Customer Reviews

Joby Zivio Boom Bluetooth Headset (Black)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I needed a bluetooth headset for work because on military installations you can not talk with your phone unless you use wireless device. I heard from every bluetooth headset reviewer at the time every one of them wasn't that great. It seemed every headset a major fault or annoying going on. My first try was SCALA 700lx. Miserable as half the reviewers and I had bad sets. I got two from amazon and they didn't work out of box. First time in 5 years shopping Amazon I had to return an item. The main reason I went with that brand was because the battery life was 10 hours. That is enough for a full day and charge at night. So I couldn't find what I was looking for on Amazon searches by search filter of battery life for headsets. So I went to google and led to Bluetruth.com and on their site you could filter search by battery life. There Four contenders, Motorola H680, BH-900, Sun Bluetooth, and the Boom. I couldn't believe I never saw these headsets. So I researched all four and saw the Boom had best reviews on factors people wanted in bluetooth set: fit, clarity, functionality, stylish, and battery life. Not in one category this headset fails or is mediocre.

Fit: Comes with 3 regular ear and 3 mushroom pieces. Also I read you can Jabra ear gels recommended for Jawbone II, and it improves clarity and fit. Also the ear piece is ingenuity, magnetic and twisty. The ear piece also twists and angles in any direction to make a better fit also. THe ear piece can adjusted at various angles, lengths, height. What I do is place is down on the head set a little ways, then when I slip the head set in, push down on the ear piece to grip my ear more to make a snug fit. Its light, comfortable, stable, and many choices for ear pieces and ear hook if you want.

Clarity: So far I have experimented with boom in and out. In a bedroom, both worked great, walked 10 feet away and up and around my room. It was clear on the other end. In the car with window partially down in I-5. The other end said is was pretty much clear, with boom in it sounded little tinney and some echo, but the boom out made if very clear. In all situations, I had calls over an hour non-stop. No dropped calls, blips. In fact you will have to turn down the volume not to hurt your hearing.

Functionality: The button set up is pretty well laid out. The volume is easy to adjust, mute by pressing both at the same time. Checking batter is awesome, look in the mirror and tap power button to see color and check your phones status(battery, signal strengh, and coverage. Dialing is not bad, you chopped number talked back to you, but it works. Also voicing the name of person to call or set up messaging. The parts that come with are great. You get 3 regular 3 mushroom ear pieces, ear hook, plus spare ear pieces and spare ear hook. IMPORTANT: The device uses usb to charge, but the plug that goes into the device is its own type(shame going standard would of been a big plus). Not mini usb or micro usb. But it comes with AC usb-adapeter(Big plus) charger so you can charge two devices at once in the wall. It comes with short usb for PC use and Long usb cord for the ac adapter.

Stylish: Well, I kind of went ga ga over it because someone mentioned it looks James Bondish(I totally ate that up, and it does. If they would said it would make you into Inspector Gadget, maybe of not of sold so well. But it is Stylish, and looks good on the Jovio model on the website as she can fill fit in her whole look. Maybe if they crossed Victoria Secret ad with this one, would be perfect? Sorry, random thought. Perfect marketing. The boom is versatile, but spiffy looking. When I showed my coworker, he was stunned for 15 seconds. Little boom mic was embedded, hidden and then pulls out. Be careful pulling in out and in, a reviewer did pull theirs out. Its not flimsy, its small and doesn't need 20 pounds of force to expand it.

Battery: Well, it was twice the battery life of my V9m(Alltel which is the best). On multiple conversations, over period 4 hours of multiple talk times in one day, the battery did diminish around half way, little more little less taken account for time and error. On my current battery test, had multiple conversations for few hours and counting. The only thing I do not know is the charge time when the ear set is completely dead. That will be an update if I remember.

Summary: There isn't a perfect product as I would love to have 3 month talk time batter on one charge. In some conversations, you may get a blip, but I haven't lost a call yet. Some people can be too critical of a product, but if you look at the all the headsets and standard, this one sets the bar on all levels. With Jawbone II, I almost got it, but ear piece doesn't work(making noise cancellation not work properly) and battery life is less 4 hours, same with Plantronics 925, other popular head sets. I can't be charging my piece in middle of the work day
waiting one to three hours. Function is easy, and it gives you ultimate freedom in ear plugs, adjusting and fit. As of today, I don't see any head set match it in every category. Some come close, but lack in one area or outperformed by the Boom. I bought mine at cellguru.com for 45 dollars cheaper, but at higher risk. I prefer amazon, even if price is 20 dollars more because of refund and exchange service they provide is no extra charge to you and fast and easy. With other places, you pay shipping all over again, restocking fee, most places will not give you full refund or exchange. I received my packaged damaged through USPS and so far it hasn't damaged my set. If the head set 100 or even 110 dollars on amazon, I would of bought it. but if you need a head set for work, business, functionality, but this set on amazon, you will get best guarantee and fastest cheapest shipping all in one with amazon. Cellguru.com took four days after I paid to ship it, then waited two days delivery. IF you need a bluetooth that is battle tested and works, get this one through amazon. It will be worth it in time, functionality, and James Bondish

I started using a bluetooth headset with the Motorola HS850 Bluetooth Headset [Bulk Packaged]. This was only sufficient in quiet settings, but was a gift, so I wasn't complaining. I finally upgraded to the Plantronics Voyager 510 Bluetooth Headset with Multipoint Technology due to positive reviews and a decent price. While the voyager was an upgrade, wind and movement were still problems. I would still only use it while in relatively quiet places.

