There’s three things which stand out about this headset and make it Extreme:

• style
• comfort
• sound quality

Jabra EXTREME 2 Bluetooth Headset

The included comfort eargels help to keep you wearing the headset for longer and keep it secure to your ear.  This means that if you have a long distance drive to make, your headset won’t start to feel uncomfortable half way through; with the Jabra EXTREME 2 you’ll forget you’re even wearing a headset.

What makes this headset Extreme though is the amazing sound quality.  The EXTREME 2 uses Noise Blackout 3.0  technology to block out background noise, so you can enjoy your conversations without any disruptions.  You could even be stood in a noisy building yard and the person on the other end of line wouldn’t be able to hear the background noise; it’s that clever.

The EXTREME 2 also uses HD Voice Technology so that you can hear the other person’s voice in the same clarity that they can hear yours.  Throw in the Automatic Volume Control which adjusts the volume based on your environment and it’s almost as if you and the other person are in the same room.

It’s an amazing quality headset for the price but what do you think?  Get in touch on our usual streams!

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.

Jabra SP700 Bluetooth Speakerphone

So when presented with the opportunity to try yet another Handsfree Bluetooth in-car visor product I did not climb over the office furniture or rugby tackle fellow colleagues to be first in the queue.  However  on this occasion a particular feature of the Jabra SP700 caught my imagination – it claimed to offer  both voice and stereo music streaming direct from my Bluetooth enabled mobile phone to my in-car entertainment unit.

In the Box

The compact and stylish Bluetooth speakerphone also comes supplied with a visor clip that is already fitted, a USB charger cable, USB car charger and ‘plain English’ and compact user guide.

Jabra SP700 Bluetooth Speakerphone Box Contents

Getting Started

Just connect the USB charger cable to a spare USB port on your computer and up pops an illuminated  red battery icon to indicated that it is charging. When fully charged this icon then changes to green.  If you do not have easy or regular access to a computer then think about  purchasing a USB Mains Charger and use the USB charger cable  provided in the box when not in the car.  On the front of the unit are a range of icons that illuminate to indicate what status the speakerphone is in.  I will discuss these in detail later.

There is no dedicated off/on button, and although not immediately obvious, this function is activated by  pressing  and holding the front of the speakerphone; 2 seconds to switch it on and  4 seconds to switch it off.  If like me, you tend to exit your vehicle and forget to switch the speakerphone off then do not worry, the SP700 has an auto-power off when the phone is out of its Bluetooth range.

Pairing the SP700 to your mobile phone couldn’t be easier; when you switch it on for the first time it automatically enters its pairing mode which is clearly indicated by an illuminated Bluetooth Status icon appearing.  Next, just activate the Bluetooth function on your phone and set the phone to “discover” the SP700, enter the pin code (0000), mount it to your car visor and you’re good to go!

The Jabra SP700 clips neatly to your sun visor in the car

Controls

Now the SP700 is not big on controls, I have already mentioned the lack of an on/off button and it does not have any audio adjustment controls aside of a volume up & down button on one side of the unit, and there is also a FM transmitter button located on the opposite side.

Features

Now the SP700 provides the basic functions like any other like handsfree kit, as well as supporting extended features of some phone models like voice dialling – which as you may have already experienced is a potential Olympic Linguistic event in its own right.  Also the SP700 features advanced noise reduction and echo cancellation that insures excellent sound quality on both sides of the call.

When using the SP700 the current status is clarified by a clear voice announcement – available in 10 languages – a treat no doubt for those multi lingual potential users out there or those wanting to practice some basic phrases before arriving at their international holiday destination this summer!

The voice announcer switches from a female to a male voice for different status alerts.  However the announcement that caught me by surprise was the one that announced the caller ID of an incoming call – brilliant – and by pressing the front of the speakerphone I could answer or end the call.  The announcer also confirms when the speakerphone is switched off and also when it has made connection with your mobile  phone.

I found the clarity of the incoming call to be excellent by comparison to other Bluetooth visor speaker phones that I have used in the past, and I can confidently say that my voice was clearly received by my caller.  I must admit that my vehicle  suffers from very little cabin noise generally – however I also tested it in my wife’s 1.4 about town vehicle which isn’t a tractor by any means – but with mischievous and noisy kids in tow I still found the SP700’s speakerphone to be equally as impressive.

