Aliph's New Jawbone Headset: Smaller and More Stylish
Confession time: This is a quick headset review by a guy who's never liked headsets much. McCracken's First Law of Eyeglass Wearing correctly posits that it's impossible to comfortably hook more than one device behind your ear at one time. I'm a four eyes, so I've always struggled to enjoy 3D movies. And in recent years, I consistently have trouble hooking Bluetooth headsets on my ear and feeling comfortable with them on they're there. I'm much happier simply holding a phone up to my ear,
But as of July 1st, I'm going to be a headset user: My beloved adopted state of California will give me a ticket if it spots me holding my phone up while driving. And as of this moment, the leading candidate to be my headset of choice is Aliph's $130 Jawbone, which goes on sale at AT&T stores on Thursday.
I may be a headset skeptic, but I've admired Aliph's work for more than three years now, since we gave the clunky, corded first-generation Jawbone an award. (Everyone, including Aliph's CEO, seems to consider this new Jawbone to be the second-gen version...but that's only if you ignore the original corded version and start counting with the first Bluetooth model, which came out in 2006.) Aliph's proprietary noise-reduction technology has always let Jawbones block much of the ambient noise that makes it hard for the people you call on a cell phone to understand you, and the company's induatrial-design chops have always been impressive.
So what's new about the new Jawbone? One fact says it all: The old Bluetooth Jawbone was rather bulky, and this new one is surprisngly svelte. It's both shorter and narrower than its predecessor, taking up roughly half the space overall. Here's a quick and dirty comparison photo, with a quarter in the picture to give you a frame of reference:
The bulky old Jawbone, nice though it was, sort of felt like a barnacle hanging off your ear; the new one is small and light enough that you might forget it's there. In fact, you might forgo using an ear loop--which is why I left them out of the photo above--and simply tuck it into your ear sans a clip to hold it in place. That's certainly what I'll do when using it, and it'll be a real relief to avoid futzing with a loop.
That's what I've done with the Jawbone I've been trying over the past couple of days, and I've never felt like it was about to tumble off my earlobe. That alone makes it more appealing to me than most headsets.
Beyond the convenient size, the new Jawbone also ups the ante considerably on sheer industrial-design panache, as a $130 headset should. Its faceted surface gives it a jewel-like feel, and both the informational LEDs and control buttons are hidden beneath the surface. They're there, of course, but the LCD seems to shine right through the Jawbone's plastic skin, and the buttons perform their actions (such as turning the headset off and on) when you press the entire headset at the appropriate spot. The ear loop is wrapped in leather, like a sports car's steering wheel. (You also get additional, less lavish loops, plus ear buds in multiple sizes to customize the Jawbone's fit.)
Even the packaging exudes style--the Jawbone comes in a sizable box that holds it up like a museum artifact in a display case, and the documentation is on classy black paper that wouldn't be out of place in an art store. Basically, if Apple made headphones, they'd probably produce something very much like this. (It doesn't, but it does sell Jawbones in its stores; this new model, however, is an AT&T exclusive for the first two months.)
As much as I admire the new Jawbone's looks, I'm not in love with it in terms of sheer function. I had trouble remembering which button sequences to push for various functions, and the fact I couldn't see the buttons didn't help--sometimes I got confused and pressed the headset where it didn't have a button at all. (Presumably, I'll remember them better with extended use, but I would still prefer more tactile controls.) Also, the new AC charger (which can also be used in USB mode) is more portable than the earlier version, but I found that if I didn't press the Jawbone into the adapter's magnetic connector just right, the connection was wonky and the headset didn't charge.
One other issue for some folks: The new Jawbone claims four hours of talk time, versus "over six" for the old one, which had a larger battery. Standby time is about the same as before, at eight days.
Ultimately, of course, the single most important thing a headset must do is to make you and the people you talk to sound good to each other. I want to use the Jawbone in more environments before I give it a final verdict, but in my initial tests, everybody involved was pleased with audio quality. Aliph has renamed its Noise Shield technology with the flashier moniker Noise Assassin, and the name is not unwarranted. It blocks background distractions well enough that I should be able to use my phone at an airport gate without putting it on mute every time an airline agent starts shouting over a loudspeaker.
All in all, this new Jawbone is an impressive piece of work. I'm not sure if it'll turn me into a headset fan, but I'm going to give it a try. And as I use it in more settings and get used to the invisible buttons, I'll report back here if I have more thoughts...
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I've found the volume on the existing Jawbone to be a bit low, especially for the conditions it was designed for (noisy environments). Does this new model change that? Tom B.
I haven't done a comparison of audio level on the new one versus the old model, but the new seemed decently loud to me--especially when I cranked up the audio level to its highest setting.
--Harry
My only complaint with the original model was the lack of usability in direct wind (outside, or with A/C on high in the car). Could you test this on the new one and post the results? Thanks!
-Jeromey
My only complaint with the original model was the lack of usability in direct wind (outside, or with A/C on high in the car). Could you test this on the new one and post the results? Thanks!
-Jeromey
How well does this do as a microphone to use for voice to text with Naturally Speaking?
When the battery gets old can you change it, or do you just throw away the whole $130 worth?
My wife and I have been using the original Jawbone for a couple of years - since first available. She uses hers daily for sales and recharges it every evening. I use mine with my PS3, primarily. We couldn't be more please. I'll like the hookless version, but the bride finds the slightly larger size of the original to be an advantage all its own.
I work in a noisy data center and my coworkers were impressed by the noise reduction capabilities. My issues with the original was that the design of the rubber ear pieces did not make it easy for me to hear the other party while in these noisy environments nor were the ear hooks comfortable to wear over long periods of time. Have these issues been fixed this time around?