Review: Jabra BT530 Bluetooth headset

Matt Burns

Matt is a Senior Editor at TechCrunch. Matt Burns is a family man first and attempts to be a writer second. Born and raised in the heart of the automotive world, only cars eclipse his love of gadgets. He previously wrote for Engadget and EngadgetHD before moving into the party house that is TechCrunch. He learned the retail side of... → Learn More

Thursday, December 4th, 2008

Short Version: Another Jabra Bluetooth headset with O.K. sound quality and range, but sports a true on/off switch. Not a soft button, but a real, honest to goodness, on/off switch. Praise jebus!

Overview and Features:

  • Medium-size Bluetooth headset
  • Dual microphones
  • Ear hook optional
  • “Eargel” inserts
  • 5.5 hours of talk time
  • 250 hours of standby
  • Micro-USB charger
  • On/Off toggle switch

What is it?

It’s a Bluetooth headset. That’s all. The BT530 connects to your mobile phone and works as a wireless headset. To be honest, it does its job well. The sound quality is good enough and while people on the other side couldn’t tell any difference between this one and my old Motorola headset, that’s fine with me.

What I love about this headset is the On/Off toggle switch. Rarely are these hard switches on tiny mobile devices anymore, rather they tend to employ soft buttons that you can never really rely on. You can always tell if this headset is powered on or off though with a dedicated power switch. Love it.

What is not.

It doesn’t have any LCD screens or made out of any exotic material. The headset will not attract attention with a matte black design and the single silver strip down the center. That’s cool with me, though.

Final thoughts.

The retail price is $99.99 which is a tad high. Thankfully, the BT530 can be had for around $60 which is more approprate and highly recommended for that price.

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