The Jabra SP700 has a classic, slim line design

The best feature is the FM transmission -  A simple press of the FM transmission button illuminates the FM transmission icon and speakerphone mute icon, then kicks the voice announcer into action as she clearly tells you the FM frequency to tune your car radio to.  If this frequency is congested by existing  radio stations then you can make adjustments by 0.1MHz at a time using the volume keys, the announcer will recite the new frequency selected each time you make a change.  My radios’ RDS function displayed the word JABRA to indicate that I had sourced the correct frequency and I promptly saved it to a spare preset number.   This remains the fixed FM frequency unless you make a change as previously mentioned or reset the unit to factory settings.  The only thing I did not have time to test was how the selected FM frequency would stand up to long journeys whereby you may drift into localised radio stations sharing the same frequency; however, the ease I found in changing frequencies leaves me quite confident that such an event occurring would not be a major problem to resolve.

The Nokia E71 phone was used to test the SP700 for streaming music to my car stereo, on hitting the play button on the phone, music came belting out almost immediately through the car speakers.  The quality was fairly good, however I found that the SP700’s lack of audio controls came to haunt it as the volume controls previous used to adjust the FM frequency remain set to this function while in FM transmission mode,  so you have to rely on your in-car audio controls to equalize the sound and adjust the volume.  This sometimes is a problem when you switch back to the radio or CD mode as the volume can sometimes be far too high for those built in sources.

Taking calls using the FM transmission mode was a delight, however be aware that your calls may be picked up by a stranger who is tuned to the same FM frequency and in close proximity to your vehicle, so keep this feature just for music or calls that are not of a private or sensitive nature.  On a final point if you turn off your radio or forget to change the status of the SP700 back to its own speakers, then the SP700 automatically disconnects from its FM transmission status following a period of non-use.

The SP700 boasts up to14 hours talk time & up to 255 hours standby however after a week of testing I am yet to re-charge.

Conclusion

I must admit the SP700 has not changed my preference which is to avoid taking calls while driving if I can, however when circumstances dictate that this is unavoidable or for those of you or where this is a day to day necessity then the SP700 does not disappoint, mainly because of its ease of use, functionality, portability and quality.  The Ace up its sleeve however is the FM transmission that adds a more practical and up to date feature for all music lovers who have migrated their favourite playlists into the fashionable multi-media Bluetooth mobile phones that are currently available – a smart move by Jabra.

There are already a lot of phones available that use a Micro USB charger; Both the BlackBerry Storm &  Black Berry 8900 Curve, Nokia have the 6500 Classic and the recently released Nokia N97, and Samsung use Micro USB charging on the Samsung Omnia HD and the Samsung Jet.

Fed up of tangled cables?

This is of course great news, but you’re still going to need seperate chargers for any other accessories that you might have, your Bluetooth Headset for example.  You’re still going to need a different charger for each device, and there is still a risk of leaving one behind when you pack for your travels.

Fortunately, there is a solution on its way.  Micro USB chargers are also being adopted by accessory manufacturers, so you’ll be able to use the same charger on your headset as you use on your mobile phone.

Jabra, Nokia and Plantronics are all starting to introduce Micro USB charging to their range of Bluetooth Headsets and Stereo Bluetooth Headsets so I’ve put together a list of our top micro USB Bluetooth Headsets

Jabra

Jabra are well known for their Bluetooth Headsets; they work brilliantly, are simple to use, and most importantly they’re affordable.  They have a wide range of headset available, 5 of which support Micro USB charging. The most popular ones are listed below:

The Jabra BT2050 Bluetooth Headset is the cheapest headset available that uses a Micro USB charger. The headset also has auto pairing so that you can be using it for calls in less than a minute. The BT2050 has up to 4 hours talk time and 180 hours standby time.

Jabra BT2050 Bluetooth Headset

Next up is the Jabra BT4010 Bluetooth Headset. It weighs just 9g so is extremely comfortable to wear and has a small LCD to show you the remaining battery life and connection status. The headset can be worn in the ear (as pictured below) or you can attach an ear loop to it and wear it on your ear. Battery life on the BT4010 is slightly better than the BT2050 with upto 6 hours talk time and 150 hours standby time.

