As I’m sure you’re aware, Apple have just announced the iPhone 4 and along with it iOS 4.0 – the latest major update to the operating system on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. There are a number of great new features, but one of the features that I was really hoping to see was full support for Stereo Bluetooth Headsets and music control using AVRCP.

In simple terms, this means that you would have been able to listen to your music from your iPhone through a pair of Bluetooth Headphones and control your music playback, (play, pause, forward, rewind and volume) using the controls on the headset, but Apple for some reason have yet again decided to leave this feature out of iOS4 so you’ll need to continue to skip tracks using the iPod app on your iPhone.

There is a work around of course and that is to jailbreak your phone, but that’s not something that a lot of people want to do and I can’t say as I blame them.

Although iOS4 doesn’t fully support Stereo Bluetooth, it does still support the basics, so you can enjoy your music in stereo and play/pause your music, you just can’t skip backwards/forwards. There are plenty of Stereo Bluetooth Headsets that will work with the iPhone and last June I compiled a list of my favourite Bluetooth Headphones, but as headsets have changed and the phone now supports more features, I thought it was well worth revisiting the list and updating it with some of the best new Bluetooth Headphones for iPhone.

Background Apps

Another new feature in iOS 4 is that you can now leave audio apps running in the background. This is great news for anyone who regularly uses streaming services such as spotify or Last.fm as it means you can now continue listening even if you’re browsing the web or emailing.

We’re using the latest version of the iOS4 beta software to test these headsets, but until developers update their apps to support multitasking, we aren’t going to be able to confirm that the headsets listed below will work with apps running in the background, but look out for a separate post once iOS 4 is officially released on the 21st June.

iPhone 4 Bluetooth Headphones

Right, on to the headsets!  With so many to choose from, it can get a bit overwhelming, so I’ve been through our current range of Bluetooth Headphones and compiled a list of my top 5 Bluetooth Headphones for the all new iPhone 4.

The headsets below were all tested with iPhone but should work just as well with the iPod touch.  If you have an iPod touch 2G (or newer), then you will be able to play / pause your music and, in some cases, adjust the volume but you won’t be able to use these headsets with any of your VOIP apps (such as Skype) on your iPod. Bluetooth won’t work on the first generation iPod touch as it doesn’t have bluetooth built in.

1. Sony Ericsson MW600 Stereo Bluetooth Headset

These are the most popular Bluetooth Headphones we’ve ever sold! Not only do they allow you to listen to music from your iPhone without a wired connection, they have a built in FM radio – something the iPhone has long been criticised for not having.

Another unique feature is that they have their own volume control – this means that you can adjust the volume on the headset or on the phone. As with most headphones on this list, they have the ability to skip tracks, but as the iPhone doesn’t support it, the feature is a little wasted for now. It’s multipoint too, so you can use it with your PC or Playstation 3 at the same time.For more details, take a look at my Sony Ericsson MW600 Review.

Sony Ericsson MW600 Stereo Headset with Radio

2. Jabra BT3030 Stereo Bluetooth Headset

The Jabra BT3030 works well with both the iPod touch and all versions of the iPhone.  The BT3030 is another multipoint headset – Multipoint allows you to connect to two devices at once, so you can connect it to your mobile phone and your iPod touch to listen to your music, and when a call comes in, it will pause the music and answer the call from your mobile.

The BT3030 hangs around your neck on a chain or can clip to your belt or pocket, and can be used with any 3.5mm headphones. Volume control on the BT3030 is not a problem, press the ‘+’ or ‘-’ keys to adjust the volume. It has several controls on the main unit, including play, pause and track skip – again, all work fine except track skip.

Jabra BT3030 Stereo Bluetooth Headset

3. Jabra Halo Bluetooth Headphones

The Jabra Halo Stereo Bluetooth Headphones are great. They’re the most normal looking ‘over the head’ headphones that I’ve come across and work well with the iPhone. It has incredibly simple controls – a touch sensitive slider on the right ear lets you adjust the volume by sliding your finger up or down, where as a double tap would skip the track if iPhone supoprted it. One multi use button lets you play/pause your music as well as answer/end calls and activate voice dialling (iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 only).

When they’re not in use, the headphones fold away so as not to take up too much space and to reduce the chance of them getting damaged. For more info take a look at my Jabra Halo hands on review.

