JABRA BT500v Headset

...Vodafone offered me a free Jabra BT205 when I upgrade my phone a couple of years back, it was difficult to say no, and I very soon came to use the thing all the time. The 205 was a decent little headset and something I used frequently when going on longer journeys (which I do almost every weekend during the winter to play hockey).

It was on one such outing that I managed to lose my little 205, so just before Christmas I bought a Jabra ...
...couldn't find any of the instructions for the 205 and they look very similar in pictures online (having googled 'Jabra') and I assumed the one I lost was the exact same thing. In fact they look completely different!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS AND SET-UP

When it arrived I charged it up, paired it with my SEK800i with no trouble, and it sat on the shelf for a couple of days until I came to use it. The very different look compared ... more

WHY DID I BUY IT?

I was always happy to leave my phone to ring when driving, as I'm not the sort of person who thinks "I must answer that right now or the world will end!". For me a phone is a tool for freedom and not a ball and chain, and I was one of the very last in my circle of friends to succumb to the revolution that is the mobile phone. I have to admit I did briefly consider a hands-free kit, but they looked ugly and also a good excuse for some scally to smash a car window, just in case you'd been dumb enough to leave your phone inside.

However, when Vodafone offered me a free Jabra BT205 when I upgrade my phone a couple of years back, it was difficult to say no, and I very soon came to use the thing all the time. The 205 was a decent little headset and something I used frequently when going on longer journeys (which I do almost every weekend during the winter to play hockey).

It was on one such outing that I managed to lose my little 205, so just before Christmas I bought a Jabra BT500v. Not as an informed choice mind, but because I couldn't find any of the instructions for the 205 and they look very similar in pictures online (having googled 'Jabra') and I assumed the one I lost was the exact same thing. In fact they look completely different!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS AND SET-UP

When it arrived I charged it up, paired it with my SEK800i with no trouble, and it sat on the shelf for a couple of days until I came to use it. The very different look compared to the 205 still didn't really register (I was having a bad week), I just figured it was an upgraded case or something.

It hadn't really occurred to me that mobile phone headsets could be that different!

BUZZING!

It was only when driving and using it for the same time I noticed a very big difference - and no, not that this seemed just a wee bit lighter, or that the talk/charge time seemed to last twice as long... but this thing VIBRATES.

Now, this is a cool little feature, and one I have come to appreciate enormously, but if you've bombing along the M25 at 70mph in your knackered old Citroen (reviewed elsewhere) and your ear suddenly buzzes, the natural human reaction is to let go the stearing wheel and start slapping at a bee which simply isn't there.

The guy in the volvo in the lane next to me looked almost as scared as my passengers, who must have thought "Crikey, now Nobby's REALLY lost it!"

Mental note to self: ALWAYS READ THE INSTRUCTIONS IN FULL

FIT

Once over the initial shock, I began to appreciate what a handy little gadget this is. It fits behind the ear very well, and although obviously not as comfortable as no headset at all, it is comfortable to wear for long-ish periods.

It seems to fit better than I remember the 205 did, but that might be because I slapped my ear pretty hard and could have caused permanent nerve damage...

CONNECTION AND AUDIO QUALITY

The connection with my phone via bluetooth is excellent, and the call quality sounds every bit as clear as it does when using the earpiece on the phone itself, although it does have a slightly different quality in that it is a bit less bassy... but then who needs telephone calls to have a load of bass?

LOOKS

The 500v looks good too (for something which inherently makes you look a bit daft), and indeed looks very different from 205. The overall look is a tad sleeker and the buttons are neater than the 205 (although still perfectly usable). I think it looks pretty good compaired to the over-elaborate Nokia ones that some of my friends use too, but that's just a personal taste thing. I don't like lairy gadgets, mainly because in my own experience they've always been (a) unreliable and (b) overpriced.

WOULD I RECOMMEND IT?

Yep. Overall this is a handy bit of kit and does everything you might want it to do very well. If you shop around you can get them for a very good price too, so if you're in the market for a headset and aren't a slave to Nokia, you could do much worse than give one of these little fellas a whirl. 

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