Jabra BT4010 Bluetooth Headset

My favourite Bluetooth Headset from Jabra is the JX20 Pura. As well as being one of the nicest looking Bluetooth Headsets, the JX20 Pura is crafted with titanium and features auto pairing, removable ear hooks, digital sound enhancement and comes with a Desktop charging cradle that can be connected to your PC using a Micro USB cable to charge it while you’re working. The software in the headset can be updated, so you can be confident that it will always be fully compatible with your phone. The JX20 Pura weighs 13g and gives up to 6 hours talk time from a single charge.

Jabra JX20 Pura Bluetooth Headset

Nokia

Nokia have probably the largest range of Bluetooth headsets available, but Micro USB charging has only found its way into 4 of their top end headsets at the moment.  They are compatible with all Bluetooth enable handsets, but you might be able to take advantage of a few more of their features when you use them with a Nokia phone.

The Nokia BH-703 Bluetooth headset can be worn in the ear or over the ear (using the optional ear loop as shown below). It features digital signal processing for improved audio clarity and has touch sensitive controls for handling your calls.  If your phone supports it, you can swap calls, place calls on hold and activate voice dialling all without having to touch your phone.  The BH-703 weighs in at just over 11g and gives upto 6 hours of talk time and 160 hours standby time.  One of the great things about this headset is that it will charge fully in about an hour.

Nokia BH-703 Bluetooth Headset

The Nokia BH-803 Bluetooth Headset is another stylish headset with a hi-gloss black and chrome finish.  It looks good and is designed to compliment most of their more recent handsets. In terms of features, it has pretty much everything the same as the BH-703 but is slightly smaller.  Battery life is the same too, with up to 6 hours of talk time and 160 hour stand by.

Nokia BH-803 Bluetooth Headset

The Nokia BH-804 is Nokia’s Premium Bluetooth headset. It’s made from lightweight aluminium and comes with a coordinating charging stand. Controls are simple, one button to answer/end calls and activate voice dialling and another to adjust the volume.  The headset is considerably smaller than the BH-703 and BH-803, and it weighs an incredible 7  grams. Charging time is around an hour and this will give you about 4 hours talk time or 120 hours standby.

Nokia BH-804 Bluetooth Headset

Plantronics

Not so many people have heard of Plantronics, but they are one of the biggest names in the world of headsets.  Their main product range tends to be call centre equipment, but their knowledge in call handling means that they create some fantastic Bluetooth Headsets.

The Plantronics Voyager 835 Bluetooth Headset packs in a lot of extra features over the Nokia and Jabra headsets. I don’t know about you, but my biggest pet hate with Bluetooth headsets is wearing them on a windy day and being completely drowned out by the noise of the wind blowing over the microphone. Plantronics have solved this problem by building in 2 microphones that (in conjunction with wind noise reduction software) eliminates wind and background noise. The headset is also a Multipoint Bluetooth Headset which means you can pair and connect to two phones at the same time (What is Multipoint).  When a call comes in on either phone, you’ll be able to answer it just by pressing the answer button on the headset, with out having to mess around disconnecting one phone and connecting to the other. The headset weighs 13g and a full charge will give you upto 5 hours talk time and 120 hours stand-by time.

Plantronics Voyager 835 Bluetooth Headset

The Plantronics Discovery 925 Bluetooth Headset is more of a fashion headset, but having said that it still has a lot of great features. It sits in the ear rather than hanging off it and has a boom microphone to increase your voice clarity.  The headset comes with a stylish carry case that also charges the headset. You get 3 different sizes of ear bud included for a comfortable fit. Despite its size, the Discovery 925 still boasts up to 5 hours talk time and up to 170 hours stand-by time. The Discovery 925 also supports Multipoint and can be connected to two phones at the same time. (What is Multipoint)

Plantronics Discovery 925 Bluetooth Headset

Last but not least is the Plantronics Voyager 510 Pro. This is probably the most advanced bluetooth headset that we currently sell.  It’s aimed at people that use their headset a lot and that need the best call audio possible.  It has an adjustable boom mic with 2 noise cancelling microphones and windsmart technology – a more advanced version of the wind noise reduction from the Voyager 835. Rather than sitting on or in your ear, the Voyager 510 Pro actually sits behind your ear, which makes wearing it extremely comfortable and reduces the chance of it falling off significantly. The headset features auto pairing, voice prompts and multipoint technology. The battery in the Voyager 510 Pro will give you upto 6 hours talktime and 120 hours stand-by time from a single charge. This headset comes with a micro USB mains charger, micro USB charging cable and a micro USB car charger making it the perfect choice if your phone also uses micro USB charging.