Jabra Halo Bluetooth Headphones

4. Sony Ericsson IS-800 Stereo Bluetooth Headset

These are without doubt my favourite Bluetooth Headphones, but there are others that work better with iPhone and that’s why these have dropped from the top spot last year to fourth place this year. The IS-800 is incredibly small – it’s basically two earpieces joined by a wire! Although there are wires involved, the IS-800 is one of a few headsets that don’t feature a fairly bulky control unit. Instead the IS800 has a small, simple in-line control that allows you to answer and end calls.

Battery life is impressive at upto 270 hours – especially considering how small this headset is. The IS-800 doesn’t support AVCRP, which is fine as neither does the iPhone! The headset doesn’t have any volume controls, so all adjustment needs to be made on your iPhone.

Sony Ericsson IS-800 Stereo Headset

5. Samsung SBH-650 Stereo Bluetooth Headset

Samsung don’t do many accessories for phones, but the few that they do make are really good. The Samsung SBH-650 has been a hit with Mobile Fun customers since it launched. It is easy to set up and works really well with iPhone. It’s very similar in terms of spec to the Jabra BT3030 but it looks a smarter. Like the MW600 and the BT3030, you can use your own 3.5mm headphones if you don’t like or lose the ones that come with the headset. It’s also multipoint, so using it with 2 devices at the same time isn’t a problem.

Controls are propably laid out the opposite way round to what you’d expect, with the volume controls on the front and track skip/play/pause on the sides. If you want to know more about the SBH-650, take a look at my Samsung SBH-650 Stereo Bluetooth Headset Review.

Samsung SBB-650

There are more Stereo Bluetooth Headsets for the iPhone and iPod touch over on the main site, so if you’ve not seen one here that does what you want, take a look at all our Stereo Bluetooth Headsets.

If you’ve got any questions or queries about Stereo Bluetooth on the iPhone leave us a comment and we’ll get back to you.

HTC Hero Gifts under £20

HTC Hero Smart Pocket by Capdase – £13.95

The HTC Hero is a smart looking phone, but it’s unique chin can make finding a case to fit it quite difficult. This Smart Pocket by Capdase is carefully crafted to accommodate the chin and features an ‘easy out’ pull strap that makes removing the phone really easy. It’s a perfect Christmas gift for any Hero owner at a price that won’t break the bank.

Capdase Smart Pocket for HTC Hero

Intempo Bluetooth Speakers for HTC Hero – £19.99

If you’re fed up of  someone ruining songs by playing them through the built in loudspeaker on the Hero then this could be the perfect gift. The Intempo Bluetooth Speakers fill the room with music. This is a compact, powerful speaker unit that can connect to the Hero using Bluetooth and play music loudly and clearly without the need to mess around with wires. Just launch the music app on your phone, press play and your music will play through the speakers.

Intempo Bluetooth Speaker System

Noreve Flip Case for HTC Hero – £29.95

Spoil someone this Christmas with a luxury case for their Hero. Noreve Leather Flip Cases are a stylish way to protect the Hero from knocks and scrapes. They are moulded specifically to the Hero and wrap around it to leave it accessible and protected.

Noreve Tradition A Leather Case for HTC Hero

HTC Hero Gifts under £30

HTC Hero Desk Stand CR-G300 – £29.95

Everyone loves showing off their phone and there’s no better way to do it than with a Desk stand. This CR-G300 Stand will not only look good on your loved one’s desk, but will let them charge their Hero, Sync it with their computer and hook it up to their stereo (when used with the HTC AC-A130 EXT USB to RCA Audio Cable).

HTC CR G300 Sync & Charge Cradle For HTC Hero

HTC Hero Starter Pack – £24.95

If you know someone who’s getting a Hero for Christmas, here’s a perfect gift to go with their new phone. The first few days after getting a new phone the battery will run down quickly as it’s new owner uses it heavily to get used to it, the Hero Starter pack includes a genuine HTC car charger that will help prevent them running out of power. Also included is a Leather carry case to help keep the phone looking like new.

hero-starter-pack

HTC Hero Gifts under £50

Genuine HTC Hero Premium Pack – £34.95

Can’t decide on which accessory to get them? Why not get them all? HTC have combined their most popular accessories for the Hero and created the Premium Pack. The Premium Pack includes a high quality Carry Case, genuine HTC Car Charger and the CR-G300 Desk stand and saves you around £20 compared to buying them individually!

