Mobile Fun Blog

Jabra Bluetooth Speakerphone SP700 Review

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

I have used a few Bluetooth Visor Car Kits in the past only to find sooner or later (more sooner), I retire them to the Bluetooth graveyard located in a dark corner in the spare  room at home.   It always begins on a high  with a  promise to provide a ‘Hands-free’ but safe, convenient , compact, foolproof and law abiding way to receive and make calls while sitting in the comfort of a stationary or moving vehicle… However, eventually the honeymoon gloss fades and cracks appear to what first seemed a win, win situation.

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.

(4 votes, average: 4.25 out of 5)

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How to find your Nokia Model Number

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

Nokia have the largest handset range of all the mobile phone manufacturers, and with most of their handsets looking pretty similar, getting the right accessories for your Nokia phone can be quite tricky – especially if you don’t know the model number of your phone.

Nokia have tried to keep it relatively simple over the years by dividing their handsets up in to ’series’ or ranges. Probably the most well known range is the more recent N-Series, but every one of their handsets belong to a series of handsets whether it be 1000 series, 2000 series etc, where the series is determined by the first digit of the model number.

This short guide will show you a few quick and easy ways to work out which Nokia phone you have.

Check your phone

Some phones have the model number printed above the screen

This might seem like a really obvious thing to suggest, but some Nokia handsets will have their model number printed on the housing somewhere.  If you have bought your Nokia direct from your network, you may find that the model number has been replaced with the networks logo. If this is the case – try the next step: (more…)

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Top 10 Apps for your Nokia Phone – Symbian S60

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

Since the launch of the iPhone App Store by Apple last year, we’ve seen an explosion in the amount of applications, games and ringtones for mobile phones. Phones are now getting smarter than ever before and many now allow us to install extra applications and add functionality to our phones.  Over the next few weeks I’m going to be compiling a list of the top applications for each of the different mobile phone operating systems; Symbian S60 3rd edition, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Android, iPhone & Java.

Symbian S60 V3 Handsets From Nokia

I’m starting off with Symbian 60 3rd Edition (also known as S60 V3). If this doesn’t mean much to you, don’t worry, S60 V3 is probably the most common operating system and is found in most Nokia N-Series (N95, N96) and Nokia E-Series (E71, E66)  handsets.  Over the last few months there have also been a few handsets from Samsung that run S60 such as the Samsung INNOV8.  The latest touch screen phones from Nokia – the N97 and the 5800 XpressMusic run on Symbian software, but as they are touchscreen, they run on S60 V5 so the applications listed here won’t work on them.  I’ll be compiling a list of Symbian 60 5th edition applications shortly.

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(6 votes, average: 4.83 out of 5)

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Top 9 Micro USB Bluetooth Headsets

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

Over the course of the next 12 months, all the big names in mobile phones will be moving over to just one type of charger – a Micro USB connection. The main reason behind the change is to reduce the amount of chargers that are being thrown away. Long term, I can see mobile phones not coming with a mains charger as manufacturers will assume you’ve already got one. Great if you live in a house where everyone has a different phone – you can now share chargers, and if you go on holiday and forget your charger, finding someone with a charger for your phone will be a whole lot easier!

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

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(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Top 10 Nokia 5800 Cases

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

The Nokia 5800 Xpress Music was a the first touchscreen phone from Nokia.  It’s an extremely popular handset that is geared towards music, photo’s and messaging. If you’ve got one, you’re going to want to keep it protected from knocks and scrapes. There are a wide range of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic cases available, but which style is right for you and which one should you go for? I’ve put our top selling Nokia 5800 cases to the test to see which ones do the best job of protecting your phone.

1. Nokia 5800 Alu-Leather Case
Alu-Leather cases are made from high quality leather and aircraft grade aluminium to provide a tough case that looks great.  The case is specifically made for the Nokia 5800 and has cut outs on the back for the camera, so there is no need to remove your phone when you want to use it.  The fold down cover on the case has space for 2 bank cards, and has an inner layer of aluminium to protect your screen against impact and crush damage. This is by far our most popular case as it offers the best protection for your screen.

