This technology is that clever that is eliminates all background noise and auto-adjusts the incoming call volume to the surrounding environment; meaning that no matter where you are you can hear and be heard perfectly.

Jawbone ERA Motion Controlled Bluetooth Headset

Inside the headset, there’s a 10mm speaker with full HD audio performance, making it Jawbone’s most powerful speaker to date.  The Era is also the first Bluetooth headset to include a built in accelerometer and MotionX technology.  This means it’s completely integrated with the MyTALK platform, which allows the headset to function with motion application such as ‘TapTap’ to answer phone calls.

Sound good?  Well we’re giving you the chance to win one over on our Love Your Mobile Facebook Page.

All you have to do in order to be in with the chance of winning the headset is:

1. ‘Like’ the Love Your Mobile Facebook page.
2. ‘Like’ a product on the MobileFun.co.uk website
3. Tag ‘Love Your Mobile’ in a status telling us why you love the product you liked.
4. Write on the ‘Love Your Mobile’ wall telling us which product you love and why.

e.g ‘@Love Your Mobile – I love the Stuckbuddy because not only is it small so I can carry it around, but it also stands up my iPhone 4 and even hangs my keys!

Good luck to all those entering and we’ll announce the winner soon!

Let’s take a look at what it’s got to offer…

It’s teeny-weeny
Stunningly small and startlingly stylish, the Jawbone ERA weighs just 10.2g and measures a miniscule 51.3 x 24.1 x 14.5 mm, making it small and light enough to use all day without getting earache.

It looks great
The ERA is a marvel of architecture, with a layered exterior and a sleekly textured finish.  It’s available in four elegantly low-key colours: Midnight, Shadowbox, Smokescreen and Silver Lining.

It sounds great
The ERA has the largest and most powerful speaker of any Jawbone headset so far, measuring in at 25% larger than other models.  It also offers high-quality, full-spectrum HD audio, so your caller’s mellifluous tones will be music to your ears!  The ERA is the first Bluetooth headset to feature NoiseAssassin 3.0, a noise-cancelling technology that was originally developed by the military for use by helicopter pilots and tank controllers. So it can certainly handle a bit of background traffic noise!

It’s technologically advanced

This is the first headset to feature a built-in accelerometer and MotionX technology.  Jawbone are in the process of developing a range of exciting motion-based apps for download via their MyTALK platform, and the first two have already been released: ShakeShake, which lets you go into pairing mode just by shaking the headset, and TapTap which lets you answer phone calls with just a tap.

Perfect for the car

Bluetooth headsets are a great way to stay safe whilst chatting on the road, and the Jawbone’s motion apps make it easy to take calls on the go.  Team it with a USB car charger to make sure you stay powered up and in touch no matter where you are.

It’s a great fit for all

No matter what size your lug-holes are, Jawbone cater for you – the ERA comes with eight different size/shape earbuds and an optional binaural earloop, making them the perfect fit.

The Jawbone ERA is available over on the main site, along with many more Bluetooth accessories.

Like every Jawbone before it, it features Noise Assassin technology to almost eliminate background noise and has a smart modern look, but what makes the Icon stand out?

Jawbone Icon Bluetooth Headset

Apart from being the smallest and lightest headset that Jawbone have produced, it has a number of improvements and new features. The Jawbone ICON lets you set custom tones and multiple voices to alert you to incoming calls. One of the new features onboard is called MyTALK, this allows you to control mini-apps that change the voices or language and allows you to customize a button to call voicemail or a predefined contact in your phonebook. You can find more information on how MyTalk works at the Jawbone MyTalk website.

The other major change is a welcome one – Jawbone are supporting the switch to Micro USB charging and as a result, the Icon uses a standard Micro USB mains charger, rather than their proprietary connection found on older headsets. This is great news as it now means you’ll be able to use the same charger on your phone and headset.

If you’re an iPhone user, the Jawbone ICON’s remaining battery life is displayed on your iPhone’s status bar so you’ll be able to see at a glance whether the headset needs charging.

Jawbone Icon transmits battery level to the iPhone

Multipoint support has also been improved. On the Jawbone Prime you could answer a second call from a second phone, but this would result in the original caller being disconnected. With the Jawbone Icon you can now place the first caller on hold while you take the call from your second phone.

Jawbone Icon - The Rogue

The software on the Jawbone Icon can be upgraded and new features such as A2DP (Stereo Bluetooth) support will be available for the headset not long after it’s launch. This means that you can use it to listen to music from your phone, but as the Icon only has one earpiece you’ll obviously only be able to hear it in one ear. To make sure that you don’t miss anything, the Icon converts stereo audio into mono audio. Not great for listening to music, but good enough for watching videos or YouTube on your phone.

The Icon will be available in 6 designs, The Hero, The Rogue, The Catch, The Bombshell, The Ace & The Thinker.

Pricing and availability are yet to be confirmed in the UK so we’ll keep our ears open and post any updates on here as and when we get them. To make sure you don’t miss out, either subscribe to our RSS feed or head over to the product pages where you can sign up for email updates on the Jawbone Icon.

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.

