Posted by Harry
Review | 14 Jun 07 | Comments (2) | Stumble
The PR firm that does the media relations for the new Jawbone Bluetooth headset contacted MoCo Loco to see if we would be interested in trying out the new gizmo. Normally we'd leave that to the gadget blogs, but this time we accepted the challenge if only to test drive designer Yves Behar's latest product. As it happens, I was in the market for a new headset for my Macbook, which has Blutooth capability, as well as my Treo 650, so I figured two birds: one stone. The good news is that it's all relatively easy to set up Bluetooth on the Treo and the Macbook, the noise canceling technology works phenomenally well, especially for the person at the other end of the phone, and the unit is amazingly light and comfortable (19 grams!). The not-so-good, well, the echo/delay on the Mac makes it unusable for Skype or Vonage and the on-off switches on the headset are, um, enigmatic... more after the jump.
Can you spot the two switches here? You're looking right at them. They're on either side of that thin white on-off light that separates the design in two above. The switches are pressure sensitive and are under the plastic so you don't actually see them. They are both dual action, so depending on how long you press it, it will, say, turn the unit on/off or mute the talk. It's definitely an attractive looking unit and the idea of the concealed switches is interesting, but I must say I wasn't sure if I had succeeded in turning it on or off (you have to watch the blinking light to be sure). And, because it's so light, and seemingly fragile, it felt as though it would snap if I pressed too hard.
Activating the Talk Button.
Activating the Noise Shield Button.
As for using the headset with a computer, when asked, a company representative did say "we're not supporting PC or MAC Bluetooth compatibility right now due to the large variability in the performance of computer Bluetooth systems. But we will be releasing a Bluetooth dongle for computers in the late summer/early fall timeframe. That dongle will be specifically optimized to fix all of the current variability issues.".
In sum, of all the Bluetooth headsets currently available, this is perhaps the best designed, both technically, for the jaw bone/ noise cancellation, and aesthetically for it's simple lines. That said, the stealth controls are a problem for this reviewer, I like instant audible, visual or tactile response, ie., knowing when I've turned something on or not. Surprising when you consider Yves Behar knows how to design controls, see for yourself on this product.
Of course the Leaf Light can't quite be compared to Jawbone in Yves Behar's control designing, over at Herman Miller they have a full staff of just Engineers, and as you can see with many of there products they get down to the extra 7%, buttons you can feel being one of those tiny aspects that most people like you and I really enjoy. It will be interesting to see what the iphone has in store as far as interactivity between the buttons and the user, lights and magic are great, but feeling is good too.
I was excited to get this after seeing it in the press. I agree with the comments above on controls but once you learn the controls it is not an issue. The bigger issue is that the thing is huge. Twice as big as many other headsets like the Motorola H680 (http://tinyurl.com/29zmp6) and Samsung WEP410 that I tried at CTIA. I realize that the noise technology adds to size but I look like a geek in this thing. I would sacrifice some sound quality for smaller size and comfort. Motorola's is half the size and the earhook was almost invisible, super lightweight and secure. The other thing I was surprised at was Jawbone's distinctive earhook which looked really cool and assumed it must be some breakthrough in comfort but in reality it was one of the stiffest earhooks I ever tried and like a vice clamp on your ear. Looks cool though. The sound cancellation seemed to work well but still was terrible with wind noise. The packaging is beautiful. And the name is better than all the others who have just number names.