Genuine HTC Hero Premium Pack

HTC BH M300 Bluetooth Headset – £39.95

The HTC BH-M300 Bluetooth Headset is a great gift for anyone who spends a lot of time chatting on their phone or needs to use their phone in the car. The M300 has been designed to work perfectly with the latest generation of HTC phones and is styled to match the Graphite coloured Hero.

HTC BH M300 Bluetooth Headset

SanDisk 16GB Memory Card

Even though the Hero is a great phone, it’s still rather limited in how much information it can hold. Christmas and New Years is always a time for taking lots of photo’s so make sure your loved one doesn’t miss out by getting them a large capacity memory card for their HTC Hero. The SanDisk 16GB Memory Card can hold up to 14000 high quality photos, 3000 songs and 18 hours of video. Memory Cards are currently available in 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB sizes

SanDisk MicroSDHC Card - 16GB

HTC Hero Gifts under £75

Jabra Cruiser – £69.99

Know someone who spends a lot of time in the car? The Jabra Cruiser is the perfect way to let them set their music free in the car. It pairs to the HTC Hero using Bluetooth and can then stream their music to their Car Stereo using it’s built in FM transmitter. The best bit is that the Jabra Cruiser has music controls built in, so music can be played, paused and skipped without having to touch the Hero. It’s also a noise cancelling handsfree kit that allows phone call audio to be played through the car stereo for improved audio quality.

Jabra Cruiser Bluetooth FM Car Kit

Jabra Halo Bluetooth Headphones – £69.99

The Hero is a great multimedia device, so music will be pretty important to most Hero users. The headphones that come with it aren’t bad, but they’re on a wire. The Hero supports A2DP, which means that Bluetooth Headphones will work with the phone. The Jabra Halo Headphones are the best bluetooth headphones you can get and as well as allowing the wearer to listen to their music without wires, they can play/pause their music, skip tracks and adjust the volume. They’ve also got a microphone built in and can be used as a headset to answer phone calls.

jabra-halo-htc-hero

Hopefully you’ve seen something here that will make the perfect gift this Christmas, if not, take a look at our full range of HTC Hero Accessories.

All prices are correct as of 15/12/09. Pricing and availability are subject to change. For the latest pricing and delivery information, please see the individual product pages.

Jabra Halo Stereo Bluetooth Headset

We’ve been through all of the entries we received and can now reveal that the lucky winner of the Jabra Halo Bluetooth Headset is Mark Plested who wrote the following review on the Seidio Innocase II for the iPhone 3G & 3GS:

“For all the people who have bought cases for their iPhones and think that the case does not do the phone justice, well here is a case for you. At last a case that not only protects your phone but aslo makes the phone look even better, the way you can see the Apple logo , not hidden like all the other cases, the feel of the case is very classy. You also get a holder for the case which the phone sits snuggly in-ward facing protecting the screen. The belt is strong, secure and very durable. All in all a superb case thats does the iPhone justice. Well worth the price.”

I spoke to Mark earlier on today and he said “I am very surprised and delighted to win this excellent product.”

So congratulations again to Mark – your Jabra Halo is on the way to you today!

Win a Jabra Halo

This month we’re giving a Jabra Halo worth £69.95 away and all you need to do to be in with a chance of winning it is to write a review for any of the (6000+) products on our website before the 30th September 2009. The best reviewer will win a beautiful Jabra Halo Stereo Headset courtesy of Jabra and Mobile Fun.

To write a review, simply find a product on our site that you want to review and then click on the ‘Write A Review’ link just above the add to basket button. Remember to include your name & email address on the review so that we know who you are!

To write a review, click on the link above the add to basket button

It doesn’t matter whether you brought the product from us, just find your phone, Bluetooth headset, case or any other accessory and write a good in-depth review on it to be in with a chance to win.  At the end of the month, we’ll be judging the reviews on how in-depth and helpful they are for other people browsing the Mobile Fun website.

Good luck!

Carry two phones around with you?

The majority of people that carry two phones do so because their employer has provided them with a phone or BlackBerry to help make their work life easier and to ensure that they’re contactable 24/7, although I’ve got several friends that have one phone for calls and a different one for texts as it works out cheaper. Using more than one phone can have it’s benefits, but at the same time it can be a bit of a nightmare when it comes to charging – I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been away with work in the past and only taken one charger with me, only to find that it’s not the right one for my work phone.

