Mobile Fun Blog

Review: Motorola HX1, Jawbone Prime & Jabra Stone

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Noise cancelling Bluetooth headsets are all the rage at the moment, with almost every manufacturer promoting this as the latest must have feature. Not all headsets live up to the hype and with no clear definition of ‘noise cancelling’ it’s easy for most headsets to carry this badge.

Jawbone were the first company to really do anything with noise cancellation with their original headset and since then they’ve been facing some stiff competition from the likes of Jabra and Motorola. As three of the biggest names in Bluetooth headsets I thought I’d put the latest creations from each of them up against each other to see how well they performed, so I got my hands on a Motorola HX1, Jawbone Prime and a Jabra Stone and put them to the test.

Jawbone Prime, Jabra Stone and Motorola Endeavour HX1

Controls

As nice as the Jabra Stone and Jawbone Prime look, the fact that they have no physical buttons does make using them a little tricky. Both the Prime and the Stone only have one ‘does all’ button and neither of them are as easy to find as the answer button on the Motorola HX1 – especially when you’ve got it on your ear and are concentrating on driving. Turning the headsets on is a case of holding down the answer button on the Prime and the Stone, whereas the HX1 has a sliding power switch that makes it almost impossible to turn the headset on accidentally

When I made my test call I found that the volume level was a little low when using the Prime, and it wasn’t until I went to adjust the volume on the headset that I realised it doesn’t have any volume controls. This for me was a big disappointment. Quite often when driving I leave my phone in the back pocket of my trousers or in my bag, so to have to adjust the volume on the phone isn’t always possible and seems like a big step backwards.

You can adjust the volume on the other two headsets, the easiest by far is the HX1 as it has a dedicated volume button on the side of the headset with raised markings that let you know which is volume up and which is down. The Jabra Stone was a little unusual to adjust as it’s touch sensitive. Slide your finger up to increase the volume, slide it down to decrease it. It worked well, but there was a slight delay which meant that the volume jumped up rather than gradually increasing and meant that I needed to turn it down again.

Motorola HX1 has physical volume controls

Call management is the same on all of the headsets, with each supporting last number redial, voice dialling, answer/reject/end. It’s worth mentioning here that the Motorola HX1 is the only headset with voice prompts. This is where the headset speaks to you to let you know what it’s doing. It will confirm when it’s connected, which phone it’s connected to, provide pairing instructions and let you know how much charge is left in the battery.

Best Headset for controls and ease of use:  Motorola Endeavor HX1

Speech & Audio Quality

To test the quality of the microphones and noise cancellation, I made a test call while driving with the stereo on to my own voicemail. This meant that I could listen to each one back myself, rather than making someone suffer three test phone calls. It also meant that I could listen to the audio back through the same headset and test the audio quality.

First up was the Motorola Endeavor HX1. Even though this is the largest and most expensive headset of the three I wasn’t expecting much from it. I’ve used Motorola headsets in the past and have never really been that impressed by them, but I was amazed by just how clear the HX1 was (with Stealth Mode turned off). When I listened back to the call it was clear and sharp, no interference and you really wouldn’t have known that I’d left the voicemail using a Bluetooth headset. The noise cancellation worked brilliantly. I had the radio on quite loudly in the car and you couldn’t hear it, in fact you couldn’t hear any engine, road or wind noise either. Just my voice, loudly and clearly.

Motorola Endeavor HX1 Bluetooth Headset

I made a second test call from the HX1 with Stealth Mode turned on, but didn’t find it to be all that great. To be honest I could barely hear what was being said, but that might be because the headset wasn’t positioned correctly. Given how well the headset performed without stealth mode, I’m not convinced that you’ll ever need to use it.

The second headset was the Jabra Stone, I noticed straight away that it’s a lot lighter and smaller than HX1. It’s a comfortable fit, even if it doesn’t feel as snug as the Motorola. The headset seemed noticeably quieter than the previous headset and I had to turn it right up to hear the call. Audio sounded a little more muffled than on the HX1, like the microphone was further away. You could still hear bits of the radio in the background as well as the hum of the engine, although this wasn’t loud enough to disturb the conversation.

Jabra Stone Bluetooth Headset

Lastly was the Jawbone Prime. Of the three, this was the one that I was expecting to be the best, but was surprised to find that it was the least clear of the three. My voice sounded a little distorted and almost robotic at times. You could still hear the radio and some road noise in the background and instructions given to me by the network before leaving a message also sounded a little muffled. The volume level was also quite low, and as mentioned before, the lack of volume buttons meant that I had to adjust the volume on my phone – not ideal when driving.

Jawbone PRIME Bluetooth Headset - Black

While some of them were a little muffled, it’s worth pointing out that even though the sound may not be 100% clear, you can still hear every word that is said, unlike standard bluetooth headsets that don’t have dual microphones and noise cancellation. Any of these three will be a massive improvement over previous generations of Bluetooth headsets.

Best Headset for audio and speech quality: Motorola Endeavor HX1

Comfort

If you’re buying a Bluetooth Headset, chances are you spend a lot of time in the car. As you’re likely to be wearing your headset for long periods it’s important to get one that’s comfortable. Of the three that I tried, none of them really stood out as they are all as good as each other. The Jabra Stone is the lightest and as it sits over your ear you could easily forget that you’re wearing it, but the fact that it can only be worn on the right ear might not suit everyone.

