BLUETOOTH SOLUTIONS: ON-THE-EAR

BLUETOOTH SOLUTIONS: ON-THE-EAR By ROY NAKANO

ON-THE-EAR HEADSETS Unlike the T505 from the preceding page, the following Bluetooth systems are all on-the-ear combination microphone and earphone headsets that fit over one ear and can conveniently go with you whether you're in your car or not. Most users opt for this style of Bluetooth cell phone operation. Users are easily spotted because they look like they're talking to themselves. Homeless people who talk to themselves can thank Bluetooth on-the-ear users for now making this practice socially acceptable. ALIPH JAWBONE 2 The original Jawbone caused quite a sensation on Internet circles for its stylish design and its incorporation of facial vibration sensors to enhance the quality of audio signals going out to callers on the other end of the phone line. A few complained about the lack of adjustability of the original Jawbone, its size, and there were reports that the unit was fragile. Aliph now has a second-generation Jawbone, and it seems to have addressed the concerns of the earlier unit. The unit is now even more stylish, being 50 percent smaller than the original and curving inward to match the contours of one's face. When worn, the Jawbone 2 looks like some high tech gadget out of Tony "The Iron Man" Stark's laboratory. Very cool. The Jawbone 2 also comes packaged with a number of ear-fitting options, allowing the unit to be tailored for different shapes and sizes of users. First-time users of the Jawbone 2 will have to get used to the fact that there are no visible controls on the unit. They are all hidden, presumably for aesthetic reasons. The operating brochure explains it all, and after a few times, users will figure out how to operate the Jawbone 2. Jawbone has a reputation for superior audio quality. The new Jawbone features what Aliph calls military-grade NoiseAssassin technology, which is designed to address real-world noise environments like busy streets, cars and airports - blocking out considerable noise energy. Jawbone's NoiseAssassin technology literally feels your speech with its Voice Activity Sensor (VAS). The Jawbone headset uses the VAS to distinguish the sound of your voice from ambient noise with incredible accuracy and then uses proprietary Digital Signal Processing (DSP) algorithms to subtract the noise so only the sound of your voice comes through. The NoiseAssassin technology was originally developed for Aliph for DARPA (The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). While outgoing calls substantiate the Jawbone reputation, I found the quality of incoming calls to be good but not exceptional. On occasion, the unit dislodged from by ear, but the ear hook kept it from falling off. This seems to be the norm among on-the-ear units. In day-to-day use, the Jawbone 2 was unobtrusive, easy to use, and stayed on the ear longer than most of its competition. Ergonomics 9/10 Audio Quality 8/10 Aesthetics 10/10 JAWBONE 2 SPECIFICATIONS Price: $169.99 Street price: $155 Weight: 10 grams Talk Time: Over 4 hours Standby Time: Over 8 days Range: Up to 33 feet (10 meters) Charge: 80% charge in 35 minutes, 100% charge in < 1 hour Colors: Black / Silver / Rose Gold Supports Bluetooth® 1.1, 1.2, and 2.0 Dual microphone array to reduce wind noise Magnetic USB cable & wall charger included Three (3) earbuds - small, medium, and large Two (2) fine leather earloops - medium and large Two (2) slim earloops ideal for use with eyewear - medium and large Fits either ear For more information: http://www.jawbone.com/  Next: Motorola MOTOPURE H12 Back to Page One