Aliph Jawbone 2 Wireless Cell Phone Headset

Jawbone 2 - really that good?

Strengths: - small size - good standby battery life - charges in 50 mins

Weaknesses: - may not fit everyone well - noise reduction is not as good as advertised - talk battery life only 4 hours - auto shut-off feature when not in use for a period of time

Summary: From reviews that I was reading I was expecting the best bluetooth. It is a decent headset but not exactly what I expected.

I have had issues getting the perfect fit with ear piece combos but nothing really fits too comfortably. When I try to use a bigger earbud (since I can't hear well in the car especially when the volume is too low on the headset) to block out noise it makes my ear hurt.

I take many of my meetings in my car and I find myself have to use my back up headset while I recharge this one. My backup one last 8 hours talk time.

Noise-reducion does seem better with this than my plantronics 510 but considering all the other factors I am still in search for the perfect bluetooth headset

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Awesome Headset - A good thing got even better!

Strengths: Smaller than the original Jawbone, Noise cancellation works great, superior sound quality, better comfort than the original Jawbone.

Weaknesses: Not really a weakness, but you have to try different combinations of the ear loop and the ear bud size to match your preference to find the right fit.

Summary: I was hesitant to purchase this device based on some of the reviews I had seen. Well - let me tell you I am glad I bought this unit. It is very small and very professional looking. Once you figure out the correct combination of earpieces and the ear loop, and the device really fits you, it is comfortable and works very well.

I have two phones - one for work (provided by work) and an iPhone 3G for personal use. Pairing the Jawbone2 with both of these units was a breeze.

Once paired, using it was simple. The people I spoke to on the work phone (a blackberry) who previously complained about the call quality said the call quality on the headset was clearer - so this headset actually improved my calling experience on the blackberry.

As for the iPhone - the call quality on that phone was already great, and the Jawbone2 was equal to the iPhone's call quality. The noise cancellation worked great on both phones and made it possible for me to participate in conference calls while on the road (which I previously could not do since the background cell phone noise would distract from the meeting).

Overall the phone is very well made (once you get used to the idea of how small it is) and lightweight. I would buy this product again even with the higher price point compared to other headsets....in this case you really do get what you pay for.

Oh - one final note - I saw one reviewer complain about the low volume levels - that is not an issue - there are two ways to control volume. One on the unit itself, and through the phone's volume control as well. I have to think the other reviewer's unit was not working correctly or they did not know how to adjust the headset's volume...

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Noise Cancellation works! But volume way too low, so overall, it's unuseable..

Strengths: Noise Cancellation

Weaknesses: Incoming volume way too soft. Excellent noise cancellation + Super soft incoming volume = Unless Headset

Summary: I previously had the original Jawbone and was very impressed with its performance. But the ear hook was not comfortable.

So i bought this jawbone 2. I tested the noise cancellation feature, and it works wonderfully, even better than the original jawbone. It even works quite well with wind. The other end can hear me without much background noise.

When driving on highway with windows opened, the other end cannot hear any background noise.

So there technology works!

Now to the real BIG ISSUE: Incoming volume. Despite noise cancellation works like a charm, the incoming volume is way to soft. I turned it to max, (both on the phone and on the jawbone 2), if I am driving (with windows closed), just the road noise is already louder than the incoming volume.

Even if I press the jawbone firmly towards my ear, (it helped a bit) but I still was only able to hear 60% or 70% of what the other person is saying.

In a normal restaurant setting during lunch hour, the volume (at max setting) is just loud enough IF I continuously press the headset towards my ear as hard as possible.

Battery life is OK. But I need not go into that aspect since the incoming volume is so soft that the thing is basically unusable in any non-quiet setting.

No matter how good the outgoing noise cancellation is , if the incoming volume is too soft, the headset is still unusable in noisy environment.

I know that Aliph purposely limits the max incoming volume to avoid law suit on hearing impairment. But they made the incoming volume to an unacceptably low level.

I checked with Aliph support page, they clearly said there is no way to further increase the incoming volume.

Having said all these, it is a stylish cool headset and I could use it in a quiet area. But wait, only quiet area? Then what's the point to pay 100+ dollars for this so called noise cancellation headset?

Skip this model. Get the original Jawbone if you want a usable headset with good noise cancellation feature.

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Tried 2 different Jawbone II's and still didn't like it

Strengths: Call quality is good

Weaknesses: Comfort

Summary: I used this for less than 2 weeks and it would not stay in my ear. I have small ears and even with the small earbud and adjusting the earloop it was very uncomfortable. In fact, the headset would not stay on my ear and fell to the ground one time when I was walking.

The plastic side of the headset started acting weird when I clicked it (the side that you see with all the grooves). It wasn't connected to the rest of the headset completely/the very back was loose. I got a replacement headset and I still couldn't get it to fit right, so I returned it before my return policy ended.

Overall, I was expecting a lot more especially when you pay top dollar for the best advertised bluetooth currently available. I would defintely be cautious on where you buy it and make sure it has a good return policy.