Jabra Stone - Moulded for your right ear

The Motorola HX1 and the Jawbone Prime can both be worn in the ear or over the ear. I prefer over the ear as there’s less chance of it falling out. The HX1 did seem to fit a bit better than the Jawbone though. More of the headset sits in your ear canal and with the added weight it just feels more solid and sturdy. The Jawbone Prime is still a good, comfortable fit and stayed in place even with the ear hook removed.

Best headset for comfort: Jabra Stone

Extra Features

Motorola Endeavor HX1 – The HX1 features Bone Conduction technology and is activated when you turn on ‘Stealth Mode’. This is where the headset detects vibrations in your ear canal and then converts this to sound. Designed to be used in extremely noisy environments, Stealth Mode turns off the two standard microphones and instead relies on sounds that it picks up using Bone Conduction.

Jawbone Prime – The original Jawbone headset only worked if the Voice Activity Sensor was touching your face. If it wasn’t, then the audio quality was a bit hit and miss. With the Jawbone Prime, they’ve done away with the need for it to be touching your face and added an extra microphone and improved the software to help separate your voice from any background noise.

Jawbone Voice Activity Sensor for improved audio

Jabra Stone – The Stone doesn’t make as much of a song and dance about noise cancellation as the other two do, instead they focus more on the style and the touch sensitive controls. The Stone was named because of how it looks when it’s docked in it’s charging base. As well as being a standard charging port, it doubles up as a portable charger for your headset. It can charge the headset 3 times before it will need to be connected to a power supply and is a great way to keep your headset safe when it’s in your bag.

Best headset for extra features: Jabra Stone

Charging & Battery Life

Battery life on all three headsets is pretty good, but in order to get the times listed below for the Jabra Stone, you’ll need to charge it using the portable charging base – without it you’re only looking at 2 hours of talk time and 60 hours standby. Both the Motorola HX1 and the Jabra Stone uses the standard Micro USB charger where as the Jawbone Prime uses it’s own unique connection. If your phone also uses Micro USB for charging you can use your existing mains/car/USB charger with both the Stone and the HX1. The headsets come with the following charger in the box:

• Motorola HX1 – Mains Charger
• Jabra Stone – Mains Charger
• Jawbone Prime – USB/Mains Charger

Best headset for battery life: Motorola Endeavor HX1

Summary and Pricing

If you’re still undecided on which headset of the three to go for, here’s a quick summary of all their main features.

	Motorola HX1	Jawbone Prime	Jabra Stone
Price	£89.97	£76.97	£79.95
Talk Time	7 hours	4.5 hours	8 hours*
Standby Time	240 hours	192 hours	288 hours*
Weight	13g	10g	7g
Left/Right Ear	Either	Either	Right Ear only
In Ear
Ear Hook
Multipoint
Volume Controls			Touch Control
Dual Microphone
Additional Sensor	Bone Conduction	Voice Activity

Price wise there’s currently just over £10 separating them and in terms of spec and features they’re all pretty closely matched. Taking everything into consideration, I’d personally say that the Motorola Endeavor HX1 outperforms the Jawbone Prime and the Jabra Stone. The HX1 is the more expensive one of the three, but the better quality audio and increased battery life make it worth the extra money. Motorola have had a tough time over the last few years and it’s great to see them producing some great accessories again.

Best headset overall: Motorola Endeavor HX1

Prices correct as of the date of this post. Pricing and availability are subject to change

(2 votes, average: 3.50 out of 5)

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Got 2 phones? Here’s how to save on accessories

Monday, August 24th, 2009

There was a time when a mobile phone was considered a luxury, but for most of us they’re now a necessity that we can’t live without. So much so, that many of us now have two or more phones. Often though, the decision to carry a second phone isn’t ours – although from past experience I know how tempting it can be to take out a second contract just to get the latest handsets!

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.

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Top 10 Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Headsets

Friday, August 21st, 2009

While shopping for accessories for your phone I’ve noticed that people tend to struggle when it comes to choosing a Bluetooth Headset – probably because at first glance they all seem very similar.  They all allow you to use your phone safely in the car and can answer & end calls, so why are there so many different ones to choose from?

Up until recently my answer would have been that the main differences were size, weight and battery life. While that’s still true for most headsets, advances in headset technology have meant that there is now something else to consider when choosing a Bluetooth Headset – Noise Cancellation.

Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Headsets

Now, you might be thinking that noise cancellation is nothing new, and technically it’s not – noise cancellation has been around for years and in a number of formats. From simple design changes such as foam covers over the microphone to clever software that makes your voice clearer, but the newer generation of Bluetooth headsets go one step further. Most of the latest noise cancelling headsets have 2 microphones built into them, one that picks up your voice and another that picks up background noise. Software in the headset then analyses the sound from both microphones and any sounds picked up by both microphones are removed so that your voice comes through clearly.

Not all Bluetooth Headsets currently have this feature, and trying to find the ones that do out of the 140 that we sell will take you some time, so to help you along I’ve listed below our top 10 noise cancelling headsets. Most of these headsets have the dual microphone technology, although a couple of them have some other clever technology to cut out back ground noise.

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(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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