Review: Jawbone Icon Bluetooth Headset
I recently lost my Bluetooth headset so I went shopping for a new one this week. I ended up going with the Jawbone Icon and boy am I glad that I did. First of all, the sound quality is outstanding. I had no problem hearing anybody in any environment. The key to this is finding the right earpiece to fit your ear. It comes with several as well as an ear hook. Once you do that, you’re good to go. Next you have to find a position where the Voice Activity Sensor can touch your cheek. That’s because the Jawbone headsets according to the company “are the only Bluetooth headsets with a Voice Activity Sensor (VAS) that literally feels your speech vibrations. As a result, Jawbone ICON delivers unmatched speech quality and eliminates virtually all background noise.” Based on my tests, I can say that this is the case. Now if you don’t have it touching your cheek, it does have a real microphone. But your voice won’t sound nearly as good. One thing that does help your voice sound good is the fact that it has what the company calls NoiseAssassin technology which the company describes as “a proprietary technology that eliminates unwanted background noise when you talk on the phone. It gives you the freedom to enjoy quiet phone conversations in places you previously couldn’t.” All I can say is that it works.
A rather unique feature is the fact that this headset can be programmed to add or modify functions. For example, I changed the voice on it to one with an English accent as well as updating the base operating system to add voice dialing. You can also download apps for your iPhone or Blackberry to put a battery meter on the phone so you can see how much juice you have left. All of these apps are available at a special website that you have to sign up for. This same website can also help you set up the options on the headset so that you can function the way you want it to.
Bottom line, If you are looking for a Bluetooth headset, the Jawbone Icon should be on your list, if not at the top of it. It has a unique list of features as well as great sound quality and the ability to customize it for your needs. I’m pretty sure that your going to find it to be an excellent choice for the car, or anytime you want to be hands free. Oh yeah, it’s not only Mac friendly, but it works with Firefox. Nice!
May 22, 2011 at 2:21 am
The problem with the VAS is that it literally blocks out everything. I had often enough the problem that not just the background noise got blocked out, but that also I wasn’t understandable. I’m always struggling with noise reduction, because I couldnt find any system without side effects.