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Great, but not perfect

Strengths: Small, Noise Assassin works well

Weaknesses: Expensive, Could be sturdier (quality

Summary: I have had the Jawbone II for 2 months now and I can say that it works really well. People cannot tell I am using a bluetooth headset while I am talking to them. They say it's as clear as a landline.

However, if you saw the videos on the Jawbone/Aliph website where the girl is walking down a construction site or while she is riding in a a race car off-road derby. I really don't think the Noise-Assassin works that well. The Noise Assassin kicks in and works while you are speaking, it picks up the vibration from your cheek/jaw. So if you're not talking the Noise Assissin is not working or not kicking in as much. I tested this with the windows down and the radio on but not too loud while I was on a call in the car. The other end said they could hear me ok, but they could also tell that I was driving.

I also verified this by calling my homephone while I was driving with the windows down and radio on and I left a message on my voice mail to check out how the quality would be. It works good, but it's not the miracle bluetooth headset that elimates all background sound.

With all that said, you pay for what you get and this is probably one of the best headsets money will by as of right now (August 2008).

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Jawbone 2 Review

Strengths: Very effective. Best bluetooth ever tried yet.

Weaknesses: Medium confort on ear which gets sore sometimes.

Summary: Easy to use and pair with Treo 755P. works excellent for audio qualtity. Tested by turning on car radio high and talking to a person - they could barely hear the radio in the background and only when I pointed out it was on did they notice.

When battery gets low, people have difficulty hearing you. I talk all extended periods as a computer tech so this is a expected issue.

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jawbone II works great

Strengths: callers heard me loud and clear. I heard them loud and clear with my windows down.

Weaknesses: hurts after a couple of hours.

Summary: This jawbone II actually stayed on my head. I had to return the first version jawbone cause it wouldn't stay on.

This one is also smaller and even more comfortable.

I heard everything loud and clear and everyone heard me perfectly even with windows down and all that.

The only problem I had with this jawbone II is that after like 4-5 hours it started to hurt my ear a bit. No problem switched it to the other ear and I was good. But it's like the very moment you take it off you get this annoying quick little pain that lets you know you had it there all day.

All in all, I can't tell weather I like my plantronics discovery 925 better than the jawbone II or not. I have to test the 925 tomorrow and make a decision, and then return one of them.

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Coolness factor and noise cancellation not sufficient reasons to buy

Strengths: Noise cancellation, light-weight

Weaknesses: Talk button, very poor range, usability

Summary: Pros:

- Looks cool (nice packaging if that's worth anything to

readers)

- Lightweight

- Noise-cancellation seems to work pretty well

- No issues with battery life so far

- Good build quality (pretty much true for most headsets

these days)

- Pairs quickly

Cons:

- Doesn't fit well in small ear canals (the smallest size

earpiece is still too large)

- No small over-the-ear sling included - loose for smaller ears

- Can't adjust the headset to fit in the ear while talking -

chances are that you'll press the talk button and disconnect

the call

- The button on top already stopped working - so, no volume

control for me most of the time

- Turns off when you connect to the charger - irritating to turn

it on each time

- Speaker not very clear - increasing volume distorts

- Extremely poor range - quality drops if I have the headset

on one side and just move the phone to the other side of

my body (it can't even deal with my body coming in the

signal path)

- Looks like the way the part of the noise cancellation works

is by running in simplex (either talk is active or listen is

active). This makes it pretty much unusable to a great

degree - you have to know when to start and stop talking.

Other comments: I've taken off the rubber earpiece cover

to make it fit in my ear canal. This is about the only way

to make it fit snugly. Needless to say, it hurts when worn

for long periods of time. Because of this, it fits in my ear

snugly enough - so, I don't have the problem of the jawbone

sensor not touching my cheek.

I've cycled through 3 or 4 other headsets. As a comparison to

the Plantronics Voyager 510, the noise-cancellation and

sleekness would be the reasons to prefer the Jawbone. These

are not good enough reasons (excluding the price difference)

in my opinion to prefer the Jawbone. It's annoying that

among the multitude of headsets, no single headset is good

enough to be truly a no-brainer choice - when it comes

to headsets, we seem to be back in the Stone Age :-(

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Great

Strengths: Charging time. Easy to install

Weaknesses: None found

Summary: It worked great with my Palm 680. The sound is very good, but I didn't had the chance to test the noise canceling feature. The design and fitting are also high points of the jawbone 2.

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Jawbone 2

Strengths: Great sound quality

Weaknesses: ear loops keep bending or breaking - I have gone through one a week

Summary: Overall the products is great - it meets my expectations with one exception - the ear loops do not store well. No matter where I store it they seem to bend beyond use or break.

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What is all the hype about?

Strengths: none

Weaknesses: LOUSY LOUSY audio, easily broken stem, odd and uncomfortable comfiguration.

Summary: I have no idea how or why this headset gets such good ratings. I own the predecessor and I recently tried for a day this new model. IT SUCKS!!!-the worst tinniest incoming audio I've ever heard and it is REALLY REALL QUIET too, so forget conversing in any loud ambient situation. And unless you plan on wearing it as a necklace (which I have seen people do) count on breaking the stem often.

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