Using your phone safely in the car can be a challenge too. Using two wired handsfree kits can be dangerous and if you use a Bluetooth Headset or Bluetooth car kit, how do you know which phone to connect them to as there is no way of knowing in advance which phone is going to ring.

Accessory manufacturers are aware of the problems people have when it comes to charging multiple devices or using them handsfree and are starting to produce accessories that are designed to make these two simple tasks much simpler. The best accessories that are currently available for those who two phones include: Desk Chargers, Mains Chargers, Car Chargers, Portable Chargers, Bluetooth Car Kits, Car Holders, Bluetooth Headsets & Stereo Bluetooth Headsets.

Charging

Earlier this year all the major phone manufacturers agreed to start using the same Micro USB charging port on all of their new handsets. This is great news as it means that going forward you’ll only ever need one charger. The downside is that it’s probably going to take a couple of years for this to filter through to all handsets on the market. In the mean time though, there are a number of solutions available that will allow you to charge several devices using just one charger.

Idapt Desk Chargers
The Idapt Desktop Charger is made up of a charging base and interchangeable charging adapters. You get 6 in the box to start you off and can buy additional ones as and when you need them. The charger is designed to be simple to use, you just stand your phone up on the relevant charging adapter. Most handsets will charge in an upright position but if the charging port is on the side of your phone then your phone will need to lie on it’s side to charge. You can use Idapt to charge several types of devices too – not just mobile phones. Charging adapters are included for iPods and portable games consoles, and the Mini USB connection means that you can charge most Sat Nav units too. The Idapt chargers take up a relatively small amount of desk space, and needs just one power socket to charge up to 3 devices.

Idapt I2 and I3 Universal Desktop Chargers

The charger is available in two sizes – the Idapt I3 desktop charger has 3 charging ports and the Idapt I2 desktop charger has 2 charging ports. Adapters are available for LG, Mini USB, Nokia 2mm, Micro USB, iPod & iPhone, Nintendo DS Lite, Sony Ericsson and Samsung.

Bluelounge Refresh
The Bluelounge Refresh is a similar concept to the Idapt, but rather than having fixed charging adapters that you have to stand your phone onto, it has 6 charging cables hidden under its base – two iPod & iPhone, one Micro USB, one Mini USB and two standard USB ports that you’d find on a PC or laptop. The point of these is that you can use your existing USB data cable to charge any phone without having to buy any additional adapters. It also means that you can charge any device that supports USB charging – Bluetooth Headsets, portable games consoles, sat nav units. The base of the Refresh lifts up and there is space underneath for you to store any excess cables.

Bluelounge Refresh Charging Hub in White

The Bluelounge Refresh is available in White, Black & Pink and is covered in more depth on our blog post from last week.

Mains Chargers

If you’re a frequent traveller, carrying around a bag full of chargers can be a bit of a pain. They take up extra space & weight in your luggage and you can almost guarantee you’ll leave at least one behind in the hotel. There is a way round this though. The 5 Port USB World Charger is a great alternative to carrying around a bag full of chargers. It’s a mains charger that has swappable US, EU, UK and Australian plugs and has 5 USB ports to charge all your devices in one go – 4 on the front and a hidden one on a short lead. You will of course need to make sure that you pack the USB cable for your phone, but they take up a lot less space than a normal charger. the charger has overheat, short circuit and over charge protection built in and will automatically adjust for all voltages. Its small design means that it can be left in your laptop bag so that it’s with you when you need it.

5 Port USB World Charger

Car Chargers

The Travelwise Universal Car Charger won’t let you charge two phones at the same time, but it will save you from having two separate car chargers. It has a changeable tip that you can change to suit your phone. To keep all the charger tips together, the Travelwise charger has a built in compartment to store them when they’re not in use. The Travelwise charger includes charging tips for Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, BlackBerry phones.

Travelwise Universal Car Charger

Unlike the Travelwise, this Twin USB Car Charger can be used to charge two phones at the same time while still leaving your cigarette lighter free for anything else that needs to charge in the car. The charger has 2 USB ports that you can use to charge any device that supports USB charging. The USB cables aren’t included with the charger but most phones come with one included.