Jabra BT530
The BT-530 is a fantastic Bluetooth Headset from Jabra that packs in a lot of features at less than half the price of the latest Jawbone Headset.  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. The Jabra BT530 is a multipoint headset that allows you to use the headset with two mobile phones at the same time. For more information about multipoint, read our post on ‘What is Multipoint’.

Jabra BT530 Noise Blackout Bluetooth Headset

Plantronics Voyager Pro
Like Jabra, Plantronics specialise in Bluetooth headsets and their latest headset, the Voyager Pro is one of their best. It’s a lot smaller in reality than it looks in photo’s and rather than being worn in the ear, the Voyager Pro sits over and behind your ear, making it extremely comfortable – especially on long journeys. The Voyager Pro has two microphones mounted in the boom microphone and as well as using the technology described above to filter out background noise, the Voyager Pro has 3 layers of Wind Shield protection and Audio IQ technology to enhance the sound even further.

Plantronics Voyager Pro

iVoice GX-7
Despite iVoice being relatively unheard of, the GX-7 is an excellent little bluetooth headset. At just 42mm long and weighing less than 9g it’s one of the smallest and lightest headsets you can get, but that doesn’t mean it compromises on features. The GX-7 has dual microphones and echo and noise reduction software to eliminate background noise and automatic volume control that increases the volume when you enter a noisy environment. What makes this headset really special is that it supports caller ID, not by way of a screen on the headset, instead it calls out the callers name or number when a call comes in.  The GX-7 comes with a USB charger that can be used to charge the headset in the car, at home or using your PC/Laptop.

iVoice GX7 Bluetooth headset

Jawbone 2
Jawbone changed the way that noise cancellation in bluetooth headsets worked. Jawbone’s work slightly different to other noise cancelling headsets, as they use a ‘voice activity sensor’ to help make your voice stand out. This sensor needs to maintain contact with the side of your face as it picks up vibrations as you speak. It then uses this information with the sounds picked up from the two microphones to eliminate almost all background noise.

Jawbone 2

Jawbone Prime
Jawbone Prime is almost the same as the Jawbone 2, but adds multipoint and it doesn’t rely on the voice sensor making contact with your face.  The other technologies in the headset have been improved so that you still get excellent results even when the headset isn’t touching you. When it is making contact it gives the noise reduction a boost, improving the audio quality further. Jawbone Prime are available in a wider range of colours too. Named ‘Ear Candy’ the Jawbone Prime is available in Black, White, Yellow, Brown, Red, Green & Purple.

Jawbone Prime

Blueant V1
BlueAnt make several very clever Bluetooth Headsets and the V1 is incredibly small when you think of how much is packed into it. While the V1 is promoted more for its voice capabilities, the BlueAnt V1′s noise suppression technology is excellent. It has dual microphones as well as wind noise reduction and echo cancellation.  The BlueAnt V1 is a multipoint headset so you can use it with 2 phones at the same time, or have it connected to your PC or games console and quickly and easily take calls from either device. The V1 keeps controls to a bare minimum, with most functions being controlled by talking to the headset. If you get stuck, just ask it for help and it will talk you through most functions!

Blue Ant V1

Blueant Q1
The BlueAnt Q1 has everything in it that the V1 has with a few extra tweaks and improvements. You can store speed dials in the headset which allows you to quickly and easily call people without having to touch your phone. The noise cancellation technology has been improved too.  While it’s not as tiny as the V1, the new shape of the headset helps reduce wind noise and the dual microphones can cope with wind speeds of upto 10mph. The Q1 is also a multipoint headset and can be used with 2 devices at the same time.

BlueAnt Q1

Nokia BH-602
Nokia don’t currently make any dual microphone headsets, instead they rely on Digital Signal Processing to improve the qualilty of the audio. The BH-602 stands out from the rest of the Nokia range as it’s the only headset with automatic volume adjustment, so while it’s not going to do as much as the other headsets on this page to make sure that your voice is heard by callers, you won’t need to fiddle around with volume controls when you walk into a noisy room.

Nokia BH 602

Motorola H15 Moto Pure

Motorola haven’t done much in the way of new handsets in the last 12 months, but they have managed to produce some great accessories. The MotoPure H15 is a compact Bluetooth with a fold away microphone that will answer calls automatically when you unfold it. As with most headsets here it has dual microphone technology to help eliminate background noise. The MotoPure H15 comes with a handy charging desk stand that will charge the headset, but keeps the headset accessible for when a call comes in.

Motorola MotoPure H15

Motorola Endeavor HX1

The Motorola Endeavor is due to be released in the next few weeks and is different to any other noise cancelling headset. It features a stealth mode which can be activated as and when needed to really make sure that you’re heard. When the stealth mode is activated, a sensor mounted on the part that sits in your ear uses true bone conduction technology to relay only your voice while knocking out the most extreme noise and wind for a revolutionary premium headset experience. The HX1 is a multipoint headset that can be used with 2 devices at the same time and has voice prompts for ease of use.

Motorola Endeavor X1

If you’ve not seen the headset here that does what you want, take a look at our full range of Bluetooth Headsets. If you’re looking for a Bluetooth Headset that will allow you to listen to music in Stereo using a Bluetooth Headset, then take a look at our Guide to Stereo Bluetooth Headsets on the Blog or view all Stereo Bluetooth Headsets on the main site.

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.