Despite Aliph’s insensitive viral videos circulating the Web nowadays, the Jawbone is a great Bluetooth headset. Yeah, I know I poke fun at you Bluetooth headset wearing funny guys, but when something works and works well, you can’t deny it or make fun of it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still going to make fun of those that wear it in inappropriate places, but that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. As I said before, I took the Jawbone to the toughest testing ground I could think of for such a gadget. The streets of NYC. It passed with flying colors except for one thing that could possibly be a deal breaker for some.
I’ll start with the “Noise Shield”. Having this option on/off is like night and day. For those on the other end it was a pleasant experience so long as it was turned on. Any noise other than my voice was eliminated immediately. And I’m not talking about birds chirping or anything pleasant. We’re talking about cars roaring by honking their horns and all sorts of other loud and obnoxious sounds that reverberate throughout the streets of Manhattan. Once it was turned off, people didn’t want to talk to me anymore. The noise was overwhelming and your voice was no longer the center of attention. Of all the Bluetooth headsets I’ve tried this is by far the best at blocking out excessive noise.
That being said, what I didn’t like was the fit of the headset. It comes with four earbuds and four earloops, none of which suited my ear properly. So at times the Noise Shield didn’t really work for me unless I crammed the headset against my head. That was the only issue and after doing a bit of perusing on the Web to see if anyone else had such problems, I found that Jabra earloops seemed to do the trick, though I’m not sure which one. Nor have I acquired an earloop from Jabra to test out this theory. In any case, the Jawbone is without a doubt the best noise canceling Bluetooth headset out on the market. Now, I know it’s been out there for a while, but we haven’t had a chance to test it or really care to test it until now. It’s readily available for $120, but I’m sure you can find it elsewhere for cheaper.