provides additional comfort and stability and the nitinol boom can flex into the perfect shape to fit your face. With its super-sleek styling, the Zivio Boom will make you look as good as you sound. Much more than a pretty face, the Zivio offers a whopping 10 hours of talk time and the latest version of Bluetooth connectivity – version 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), which means a faster connection and easier pairing with your Bluetooth enabled devices. The multifunction button controls most calling functions and offers an illuminated view of battery life at a tap. The headset charges via USB cable and has a USB power adapter built for two, so that you can charge your headset and handset together. At just 0.5 ounces, and 2.1” long (mic retracted), the Zivio Boom offers matchless sound performance in a super-compact, fiercely designed package. What's in the Box Zivio Boom headset, dual USB power adapter, short USB charging cable, long USB charging cable, 3 “scoop” earpieces, 6 “mushroom” earpieces, 2 “mushroom” connectors, 2 earloops, 2 magnets"

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than Jawbone 2 and probably most others, August 20, 2008

By 

John Kheit (Edison, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joby Zivio Boom Bluetooth Headset (Black) (Wireless Phone Accessory)

Between myself, and a few friends, we have literally tried every "hot" bluetooth headset out there (as of today). I have a Jawbone 2, and the platronics voyager 510. Both good with caveats. A friend of mine just got the B&O Earset 2 (still waiting for his review), which I have yet to try; as such, I cannot compare that. There are probably a dozen other no-longer-used headsets strewn about my office.

So with that background, to date, the best headset I've used was the Jawbone 2. Until I got this Joby, which is now the best headset I've used.

Features to note:
1.) It is tiny. About as tiny as the Apple headset (which is dreadful). Very thin/low profile.

2.) It has an infinitely adjustable earpiece and earhook. The earhook is very james-bond-ish. It connects to the inside metal surface of the headset magnetically. As such it can pivot to any angle, and you can extend the length of the hook up or down to almost any length. This is key as the very limited adjustability of the Jawbone 2 renders it useless for many users (the fit is so key for the Jawbone that it makes or breaks the way the sound reduction system works). Also, the earpiece itself has a ball joint that lets it pivot and twist to almost any angle. Why Joby does not tout this feature is beyond me.

3.) Sound quality for others is good. Most people can tell I'm on a cell phone/headset, but the quality is good. In side by side tests with the Jawbone (on my iphone switching between both) the results are following. Voice quality on the Joby is better both in a quiet environment and a noisy one (cranking up music quite loud). In fact, I was able to talk so quietly (near whisper) with the Joby such that I could not hear myself through the noise, yet the person on the other end heard me fine. They could not hear me under similar conditions with the Jawbone. The Jawbone worked well, but resulted in more muffled voice quality as reported by the person on the other end.

4.) Sound quality for you is ok. Now the quality of sound varies GREATLY depending on what attachment you put on the earpiece. Joby ships it with an interesting ear "coupler", and an in-ear "shure-headphone-like" connector. I also tried it with the old Jabra ear-form. The in-ear connector has the advantage of being INSANELY loud. I could only use it with the iphone set to the lowest volume setting for fear of blowing my head off. Unfortunately, the sound quality with that connector was just ok and a bit garbly. The sound quality with the other connectors was much more clear, but the volume did not get to those ridiculous levels as it was not directly injected into your skull. The sound quality with the other connectors (particularly the old Jabra ear forms (they look like messy in-ear globs) was the most comfy and clear. However, with everything but the in-ear connector (or the Jabra in-ear globs), you would need to use the ear hook to keep the headset well stationed on your head. The in-ear connector/in-ear globs will let you use the headset without the earhook.

5.) Because of all the adjustability, the comfort in wearing the headset is really very good. Of course, as is the case for *all* headsets, the comfort and sound quality will vary greatly largely due to the shape of your head. So what may work great for some, will work poorly for others. As always, your mileage may vary. That being said, the Jawbone 2 would not work for me at all until I got a set of the old Jabra ear-blobs, which lets me use it without the hook. The hook on the Jawbone 2, for me, was not in the right position such that it would hold the headset to my face so the noise cancellation feature could work.

6.) Noise cancellation is very good. When testing the Jawbone 2 (when it's fit to sit on your face properly) it works well to cancel noise. It basically seems to feel when your mouth is moving/reverberating and use that to filter out the background. The result is good isolation. With music blaring, people can hear you fine, and just get a small dose of background music, which most people said they can detect, but did not bother them. Now the Joby works differently. It has that very fine boom that extends by your mouth. With it extended, other people were split on the results. About 50% said it was as effective as the Jawbone 2, while the other 50% said it was a little bit better. In a non noisy environment, you can retract the boom and most people reported the sound quality as being better than the Jawbone 2 under similar conditions.

