New Jawbone Released
New Jawbone by Aliph: Smaller, Lighter & More Comfortable
As seasoned Treonauts will know, the original Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth Headset (now discontinued) had been the #1 bestselling headset for both the Treo and Centro for over a year thanks to its astounding and superior noise cancellation technology – aptly named NoiseAssassin – which “kills” background noise and delivers unparalleled call clarity in almost all environments.
The original Jawbone has been my Editor’s Choice Bluetooth Headset for a while and I was therefore rather excited to hear about the release last week of the New Jawbone (pictured above and below) – an elegant, slightly smaller and lighter version of the original.
Among others, this New Jawbone is some 50% lighter than the previous model (only 10 grams versus 19 grams) and is constructed with ultra-smooth medical-grade plastic. At the same time, the front is now lightly textured in a sound-reflective progressive relief – a three-dimensional texture aimed to be visually representative of noise abatement surfaces – and a new ear loop designed to make the headset fit more comfortably.
The New Jawbone comes in three colors – Silver Tongue, Blah Blah Black and Goldy Lips – and is offered with optional matching fine leather earloops.
Although Aliph claims that the New Jawbone offers even better noise cancellation technology early reviews are nonetheless rather mixed on this front with most reporting that there is basically no improvement over the original at all.
Furthermore, Aliph’s other claim that its new model is “50% smaller than the original” is also somewhat exagerated (see image below). Although it’s true that the weight has been reduced by 50% (down to 10 grams) only some of the width (about 30%) and thickness (about 10%) have actually been shaved for the rest of the headset.
Then there is the matter of Aliph’s unchanged "invisible button" policy which is designed to hide the buttons under the front shield to deliver “a clutter-free look” but which all too often confuses people since they can’t see where the buttons are actually located. Additionally, the New Jawbone yet again uses a proprietary charging connector instead of a standard mini or micro USB.
Overall, the New Jawbone basically appears to deliver the same level of exceptional noise cancellation technology as the original in a smaller, lighter and more comfortable to wear package. It’s just a shame that it looks a little bit too “designer”, that it offers complex access to its buttons and that it fails to deliver a standard USB charging connector.
UPDATE: Please read my full New Jawbone Review
Treonauts always find improvements…
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Comments
I purchased the original Jawbone literally the day before they announced the new one, then went back and had them send me the new Jawbone, expecting to return the original. Having used both for a week or so now, including heavy travel -- airports, cars w/ windows down and music on (just to test), etc. I'm really torn, not sure which one to return.
The NEW Jawbone is lighter, easier to wear, less obtrusive, generally nicer, though very plastic-y and a little cheap feeling. The charger, though proprietary as noted in the review above, is very cool, similar concept to the Mac's magnetic connector, it's really easy to use, it charges very quickly, it's just solid. People on the other end report excellent sound quality on their end, almost indistinguishable from the OLD Jawbone's quality. However, the NEW Jawbone, paired w/ my Treo 700p, is MUCH worse on incoming sound quality, i.e. what I hear while wearing it, vs. the OLD Jawbone, and even worse than my old Plantronics 510. But it's inconsistent. Sometimes, it's actually quite good, but other times, it's really fuzzy, the auto-volume does not seem to adjust, it's very hard to hear and not that clear. Very odd, given all the excellent reviews. The OLD Jawbone is MUCH better in terms of what I hear, but has all the well known hassles -- it's a little clunky, does not stay seated as well, more obtrusive looking, and the AC connector is very hard to disconnect.
Aliph of course tells me that the poor incoming sound quality is a known Treo 700p lousy bluetooth implementation problem and I ought to get a phone that works. And Palm of course tells me that neither Jawbone has been certified as compatible w/ Treo 700p and I ought to buy one of their headsets instead. Duh, go figure.
I'm curious whether any other Treo 700p users have better experience with the NEW Jawbone, esp re incoming sound quality, and what if anything you all suggest to get it working as well as most of the other reviews report.
Thanks much.
Alex
Andrew, nice review. I have a friend with the old jawbone and a palm 700w. he has been happy with the sound quality on his end & I was impressed with his voice quality enough to give bluetooth another try. I bought the new jawbone and paired it with my Samsung i760. friends reported my voice sounded great but the sound on my end from the earpiece was unacceptable. I tried all the attachments, ect. nothing helped. i'm really dissapointed since I think its comfortable and easy to use. I spend 3500 min per month on my cell and have found a $5 plantronics wired earpiece to offer quality compairable to the shure models. I buy 5 of those little babies and if I loose it..... who cares...!
rgds,
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