Twin USB and Cigarette Car Charger Adaptor

Portable Chargers

If you don’t have access to plug sockets or car chargers through out the day but are finding that your phones just aren’t lasting long enough, then the Nokia DC-11 Extra Power could be just what you need. The DC11 is a portable, high powered battery with built in charging cables and can power 2 devices at the same time – one with a Nokia 2mm adapter and one with a Micro USB connector (Nokia, some Samsung & newer BlackBerry phones). A full charge should take around 3 hours, but you’ll be able to use your phone while it’s charging.

Nokia DC-11 Extra Power

Bluetooth Handsfree

Bluetooth is the easiest way of using your phone ‘handsfree’, but if you’ve got two phones it either means buying two headsets or having to manually connect to each phone in turn when you want to make a call – or at least it used to. Multipoint technology in mobile phones is becoming much more common now and allows you to use the same bluetooth headset or car kit with two phones at the same time. Using a multipoint Bluetooth headset is no different to using a normal bluetooth headset, and when a call comes in the headset will connect to the appropriate phone without you having to do anything.

When it comes to using your phones in the car, you’ve got three options, a Bluetooth Headset, a Bluetooth Speakerphone or a fully fitted Bluetooth Car Kit. Personally I’ve always preferred a fully fitted kit, but as they don’t currently support multipoint you’ll have to constantly swap between phones, something that’s not particularly easy to do when you’re driving and could be quite distracting. For this reason, if you carry two phones around with you and want to be able to use them safely and legally in the car then you should invest in a multipoint Bluetooth Speakerphone or Bluetooth Headset. The best ones are listed below.

Bluetooth Speakerphones

The Supertooth Visor One Bluetooth Car Kit allows you to use both phones at the same time and will automatically connect to which ever phone receives or makes a call. It has a voice recognition system that lets you answer your calls just by saying “OK”. The Visor One also supports voice dialling and can play music from your mobile phone too – although not in stereo.

Supertooth Visor One

The DualPhone Bluetooth Car Kit is a simple to use Bluetooth car kit – similar in many ways to the popular Clip and Talk Bluetooth Car Kit, but with the added bonus of being able to connect to two phones at the same time. The Dualphone Car kit supports last number redial, voice dial (if your phone supports it).

Dualphone Bluetooth Car Kit

The Movon Bluetooth Car Kit MK30 is a compact car kit that has a number of features that you’d normally expect to find on a much more expensive kit. It has an OLED display that will show you who is calling and Text to Speech software will call out the callers name or number too.

Movon MK30 Bluetooth Car Kit

Car Holders
Before I move on to Bluetooth Accessories, there is one more accessory for use in the car that I think deserves a mention and that’s the Brodit Double Tilt Swivel Holder.

I’ve been a big fan of Brodit ProClips and Car Holders for a long time – for those that have not come across them before, ProClips are brackets that clip onto various parts of your dashboard with out damaging it and provide a firm, flat base for you to screw a car holder into. They’re a much better option than drilling holes into your dashboard and can be removed easily when you change car.

Mount 2 phones using a Brodit ProClip, a Dual Mount & 2 Passive holders

The Double Holder fixes onto a ProClip in your car and allows you to attach 2 seperate phone holders on to it. As both mounting plates have a tilt swivel fixing, it means that you can angle them to suit your driving position.

This is the most secure option there is for mounting your phone in the car, the only slight downside is that because you need 4 seperate parts it’s not the cheapest but if you spend a lot of time on the road and need to be able to see both your phones quickly and easily then this is well worth the investment.

Bluetooth Headsets

There are two types of Bluetooth Headset available, Mono and Stereo. Mono Bluetooth headsets are worn on one ear and are great if you only want to use them for calls, where as Stereo Bluetooth Headsets are worn on two ears, look more like headphones and have a built in microphone. Stereo Headsets are perfect if you want to be able to listen to music from your phone, MP3 player or PC and still be able to take calls.

Top Multipoint Bluetooth Headsets

The Jabra BT530 Bluetooth Headset is a fantastic Bluetooth Headset that packs a lot of features into a really small device. As well as having 2 noise cancelling microphones, the Jabra BT530 has intelligent volume controls that will automatically increase the volume when you enter a noisy environment. Simple and easy to use controls make using this headset a pleasure, and as it’s multipoint, you can answer calls quickly and easily regardless of which phone starts to ring.