7.) Controls. These are WAY better than the Jawbone 2. With the Jawbone 2, I'm constantly accidently disconnecting from calls as the entire face of the headset acts as a hidden button. The back of the headset has another hidden button that volumes up and up and up (with no volume down button you have to go to max volume before it starts over at low volume). The Joby has clear/easy to understand buttons. It even has a neat LED that goes from Bright Blue to purple to RED when the battery is low.

I have not yet fully tested the battery, but it seems on par with the Jawbone 2 so far.

Concerns: The boom seems decently resilient such that if the headset falls, it should be ok. If you have toddlers around that like to mush things, it may not fare so well.

Bonus: It looks cool. It has a nice almost rubbery finish on one side, and an ipod-esque metal finish on the other. It's a lower profile/thinner headset than the Jawbone 2. It has a nice charging brick with two-usb ports so you can charge two USB devices at once.

What they could improve: 1) It would be great if they could improve the sound quality with the in-ear piece so it doesn't get so over-distorted. I should couch that statement to note, it's not so bad that it's unbearable or horrible, just noticeable and could stand improvement. The device even as such, is very good. 2) I wish they would use just a regular mini-USB connector for charging. This is not unique to Joby, but for the love of all that is good on this earth, why the heck does every gadget vendor need to make their own custom connector (which is just shy of being a normal connector)? If they used a mini-usb connector, then I could just have 1 or 2 chargers and be done with it. As it stands, it's one more brick to carry.

Conclusion: This is probably the best bluetooth headset out there for the money as of 8/20/08. Of course, all that can change tomorrow.

UPDATE 9/17/08: I broke the boom. What is interesting is it broke in a way you would not immediately expect. The boom can take a fair bit of bending without any trouble, and can take being dropped. But it broke from being pulled out, apparently too hard. I like the headset so much, that I did not immediately send it back, instead I just pushed the boom back into the body as the wire was still attached, and used it for another couple of weeks. Eventually, I must have tugged it too hard again, and the wire broke. So I ordered a second one thinking the return procedure would be iffy or take a long time. Well, I sent them an email, and got a response the next day telling me they were sending out a replacement and for me to just put my broken unit in the provided return envelope! If I could figure out how, I would up my rating to 5 stars for the great no-hassle service! Anyway, after using the thing for a while, I noticed the battery seems to last a little longer than my Jawbone 2 (at least based on my wacky usage patterns). And for the couple of days I was without it, I had lots of complaints from people while I was forced to use the Jawbone 2. BTW, my friend game me a quick review of the B&O and he didn't like it and ended up returning it.

Anyway, I'm not sure if this boom-yank issue is limited to my having a weird problem (because the boom came out as if it were cleanly cut and there was no hook or anything that seemed to be on the boom end to hold it in place) or if it's a design issue. Regardless, I plan to be a bit more delicate when I pull out the boom, but it's worth it. Great product. Great support and company.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great performance !, August 15, 2008

By 

C. Yang (SINGAPORE, Singapore) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joby Zivio Boom Bluetooth Headset (Black) (Wireless Phone Accessory)

I made a call to my own office line to record test messages while walking next to a 5 lane road on morning rush hour. The audio is sparkling clear with very little background noise. This beats all the headsets I've used including the DSP ones. The only ones that came close was the Sony Ericsson HBH-300 (non DSP), and Voyager 855 which are also boom headsets.

The mushroom eargels are very good for insulating background noise, though the scoop eargels tend to be more comfortable to wear for exended periods.

I had used the 2 versions of Jawbone but found that the incoming audio is too soft.

Overall I am very happy with the Zivio due to the boom, and will continue to use Zivio as my primary headset. By the way my Plantronics Voyager 855 was replaced by the Zivio now.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent headset, good customer service, November 25, 2008

By 

M. Gutman (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Joby Zivio Boom Bluetooth Headset (Black) (Wireless Phone Accessory)

The Zivio Boom headset has excellent sound quality on both sides of the conversation. I found it a bit difficult to get the right fit, though they give lots of ear-piece options. The ear loop connects with a magnet, so it is easily adjusted on the fly. I did have a problem with the magnet breaking, but customer service promptly replace the offending piece. For me, the boom mike has been helpful because, for medical reasons, I need to speak in a quiet voice. With this headset, I can still be heard OK.