Jawbone Prime Bluetooth Headset Review
Bluetooth headsets aren’t just for the jerk behind you at the ATM anymore. As more and more cities pass laws requiring hands-free cell phone use, these kinds of units aren’t just the best solution, they’re a necessity. Jawbone by Aliph quickly became a top-rated player when it introduced the original Jawbone 2 in May 2008. One year later, it’s hoping to have another hit. The Jawbone Prime has taken the best of the Jawbone 2 and improved it in every way possible.
While the packaging and device itself are highly stylized, the Prime also packs performance and comfort. A set of six rubberized ear buds and an optional ear loop should accommodate every type of ear imaginable, and once in the ear it definitely surpasses other Bluetooth headsets I’ve tested in the comfort category.
Pairing Bluetooth headsets has become easier over the past year, as software and hardware have become smarter. The Prime was just as easy to pair with my iPhone as any other headset. Just turn it on, enter pairing mode, type in the standard passcode and you’re all set.
The Prime utilizes three specific tech features that are supposed to aid conversations. First, there’s the noise-cancelling aspect, called NoiseAssassin 2.0. As if the name itself wouldn’t scare off background noises, it’s considered the best-in-class military-grade noise-cancelling technology on the market. Second, there’s the new Voice Activity Sensor, which is a small rubber tip on the underside of the headset that senses vibration of the face to determine when a noise is actually your voice. The VAS allows the headset to cancel out wind noise up to 10 miles per hour, a bonus for convertible drivers. Finally, the Acoustic Voice Activity Detector provides a fail-safe mechanism for times when the VAS isn’t touching your face. I used the Prime while walking in some of the noisiest conditions around, and it was far more bearable than with any other headset I have ever used. Even walking the dog along the windy Chicago lakefront seemed to pose no challenge.
The Jawbone Prime also has an excellent battery life, with up to four and a half hours of talk time and more than eight days of standby time. Included with the headset is a custom USB charging cable and USB A/C adapter. An optional car charger is available for $29.99 for those who can’t find time to charge it at home. In my experience, it took just under an hour to get a full charge.
The Jawbox Prime, of course, isn’t just about performance. The high sales price gets you a very stylish product. It has 3D dimpling on the outside and is covered in a metal finish in a number of colors. Besides the basic black, brown and silver, there are new colors including Drop Me a Lime Green, Frankly Scarlet Red, ‘Yello! Yellow and Lilac You Mean It Purple.
While you may have to dig deep into your pockets to get a Prime, the cost is well worth it for people who are attached to their cell phones but don’t have built-in Bluetooth in their cars.
What is it: Jawbone Prime
Price: $129.99
Ease of use while driving: 29 (out of 30)
Ease of use outside the car: 9 (out of 10)
Compatibility with most cars: 10 (out of 10)
Setup: 10 (out of 10)
Features: 19 (out of 20)
Value: 16 (out of 20)
Final score: 93 out of 100
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What are the main differences, outside of the new looks, between the Jawbone 2 and the Jawbone Prime? Can we get a small table or a list of changes?
Matt- you say "The Jawbone Prime has taken the best of the Jawbone 2 and improved it in every way possible."
You then go on to describe the Jawbone Prime in such a way as to communicate absolutely ZERO of these improvements!
Any chance you can update this article? It really provides no information beyond the product brochure.
New are:
- 'failsafe' noise cancellation if the sensor comes off your cheek
- multipoint pairing ability (pair with two cell phones at once)
- wind noise reduction
- better ear gels
- new style, button is easier to feel
I am glad the jawbone 2 and jawbone prime use the SAME charger. I lost my jawbone 1 and I am left with useless chargers and adapters for the car and home that can be used on all 3 jawbone headsets.
Now I am struggling to decide if the prime is worth it. Is the noise cancelling feature that more advance and worth it.
My final review... The jawbone 2 is a better upgrade at least for the contour of my face and using some common sense to accomodate for wind noises to cupping the headset with my hand does the same thing as the VAS AND AVAD features.
Look out ebay... I am going to sell off the extra loops and USB chargers for the jawbone 1.
This is by far, without question or equivocation, the WORST customer service I have ever had from any company. After returning three headsets to the store where I bought them, I called the manufacturer and they promised an advance replacement. They charged my AmEx $75 and then proceeded to "lose" the shipment. Over a month later I got the advance replacement and returned my original (my 4th actually) unit by registered mail. The factory replacement still caused most conversations to run like this, "Hello!" - "What? I can't hear you" - "I said HELLO! Can you hear me now?" - "I can't hear you, are you under water?" - "Is this better?" - "I can't hear anything, call from a landline" - "No, wait, let me turn off my JawJunk".
If that wasn't enough, this manufacturer decided to just keep my $75 paid for the advance replacement unit. So the math works like this: I paid $125 for the unit. I paid $75 to have it replaced under warranty. I sent them the original unit and they signed for it. They kept all the money. I paid over $200 for a JawJunk headset that doesn't work and has zero value.
Your mileage may vary. I have had four JawJunks and they were all bad. But my original JawBone was quite good (although very ugly). Still, I learned my lesson about this one hit wonder company. They can't make a good product so they just steal money from their customers.
I purchased my Jawbone 2 couple months ago. I have no problems with it, its a great product. The bad side of it is that it comes without a car charger in the box. I have done some research and bought my self a Jawbone 2 car charger from a http://www.msgdigital.com/productdetail.asp?productid=47963.