![Jabra Cruiser Bluetooth Car Kit, Speakerphone [Retail Packaging]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61ad-onOFJL._AC_UL165_SR165,165_.jpg)
Overall this product does exactly what it is suppose to do, give you a trouble free hands free experience for the car. I originally bought my wife one for her car for Christmas as she needed something easy to use and with as little buttons as possible. It was easy to setup. You just clip the metal clip to your visor and then attach the BlueAnt device to the clip via powerful magnets. Now I have read in other reviews that perhaps the magnets are not strong enough. I can tell you first hand, that unless you are hitting the side of the device with a lot of force, that the magnets are diffidently strong enough.
After a week of my wife using it and listening to the quality of her voice, I was so impressed that I bought one myself and for my tech novice parents. The speaker was so loud that it was ideal my parents who at times could be hard of hearing. I use to have a Moto Earbud for my phone, but since I typically don't use Bluetooth hands free outside my truck this was ideal for me. The more that I use it the more I love it.
Design:
The device allows you to create a connection to 5 different phones so you can share it among different users in your home. This is very convienent for those who have multiple phones and/or muplite individuals who might be using it.
When the device is on and connected it flashes a blue light about every 5 seconds. I don't find this too intrusive at all. Since my entire dash board is lit up like a Christmas tree I don't even notice the flashing blue light unless I look at it.
There is a total of 4 buttons on the device.
Green Button: Is used to pick up and place calls. If your phone supports voice dialing or dial by number you just push the green button once and you can place a call via your device without having to look at your phone. When your phone is attached to this device your phone will ring AND he Bluetooth device with ring. It doesn't ring a special ringtone that you may have downloaded but it does give off a nonintrusive tone.
Red Button: Used to hang up on a call
Volume + / - Buttons: Used to increase or decrease the volume of the speaker when in a call.
Voice Quality:
I wasn't expecting much in this category as I use a speaker phones at work and sometimes they just get annoying. However after using this device I was amazed as to how loud the speaker could be. I was driving the highways here (70MPH) in CA in my truck and it isn't the quietest cab around. From the humming of my tires and the typical highway traffic I had no problems speaking to or hearing the person on the other end of the call.
I have yet to use it with my windows down (it's still winter) so I will hold off on commenting there as I have not had the experience needed to warrant it. However, I do suspect that it would be difficult to hear/speak with the windows down at 70Mph but we will see.
Another thing that I would like to now is that because the device is in front of you (on your visor) you don't feel the need to YELL when on a call. I have seen some people talk louder when on a Bluetooth device attached to their ear. This device doesn't give you that feeling.
When I place calls on the device I sometimes ask the other party if they can hear me, and they typically say, "Why?" I then tell them that I am on my Bluetooth device and they are amazed that I it is hand free. When I listen to my wife or parents call me I am also impressed with the quality. I can hear they are on their hands free device but it is minimal at best.
Pros or Cons:
Since it is a speakerphone and not attached to an individual's ear it does pickup EVERYTHING that is going on in the auto. So if you have a rowdy bunch in the back and you are attempting to make a call, that might not work so much and the person on the other end will hear all the conversation in the car. When my wife calls with my 3 year old in the back seat I can actually have a conversation with him. I can hear him say, "Hi daddy" and "Bye daddy" just as if I was the one talking to him. I find this to be a feature but at the same time I can't tell my wife anything "secret" or the entire car will hear it.
Clip:
What I really enjoy about the BlueAnt device is that you can clip it to any side of the clip. This allows you to move your visor as you normally would (down during sunny spots, to the side by the window) and move our BlueAnt to one side or the other of your visor.
Magnetic:
I really enjoy this feature for a few reasons;
1. Gives you the flexibility to move it to any side of the clip
2. Allows you to remove it and take it with you inside during the night or take it off and hide it under your seat or in your middle console when in "unknown" areas of town
3. You don't have to constantly be removing the clip from your visor which could be damaging
Battery Life:
I have been using the device on and off for about a week and I have not had to charge it once. When I leave the car I turn off the device (push the mic bar in). When I get back in the car, I turn the device back on (push the mic bar again - which pops it out)
I really enjoy the thought of it coming with BOTH a cigarette lighter charger and an AC adapter for the home. This gives me the option that if I want to charge it on a long road trip I can or if I need to charge it over night I can.
Issues:
Since I have had it I had had only 1 issue arise. On occasion (twice in a 2 weeks span) when I place or receive a call with the device the other party can hear an echo in the phone. They can actually hear themselves talking to me. It is about a ½ second delay and it could be very annoying for the other party. On the phone end you can't hear a difference. At first it happened to me when I called my wife. I thought it might just be the device was defective, but when I received mine it happened on a call as well. This led me to believe that it may be a design issue where the speaker is feeding back into the microphone. To resolve the issue you have to hang-up the call, push the microphone bar in (turn off the device), wait for your phone to detect the disconnect and then turn the device back on. It takes about 10 seconds to resolve it in total time. Because the issue can quickly be resolved and it doesn't occur but rarely, I felt that it still deserved a 5 star rating (ideally it should be a 4 ½ but that isn't an option).
Recommend it to:
I would recommend this device for anyone who;
1. Needs it ONLY for their car or truck.
2. Doesn't need to worry about privacy in the car with others.
3. Needs a loud speaker.
4. Needs minimal visual interference (it's on the visor so it doesn't add anything more then what the visor already does.
5. Needs to be able to remove the device for security or convenience reasons.
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Reviews with images
unbelievable
Purchased sometime in 2005, or ‘06, used it regularly up until 2.5 years ago.. just found it in a bag, being kept with other old electronics, switched it on and it started searching for devices and successfully got connected to my new phone.. I have nothing more to add.