Nokia 5800 Alu-Leather Case

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(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)

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Car Kit Pairing Guides

Monday, May 11th, 2009

If you’ve ever had a car kit fitted, chances are that the engineer who fitted it paired your phone to it for you and it ‘just worked’ without you having to do anything to set it up. The only downside to this of course, is when you upgrade your phone you’re left with a car kit thats looking for an old phone, and a new phone that can’t find the car kit.

If you’re anything like me, user manuals get thrown in the back of a drawer, never to be seen again, so figuring out how to get your new phone to work with your Parrot car kit could be quite a challenge. To help you out, We’ve put a quick guide together on how to pair your phone with some of the most recent car kits. So as long as you know how to search for Bluetooth devices on your phone you should get connected again in no time at all.

View the Pairing Guide for Nokia Car Kits

View the Pairing Guide for Parrot Car Kits

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Pairing Guide: Nokia Bluetooth Car Kits

Monday, May 11th, 2009

Nokia CK-20:

1. Switch on the device and the car kit.
2. Activate Bluetooth on your phone, and search for Bluetooth devices.
3. Select the car kit from the list of found devices.
4. Enter the Bluetooth passkey 0000 to pair and connect the car kit to your phone.

Your phone has now been paired with the Car Kit and is ready for use.

 

Nokia CK-300:

If you are have a Nokia phone running S60 Software (mainly N-Series) you can download the car kit application for your phone from the Nokia Support Site.

1. Switch on the device and the car kit.
2. Activate Bluetooth on your phone, and search for Bluetooth devices.
3. Select the CK-300 from the list of discovered devices.
4. Enter the Bluetooth passkey 0000 to pair and connect the CK-300 to your phone.

Your phone has now been paired with the Car Kit and is ready for use.

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Using a Bluetooth Keyboard with your Nokia Phone

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

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(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

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Use a Bluetooth keyboard with your Nokia phone

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

Email on mobile phones is becoming a pretty standard feature, but the one thing that still puts me off emailing on a traditional handset, is having to type (a sometimes lengthy) email using the mobile phone keypad. Predictive texting and phones with half/full qwerty keyboards do make this a little easier, but its still not the same as having a proper, full sized keyboard.
The good news for Nokia owners is that if you have a handset that runs on S60 (think Nokia N95, N96, 5800 etc..) you can use a full size Bluetooth keyboard with your phone. Officially this isn’t supported on all phones, but un-officially all Symbian 60 devices are supported!

Now obviously if you’re walking down the street trying to email, this is going to be of no use to you what so ever, but what if you’re out of the office and need to reply to that email or maybe you’ve plugged your phone in to the TV to watch back your photo’s and want to be able to control your phone remotely?

We’ve put together a short guide that tells you how you can set up your phone to work with almost any Bluetooth keyboard. Read More…

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Nokia Point & Find Now Available

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

The Nokia Beta Labs Boys & Girls really have been busy this week! Normally we have to wait months for new software to play with, but they’ve just released a new version of their ‘Point & Find’ application. Point & Find is an application that lets you access information and services on the internet, just by pointing your camera phone at everyday objects. It then uses GPS data, along with a database of virtual tags to figure out what you’re looking at, and then sends the relevant information back to your phone.

You’re probably thinking, “sounds great but what does that actually mean?” so I’ll give you a few examples:

• You’re walking down the street and you see a poster for a new movie. By pointing your camera phone at the poster, you’ll be able to view movie trailers, check showtimes, book tickets and get directions.
• You’re out shopping and the latest gadget catches your eye. You scan the barcode with your phone, and are able to read more detailed product information & get the latest reviews. You also get a price comparison from leading online retailers so you can check to make sure you’re not paying too much.

This software is still a very early Beta, so that means that there will be bugs and times that it won’t quite do what its supposed to, but I’d say its still worth a try!

Point & Find is available at the moment for Nokia Symbian S60 handsets (Most NSeries) and is available to download from the Nokia Point & Find website.

Download it, Try it, and let us know how you get on with it.

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