Plantronics Voyager 510 Pro Bluetooth Headset

The number of devices that use micro USB charging is increasing all the time, so this list will grow over time.  Don’t forget though that this isn’t all of the Bluetooth headsest that use micro USB chargers, just our favourite ones by each of the top 3 manufacturers.  Check out our Bluetooth Headset pages for our full range.

Our friends over at the Gadget Show on Channel 5 recently reviewed 20 of the most popular Bluetooth Headsets on the market. Suzi tested them all out, and then ranked them based on comfort, fit, style and most importantly, call quality.

After putting the headsets to the test, this is how they ranked:

1) Aliph Jawbone 2 – The clearest of the range with advanced noise cancellation.
2) Invisio G5 – The worlds smallest Bluetooth headset.

3) Celleden Micro – Compact and simple Bluetooth headset.

4) Jabra JX20 Pura – Made from Titanium.

5) Bluetrek Metal – Ultra Slim at just 4mm thick.

Check out the video on the Gadget Show website where you will also be able to read the full reviews.

Jabra BT4010

It is really small, measuring a mere 5.1 x 1.7 x D 2.8cm. It has the auto pairing feature meaning it is really fast and simple to connect to a phone. The final standout feature is a Smart Display, which is a really useful feature which shows battery life, Bluetooth connection status and call status.

All this plus a really competitive price point makes the Jabra BT4010 my new favourite Jabra headset.

On some handsets, users may find that although they can make and receive calls perfectly fine, they may not be able to hear music in stereo if at all. In order to resolve this there are 2 possible fixes:

Fix 1: Hard reset of BT320

• Delete the pairing from your phone. If you are not sure how to do this, please consult your phones user manual.
• Turn off the headset.
• Plug the charger into the headset 3 times, keeping it plugged in for 4 seconds each time before unplugging it.
• Pair the headset to your phone.

Fix 2: Software Update
If the Hard reset hasn’t solved your problem you may need to update the software in your headset. The cable required to update the headset is not included with the headset and is not currently available from Mobile Fun. The cable is the same as a Sony DSC-S650 Digital Camera.

• Download and install the Jabra Software Update Tool.
• Follow any on screen prompts.
• When the update is finished, pair the headset to your phone.

It is extremely important that you do not turn off your computer or unplug the headset during the update process as this could cause irreversible damage to your headset. Mobile Fun will not accept any responsibility for any damage caused to your headset during a software upgrade.

This will take you to the Jabra Pairing website and guide you through how to get your devices working. If you can’t see your phone listed on the second stage, select the closest available model.

Some would say you can’t but Jabra have managed it with the BT2020. Its predecessor, the BT250v, was one of the best selling Bluetooth headsets in the world.

Why is the Jabra BT2020 better?
With the BT2020, Jabra have built on all the good points of the BT250v and;

• Kept the comfortable "behind the ear" design.
• Reduced its size.
• Reduced the weight from 23 grams to just 16 grams.
• Removed the flashing blue light and added a discreet LED.
• Improved battery life.

With the reduction in weight the BT2020 is now more comfortable and with the new discreet LED feature, there’s no constant flash to distract you. Despite the size reduction, battery times are improved. The BT2020 now has an impressive 360 hours standby time and up to 8 hours talk time. In real terms, you can leave it turned on for over 2 weeks before the battery runs out. When the battery does eventually run out, the BT2020 now has the option of being charged in your car. This was the biggest disappointment on the BT250v, the unique charging cradle meant that it could only be charged at home. Fortunately though, Jabra have now dropped the cradle in favour of a more standard Mini USB connection, and are including a car charger with the headset. As with the BT250v, the BT2020 comes with a variety of Ear gels to make sure there is a comfortable fit for everyone.

So if you’re looking to replace your BT250v, or are simply looking for a comfortable durable headset, then you won’t go wrong with the Jabra BT2020.