Jabra BT530 Bluetooth Headset

The Plantronics Voyager Pro Bluetooth Headset is quite a heavy duty headset, so if you’re on the road all day and need something that’s going to be comfortable, exceptionally clear and work with both your work and personal phone, I don’t think you’ll do any better than the Voyager Pro. It has dual microphones to eliminate background noise, protection against wind noise, and Audio IQ technology to make every call crystal clear.

Plantronics Voyager Pro

The Jawbone Prime Bluetooth Headset is a very powerful headset. It’s the third headset in the ‘Noise Assassin’ range and is the first Jawbone headset to support Mulitpoint. At first glance it looks similar the the previous Jawbone, on the inside it’s quite different. It has a vibration sensor that sits against your cheek while you’re wearing it, but the noise reduction technology has been improved so that even when the sensor isn’t touching your face you can still be heard clearly – even in the noisiest of environments.

Jawbone Prime Bluetooth Headset

All three of the Bluetooth Headsets listed here were featured in our recent Top 10 Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Headsets post.

Top Multipoint Stereo Bluetooth Headsets

Stereo Bluetooth Headsets are becoming increasingly popular now that most of us are using our mobile phones as our MP3 Players. Multipoint Stereo Headsets not only let you connect to two phones at the same time, but you can listen to music from one phone and if a call comes in on the other phone, your music is paused so that you can take the call. It’s not complicated either – the headsets handle the calls for you, so all you have to do is decide whether to answer it or not!

The Jabra Halo Stereo Bluetooth Headset is the latest stereo headset to be released, and to be honest its probably the best one yet. It has incredibly simple controls – a touch sensitive slider on the right ear lets you adjust the volume by sliding your finger up or down, where as a double tap will skip the track. One multi use button lets you play/pause your music as well as answer/end calls and activate voice dialling. When they’re not in use, the headphones fold away so as not to take up too much space and to reduce the chance of them getting damaged. If you want to know more take a look at my Jabra Halo hands on review.

Jabra Halo Stereo Bluetooth Headset

The Jabra BT3030 Stereo Bluetooth Headset can be worn either ‘Dogtag’ style around your neck, clip on your clothes or simply go in your pocket. Featurewise it does everything that the Halo does, but with a 6 button pad to control your music and calls. The bit that makes these stand out is that you can use any 3.5mm headphones that you want with the BT3030, so if you don’t get on with (or damage) the headphones that come with it you don’t need to replace the whole kit.

Jabra BT3030 Bluetooth Headset

The Sony Ericsson HBH DS-980 Stereo Bluetooth Headset is another headset that is designed to be worn around your neck. The earphones are fixed and the control unit has dedicated music control keys. These will work best with Sony Ericsson phones, but will work with all makes of phone and music player.

Sony Ericsson DS980

Well, that’s just about everything covered. If you know of any other products that work well with two phones or have any suggestions feel free to let us know using the comments form below.

Jabra have always made great Bluetooth headsets, but until recently their only Stereo Bluetooth Headset was the Jabra BT3030 – a great handsfree/headphone solution that hangs around your neck and allows you to connect any standard 3.5mm headphones to it. The ‘Dogtag’ style control unit gives you full control over your music playback and volume, but it’s unique styling might not appeal to everyone.

Earlier this month, Jabra released the Halo – a pair of stylish compact bluetooth headphones that are completely free of wires and have dual microphones to reduce background noise during calls. The Jabra Halo supports streaming music in stereo, playback controls (A2DP & AVRCP) and volume control. All sounds great on paper, so I decided to get a pair out and try them.

Jabra Halo

In the Box
Jabra are quite generous with the accessories included with the Halo.  As well as a European mains charger, the Halo comes with a Micro USB charging cable that allows you to charge the headset using your PC or laptop. Also included is a 3.5mm headphone to Micro USB lead – this plugs into the Halo and enables the headphones to be used with any non-bluetooth audio device such as iPods, MP3 players, Portable Video Players – anything with a 3.5mm headphone socket. There is also a black carry pouch included, although I can’t see anyone actually using it for more than a week as it makes the headset quite bulky. The only things that aren’t included are a UK adapter and a car charger, but you can use the USB cable with a USB car charger adapter or USB mains charger adapter to charge it when you’re away from your PC.

