Jabra BT5010 Bluetooth Headset Review: Impressive Talk Time

Great review as always Andrew ... and very helpful and although the sliding boom mic on the new Jabra is nice, a button to push ... or squeeze like the Jabra JX10 would be better. That's said, with a price drop of $40 for the Jawbone, it is a 'no-brainer.' I'd buy another Jawbone in a heartbeat if I lost mine, although I wish they would improve the 'pocketablity' and 'call/hangup' button a bit? Your '7' is a bit generous IMHO)

There really should be more availability of elegant headset solutions that go in BOTH ears so that I can enjoy stereo sound with my MP3s and videos as well as talk on the phone.

My multi-use Palm OS platform becomes a whole lot less fun if I've gotta carry two types of headsets around.

Currently I use the Sony Ericsson HBH DS970, which has bluetooth (so no wires have to connect to my Treo to get caught on things) and stereo ear buds, but the wires that connect the buds to the controller are really bad, so I'm still looking for my perfect solution.

Can you explain why the Jabra JX-10 at a much smaller size and 1/2 the weight gets rated only an 8 of 10 for "pocketability", while this larger unit gets a 9 of 10?

I'm sure that the JX10 gets a lower rating for 'pocketability' because the ear loop is so darn fragile. It's fine if you're wearing dress pants but forget about it if you want to keep it in a pair of jeans.

I just happened to purchase the BT5010 about 4 hours before this review went up. The incoming sound is excellent and *very* loud, and the boom makes a world of difference in outgoing sound quality. It also seems to handle background noise pretty well (e.g., car noise), though I haven't had a chance to test out its wind reduction capabilities yet. For a headset on the heavier side of the spectrum it is surprisingly comfortable.

I'm currently using this with a 750 and have experienced no issues thus far.

P.S. - I hate to be a jerk but for a site with so many readers the writing here is oftentimes atrocious (e.g., way too wordy, too many awkwardly placed adverbs, etc.). A careful reading of Strunk & White would do wonders here.

On the flip side, and just to be fair, the information tends to be very good much of the time, even though it's usually buried in poor writing.

I'm sure I'll get killed for this postscript.

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Its the "Best Cell Phone Available Today" list from a great new Web site, ListAfterList.com

I see that Jabra also has the BT5020 which also works with the A7010 Bluetooth hub that can connect to your desk phone.

When you turn the Jabra BT 5010 off, is it really off or can you accidentally place a call by pressing against it in your shirt pocket. I don't want it to wake up and accept a call after I've turned it off either, it looks like a good unit but I'd really appreciate some input from actual users. Thanks

Your review does not seem to note that the Jabra BT5010 is a Bluetooth 2.0 device, which is supposed to provide better battery life, quicker connectivity and faster data transfers, among other improvements. The Aliph Jawbone manual says that it is a Bluetooth 1.2 device. If true, the BT5010 clearly is a big step ahead of the Jawbone.

Your reviews always should note what version of various technologies are supported. It's been my experience that if manufacturers do not note version numbers in specifications or even in sexy marketing material, they are shipping outdated products.

So which of the comparison headsets support Bluetooth 2.0?

I bought BT5010 and have Treo 700w. I am noticed that I cannot do redial (I was able to do that with the treo hluetooth headset). Also, every now and then the Treo 700w freezes up when I try to "connect to bluetooth". Basically, the call does not go BT (this happens 2-3 times a day).

Is this because of Treo 700w Bluetooth or BT5010 issue?

Can someone help me please.

Thanks.

..Ramesh

I bought BT5010 and have Treo 700w. I am noticed that I cannot do redial (I was able to do that with the treo hluetooth headset). Also, every now and then the Treo 700w freezes up when I try to "connect to bluetooth". Basically, the call does not go BT (this happens 2-3 times a day).

Is this because of Treo 700w Bluetooth or BT5010 issue?

Can someone help me please.

Thanks.

..Ramesh

There seems to be some problems with this headset.

Jabra BT5010 seems to be problematic with some phone models. For instance, I used to own a Jabra BT350 which was working like a charm with my Motorola KRZR K1 from Cingular (AT&T now). I just got BT5010 and I realized I could not do some of the things I could with BT350. For instance, I cannot get REDIAL to work. The manual says to tap Answer/End button which doesn't do anything. Voice dialing, however works great (pressing Answer/End button) I tried tapping Answer/End button many times, and 1 out of 10 trials, it does actually redial. I could not figure what was going wrong.

Also, the manual doesn't mention you have to have the arm extended to be able to adjust volume on the headset. Another annoying drawback is that I cannot shut the vibrate off. The manual tells to press and hold voice up/down buttons. Forget about disabling vibrate, it shuts the headset. Interesting...