The Zivio has blown both of these away. I sent a message to myself while walking over a loud busy highway in the wind and it was very clear and understandable. I've never had anyone complain about background noise - even while walking outdoors, in the wind or on busy streets. The choices of earbuds allow you to fit it perfectly for yourself and the magnetic ear loop keeps it completely secure - I've even forgotten it's on. It's small and sturdy (with the boom in) and I've thrown it in my purse or pockets without worrying about it. The only drawbacks I found are the flimsiness of the boom when it is extended (although it hasn't broken, so perhaps this isn't really an issue) and the time it takes to turn on and off (just a couple of seconds, but my favorite for this was the motorola headset.)

While the price is a little higher, the ability to use this anywhere - even in noisy outdoor areas - is definitely worth it. Oh, and it looks cool too.

I really wanted this Zivio to work.The volume is good and people can hear me fine,but the magnetic ear loop just doen't work for me.You can't put it in your pocket.I did and the metal loop broke through the rubber back of the magnet.And the loop moves when you have it on your ear.It would be better to have a loop permanantly fixed to the headset.The body is metal and small and I love the earpiece and retractable mike.But the detachable magnetic earloop has to go.I went back to my jawbone.Thanks Jason

This is a good concept but the execution leaves it wanting. The boom mike is a perfect idea and needs to become the norm. Unfortunately, the sound quality really wasn't any better than the previous bluetooth headset it replaced. There are six ear pieces -- three silicon "formed" and three black "rubber" buttons. The buttons are difficult to mount and quickly became just eye candy in the fancy box. The silicone formed pieces are probably perfect for the three ears they were molded for.

A bigger problem is the ear "hook" that magnetically attaches to the boom. Finding the right configuration is, of course, just part of the learning curve. But the placement of the magnetic attachment pushes the boom away from the head making it both unstable and less effective. A better configuration would be to have the magnetic attachment on the outside of the boom, but that would ruin the design esthetics.

Finally, while the basic unit is very small and compact, adding the ear-insert and the ear-hook makes for an awkward "package" that neither transports conveniently nor easily mounts. The first time I pulled it out of my pocket the hook fell somewhere on the subway platform (or track). Without the hook the unit is really unusable (in-spite of the pretty pictures to the contrary).

This unit will go into the "lessons learned" category -- and the trash.

I like my Zivio, but can't get full use of it.

It took some fiddling and effort but I found a great fit and never have to use the ear hook. Lightly pressing it to my cheek creates friction that holds it just fine.

However, it has a very irritating redial feature that lets you redial the last person you called whenever you put it in your pocket. note: I use it with the iphone. I called a buddy of mine the other day three times will driving to work (at 6:00 a.m.). He doesn't appreciate the feature either.

I called my sister in-law while it was setting on my desk. I inadvertently put a small stack of paper on it which initiated the redial.

There isn't a way to turn this feature off, so I generally leave it in the car when I move around. I guess leaving the entire thing turned off might also do the trick.

I find this very inconvenient.

I wear eyeglasses, and my ears sit pretty tight to my head, so there's no room for an over-the-ear headset (without pain). So, I of course looked at the in-the-ear models. In general, the in-the-ear varieties are the smallest, lightest headsets. That's not always a good thing...the farther away from your mouth the mic is, the worse the sound is for the person to whom your speaking. Since I do use this headset when working from home, the transmission quality is paramount.

I have used this headset daily for 2+ months on hundreds of calls, and I have never had anyone ask "are you on a headset/speakerphone?" The reception is great as well.

I had read the previous reviews that indicated that the Jabra EarGels would fit on this product...years ago, before bluetooth, I owned a Jabra EarBoom that used these EarGels and loved the fit.

I really wanted to be able to use one of the earbuds that came with the Zivio, so I tried them first; while I was able to find one that fit, the headset is a bit heavier that other in-the-ear headsets, and had a tendency to rotate downward. Of course that could be solved with the earhook preventing the rotation. This is the only reason that I have given this less than a perfect score.

I tried it with a Jabra EarGel; OMG...no more rotation...perfect sound on both ends, comfortable and secure as well...Nirvana!

Now the Jabra EarGel is not a perfect fit for the Zivio; but I went to the hardware store and found an O-ring that just fit on the Zivio and has made the EarGel very secure.

I realize that human ears are, well, human ears, and this solution might not work for everyone...but with just a little tweaking this is an awesome headset.

While the earpiece was a tad annoying at first, as it grabs my beard, I find that it allows for more adjustment and positioning than any earpiece I've seen.

The website is very freindly and helpful.

Everyone can hear me, and I can hear better than before, even in a noisy truck.

I'm a little fearful of the delicacy of the microphone; but it hasn't broken yet!