When this writer sees a Bluetooth headset, it reminds me of Lara Croft. She’s the girl who is born into wealth, groomed by the elite, and trained for combat. In her movies, I always notice that she wears a Bluetooth headset, making communications with her boys on the ground, in touch always.
Jabra has already shown itself with a number of Bluetooth products and the release of their new baby, the Jabra BT800 Bluetooth Headset, is drawing a lot of attention.
First impressions
The headset's design is somewhat like unconventional, a light behind the ear part and a massive active unit, which is wide, but short enough. For starters, it seems not capable of holding firmly the headset on an ear. One can be quite mistaken. The headset can also be easily worn on both right or left ear. The headset's black part is made of soft rubber and fits ear quite well.
There is a loudspeaker opposite the auricle, it adjoins the ear, but not put in entirely, owing to a soft fastening. The headset can slightly move, when running you will feel it moving gently. However, even a jerky turn of head will not make the headset fly off the ear. Users with eyeglasses will like this headset, as the slim behind the ear part gets on with glasses ear arm. Well, in a manner.
There are two keys on the side surface, one serves as OK, and lifts up the receiver as well, while the other cancels a call or an action. There is a hole for coupling mode activation. A special stylus is provided with the headset, it is used for activation of this mode. Pairing, to be exact.
Star Trek-like features
While all Bluetooth headsets offer just the “basic hands-free operation”, the BT800 takes it a step further. Through a small rectangular 21 x 64 pixel LCD screen, BT800 users can view caller ID information and browse through a Recent Calls list using only the headset. So, as long as a you are within Bluetooth range of your cell phone (30 feet), you hardly have to look at your mobile for basic calling features. The BT800 can be used for voice dialing from your phone book, and it activates a vibrate mode and select from five polyphonic ring tones.
The 1-inch-diagonal monochrome display sports a pleasant blue backlighting that makes it visible in most situations. In addition to caller ID information and the Recent Calls and Settings menus, the LCD shows the headset's battery level. Controls on the Jabra BT800 are simple and easy to master. The power button doubles as the control for ending calls, while a button for placing calls and putting callers on hold sits just next to it. These keys also serve as soft keys for the menu, as they rest just below the LCD. A single button (which doubles as a blue LED light) on the device's exterior activates the menu and mutes calls, and we loved the handy scrollwheel that is used for volume control and menu navigation.
The BT800 was tested on the Nokia 3650. Once getting the hang of it, the pairing took only several seconds. Audio quality during calls was impressive, with plenty of volume and clear conversations. No problem hearing the caller on the other line, and they said we sounded great as well. Thanks to its Digital Signal Processing Chip (DSPC) technology.
The polyphonic ring tones were especially enjoyable, but this writer has to admit that while the vibra mode is cool, the buzzing on the head took a little time getting used to. The BT800’s caller ID worked without a hitch, and was able to place calls easily from the Recent Calls list. Be advised, though, that the headset lose a Recent Calls list once the pairing with a phone is terminated.
The Jabra BT800 Bluetooth Headset has 5 hours of talk time and 3-4 days of standby time. The package includes a travel charger, and a USB cable for charging from your favorite PC.
With the BT800, Jabra has taken Bluetooth headsets to a whole new level of functionality.