I send a request to JABRA explaning my problems. But they replied with one of those "pretyped" classical idiotic mails. Here goes the reply:

Please try a reset and re-pair of the phone and BT5010.
1. Turn the headset off.
2. Plug the headset power supply into a wall outlet.
3. Connect the headset to the power supply for 5 seconds.
4. Disconnect the headset.
5. Remove the headset from the phone Bluetooth menu.
6. Turn the phone off.
7. Remove the battery (and sim card, if removable), and hold out for 5 seconds.
8. Re-install the battery (and sim card, if applicable) and turn the phone on, but do not touch any settings.
9. With the headset off, put the headset into pairing mode by pressing and holding the on/off/pairing button until you see a steady blue light (you will see a green light for a second first). Release the button.
10. Perform the pairing procedure for the phone.
If the above procedure does not work, please return the headset to the retailer for a replacement. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Which, of course, did not work. I am thinking of returning the headset back to JABRA. Anyways, apart from that, thanks god, the headset works and people hear me okay. If anybody know the cure for the problems I stated, I will be glad if you could reply here. Thanks.

Two questions:

(1)I often hear two short beeps emanating from the headset. I can't find where the manual explains what these beeps mean.

Similar problems with the 5010. The jabra site say its compatible with the Nokia6500 but in practice it's not. Voice dialing doesn't work if you pair two phones using the multipoint ability. Multipoint and voice dialing are the reasons I bought the headset so for me this scores 0 out of 10 a total dud.

I recently just bought jabra bt5010. How do you turn it on? I have charged fully 2 hours , but the indicator wont turn to green light. Any solution here?

Did anybody find the solution for the annoying beeps problem?

It is my understanding that if you talk with the boom unextended, you hear those irritating beeps. I guess it's trying to warn you that your voice may not go through clearly with the boom contracted. I only heard those when I was talking though.

It is clear that the user's manual for BT5010 is not comprehensive. It misses out many things that are crucial to the operation of the headset. Another minus I give to the headset.

PS: My friends bought me ALIPH JAWBONE for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. I must say, the voice quality is not better than BT5010. However, my friends say they can hear me much clearly and without any background noise with the Jawbone. It has a rubber extension that touches your jaw and senses the vibrations when you are talking to correctly eliminate background noise. Interesting idea. I tested it with a vacuum cleaner working 3 feet away from the headset, and my friends said they did not hear it!!! Voice dial and redial features work flawlessly with the Jawbone (no vibrating alert is a huge minus on Jawbone though), and I am still having problems with those with BT 5010.

Bought the BT 5010 recently.
The call quality is pretty good but the thing is so ridiculously uncomfortable that I can't keep it on for very long.
The over-ear loop is so small that you have to bend it way out of shape to get it over your ear. Go back up this page and look at the pic of it... now imagine that fitting around your ear. I should mention here that the first half of the arm is solid and unbendable so you only have the end to work with to make it fit.
The bit that is supposed to fit snug into your ear is so big that it hurts immediately when you put it on and only gets worse from there. Also it tends to pop out of your ear regularly (if you turn your head.. or chew gum) and hurts when you put it back in.
I would only recommend this headset to someone who uses it infrequently as it is very inexpensive.

This Jabra headphone sucks! It wont stay on your ear.... Unless you want to hold your bluetooth headset like a phone. then dont get it. The Jabra JX10 series one headset isnt any better. The jx10 would stay in your head and looks totally awesome, but I did not experience very good out going voice quality whenever I have my LG v8300 cell phone in my pocket. The only headphone that worked for me so far is the Jawbone.

bt5010, hope this helps re vibrator on/off.
ignore manual, start with headset off, press and hold
the up and down buttons. turn on headset, battery indication flashes, the vibrate will alternate each time this is done. maybe mine and others are clones?.

oops nearly forgot, occasional beeps from headset, when your phones signal drops out the beeps alert you to this.

I was able to turn the vibration back on!!! Thanks for the help!!!! Sometimes the directions on these phone are not specific and it takes someone messing with then to fiure them out!!!! Thanks again

I bought Jabra BT5010 yesterday .
i put it in the charge next day when i went to see is the light green (full charge) or red i saw it was same (red) its been more then 24 hours that i put it into the charge does any one know how long does it take to be a fully charge ?!
tanx .

I have bought 5010 from ebay and i cant manage to enable vibration at all. I have tried both the manual and user tobo said but still cant make it vibrate.
Is it possible i got a fake/clone?

Ijust received the BT5010 for my b-day and I'm having problems getting it charged. It's been over 14 hrs and I still have a solid red light. according to the instructions it should be charged for 2 hrs before the light turns green. This is my second device. The first one took even longer and still no green light. Should I return it for a refund? Has anyone else had this issue? should I let it charge over night again? Or do I hadve another dud?

Please help if you can.

Thanks!

Not able to swtich off my vibrator,can some onle help
5010 Jab