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Jabra BT500 Bluetooth Headset
Title Jabra BT500 Bluetooth Headset
Description Jabra BT500 is the next generation of the world's best-selling Bluetooth headsets and continues to be the choice for business professionals who require high performance and superior comfort.
Manufacturer Website Jabra
Sent by alex_mathews

Contributed by Tracy Fulce.

The Jabra BT500 Bluetooth headset is a reliable tool in a compact package...once you get past the instruction manual, that is. The instruction manual is sketchy at best, and the manufacturer's website merely reiterates the printed booklet.

The headset can be charged via an AC power supply, which was what I used. It comes with a USB cable to charge the unit via a PC, and you can order a car charger through Jabra. A red light tells you it's charging, and a green light indicates that the headset is fully charged and ready for use.

The trick is in pairing the headset with your phone. I’ve had some challenges in the past, paring different Bluetooth tools. The Jabra BT500's manual said to press the pairing button on the headset, which I did. Repeatedly. It wouldn’t pair up. I spent 2 days cursing at it, the manual, and my Treo. Finally I pressed and HELD the pairing button - voilŕ! My phone detected the headset and I was good to go.

The sound quality of the Jabra is good. My friend told me that I was much clearer on the BT500 than I had ever been on my wired headset. Once I ensured that the earpiece was nestled in my ear--unlike an earbud, you don't have to jam the earpiece in your ear--I could hear her very clearly, and she was on her cellphone as well. However, when I called someone else on their landline, the connection was much more distorted on my end, but I think that had to do with the phone quality of the person I called, and not the headset.

There's a real lightshow on the BT500: a flashing blue light every second tells you it's active on a call, and a 3-second flashing blue light indicates the phone is in standby mode. A solid blue light means the headset is in "pairing mode". To turn on the headset, you press the answer/end button on the end of the headset until the blue light flashes rapidly. To turn it off, press and HOLD the answer/end button - again, the rapidly flashing blue light tells you the unit is off.

The Jabra BT500 has several features that are dependent on the capabilities of the mobile phone being used. These include:

Voice dialing: The mic is fairly sensitive to noise, so in a noisy coffee shop, I wasn't able to make a call using voice dial. Once I was in a quiet location, the headset quickly & easily recognized the name. The BT500's manual recommends using the headset to record voice dial names.

Sound & volume adjustment: The volume is adjusted via 2 tiny raised buttons on the headset. To mute a call, press both volume buttons simultaneously - the low beep sound will let you know the call has been muted. The mute function is disabled by tapping either volume button.

Redial: Press the answer/end button.

Call waiting & placing call on hold: Press the answer/end button to answer call waiting, then press it again to switch between calls. Tap the answer/end button to end the active conversation.

Ignoring a call: Press the answer/end button when the phone rings to reject an incoming call. Depending on your phone's settings, the caller will either go to voicemail or get a busy signal.

The unit uses Bluetooth version 1.2. Talk time goes up to 8 hours, and standby time is up to 240 hours. According to the manual, an adapter is available from Jabra so that the headset can be used with a non-Bluetooth mobile phone.

Pros: very compact; fits comfortably on ear; sound quality very good under normal conditions.

Cons: instruction manual unclear on pairing procedure; buttons may be hard to manipulate for people with big fingers.

USER'S NOTE:To pair the Jabra BT500 headset to your phone, set your phone to discover Bluetooth devices. Make sure the headset is fully charged and turned on, then press and hold the pairing button on the headset.

The Jabra BT500 Bluetooth Headset is available for $84.95 from our store.
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Comments
blaak_forrest
18th November 2006 - 06:26 AM
 Don't go for Jabra products.. They suck!

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