Jabra Halo Box Contents

Pairing & Set Up
As with almost every Jabra headset I’ve ever used, pairing the headset to my phone was incredibly simple. The Halo automatically turns on when you unfold it and goes straight into pairing mode. All you need to do then is search for nearby devices, select the Halo and enter the PIN code 0000 and that’s all there is to it. (Some handsets will ask you to authorise the device to make connections automatically). Pairing to a second device is just as simple, just turn the headset on and then press and hold the answer key for a few seconds to put it into pairing mode, after that’s done, the rest of the process is exactly the same – easy.

Sound Quality
The sound quality on the Halo is fantastic. I passed the headset around a few of the guys that work here, and everyone was impressed by it. Music is crisp and clear and much better than I currently get with my standard wired headphones and my Motorola S9 Stereo Bluetooth Headset.

Audio during calls is very clear too, the dual microphone definitely makes a difference, separating back ground noise from your spoken voice so that the caller hears you clearly. We made several test calls in the office and outside on the main road and were heard loudly and clearly by the guys back in the office.

Design
The Jabra Halo is a very sleek and stylish Stereo headset. The headband is made from a soft touch plastic with a soft velvet like lining. The earpieces are lightly padded and have the same velvet like cover. Unlike headsets from Nokia that have a padded ring that forms a seal around your ear to block out background noise, the Halo is completely flat and sits flush against your ears. For me, the earpieces don’t quite sit as firmly on my ears as I’d like, but the sprung headband keeps them securely in place.  You could easily wear the Jabra Halo around town without worrying about people pointing or staring. It sits nicely on your head and is angled for a comfortable fit, as long as you remember to put it on with the controls on the right you should find it extremely comfortable to wear.  When the headset is not in use you can fold the the sides in to make it smaller and more portable. Unfolding the headset will automatically turn it on, folding it will turn it off.

Jabra Halo Can be folded away when not in use

Call Handling
The Jabra Halo can be used to answer and end calls without having to touch your phone. A quick press will answer a call, a second press will end the call. A double tap will redial the last dialled number. If you have 2 phones connected it will redial the last call made on the last phone used. If you’re listening to music when a call comes in, the music fades out and carries on once your call has ended.

Music Control
Some headsets can be quite fiddly to use with just too many buttons. My S9′s have 6 buttons and I’m always pressing track skip instead of volume. Thankfully though, the Halo is nothing like this. as you can see from the image below, the controls are almost none existent. Volume is changed using the touch sensitive control panel – slide your finger up to increase, down to decrease. It can be a little hit and miss sometimes, so you may find that you stand there stroking it a few times in order for the volume to change – having said that, I think that this is more of a problem with the iPhone as it doesn’t handle Bluetooth all that well, especially volume control. When we tried the Halo with the BlackBerry Curve 8900 the Halo was much more responsive.

Jabra Halo Touch Control

Changing track is straight forward and utilises the same touch controls that you use to adjust the volume. Instead of sliding your finger up or down, you double tap the + to skip forward, double tap – to skip back. If you continue to tap it it will skip several tracks forward. Pressing the answer key will play/pause your music.

Battery Life
The battery life in Bluetooth devices has improved significantly over recent months. The Jabra Halo offers upto 8 hours talk time and up to 13 hours standby time. When I used them with my iPhone, the phone died before the headphones did, so I can’t guarantee that you’ll get a full 8 hours, but Jabra aren’t normally too far off when they quote battery life.

Why Choose the Jabra Halo?
The Jabra Halo is a MultiPoint Bluetooth Headset that can connect to two phones or a phone and a Bluetooth enabled. music player at the same time. This makes it ideal if you want to listen to your music from your PC, 2nd generation iPod touch or games console, but don’t want to miss any calls on your mobile. The fact that you can also use these headphones with non bluetooth devices makes them more useful than most stereo bluetooth headsets and means that you can still use your headphones with your phone if your battery is running low and don’t want to drain the remaining power by connecting using Bluetooth.

Jabra Halo with iPhone

While the Jabra Halo isn’t the cheapest Stereo Bluetooth Headset available, It’s well worth the money. No other Bluetooth Stereo Headset looks as good, has as many features or is as easy to use. Until now my favourite headset has been the Sony Ericsson IS-800. While the IS-800′s are still great (mainly due to their size) they don’t come anywhere close to the Halo when it comes down to features and usability.