Jabra BT800

Preliminary review

I picked up a Jabra BT800 the other day at CompUSA ($99 manager's special; $149 retail and street price is ~$119). My previous headset (a circa 2001 Jabra BT200) literally fell apart on me--which wasn't unexpected when you consider that I've been using the same one for five years. Incidentally, the BT200 was Jabra's first Bluetooth headset ever and has been a great performer for me.

When contemplating the purchase of a new headset, I had already decided to go with a new Jabra as I was very pleased with the performance (and longevity) of my previous unit. After reviewing the Jabra line, which now spans around 10 different Bluetooth headsets, I had narrowed my choice down to two options: the BT800, which is literally the state-of-the-art unit (more on that later), and the BT500, which is the latest incarnation of their original Bluetooth headset.

Being a gadget guy, I was immediately drawn to the BT800, which has a number of state-of-the-art features:

1. LCD display that shows incoming caller ID information and enables the headset to have a menu system (more on that later);

2. Digital signal processing (DSP) technology: allows the headset to automatically adapt to environmental noise levels (e.g. if you walk outside into a noisy environment, the unit automatically raises the volume level!). DSP also allows the unit to cancel wanted noises, which benefits both the wearer as well as the person on the other end of the call.

3. On-the-ear design: unlike the BT200/500 series, which rides on the back of the ear and involves inserting an "ear gel" into the ear canal, the BT800 is much easier to don as it rides on the top of the ear.

4. Vibrating alerts and ring tones: the BT800 can vibrate and/or generate its own ringtone when the phone rings. The former is nice when you have the unit in a pocket and the latter is nice when you have the unit on your ear--both particularly so if your phone isn't on you when it rings.

5. USB and AC charging: the unit can be charged either via a standard AC "wall wart" or via a supplied USB cable--which means you can charge the unit directly from a PC>

6. Upgradeability: since the unit has a USB cable for charging, Jabra also took advantage of this feature to allow a PC to upgrade the software running on the unit, which I have already taken advantage of.

7. Menu system: through a combination of buttons on the unit and a "jog" switch, plus the LCD display, the user can configure the unit completely using the menu system. This includes pairing the unit (which can also be achieved by pressing a recessed dedicated pairing button), changing the earpiece ring tones, and even reviewing a list of incoming phone numbers. The latter is particularly interesting, as the unit can actually instruct the phone to dial a number in the earpieces' call list--a really cool feature.


8. Battery life: the unit has 6 hours talk and 125 hours standby time, which is excellent.

Field Testing

As you might suspect, I had to take the unit "in the field" for some testing, and so far the results are impressive. I was using the BT800 yesterday on my way in to work, which involves walking from a parking lot to a commuter light rail train, when three buses drove by me (very loud diesels). I reflexively reached for the volume control when I noticed that the Jabra had automatically increased the volume for me--very cool--and I was able to continue the conversation without having to adjust the volume. I also noticed that the Jabra does a decent job of dealing with wind--a 15 mph wind did not bother it, although later in the day a 30 mph wind rendered it unusable (not a big surprise--no headset can deal with wind very well). The unit also deals very well with background noise--to an extent. In noisy environments, the unit's DSP circuitry definitely helps, but once it gets too noisy, not even high-tech wizardry can help.

In summary, so far I am very impressed with the BT800--it's a nice melding of high-tech with usability. We'll see how I like it after the "honeymoon" period is over, but if my past experience with Jabra units is any indicator, the BT800 will be a long-term tool!