[anupamkansal]

I had recently reviewed my Nokia 6110 Navigator. Then My Sala’s birthday was coming up and I got confused on what to gift him  Finally after much deliberations I decided to get him a Bluetooth Headset and surprisingly Wife also agreed. So, what headset to buy?

I already had a Nokia BC-204 BT headset and it has spent more time in Nokia Care then on my Head. Seriously Nokia accessories suck, first they r so bloody expensive and then the warranty is a paltry 6 months and the quality sucks big time. My Headset kept on hanging every month and I had to take it to Nokia care for resetting, finally it konked off and after some haggling they agreed to replace my Headset, even though it was 10 months old. One month later, I get a new head set, that promptly konks of the very next day, still waiting for a replacement  So Nokia is out of the options. I had heard good things about Jabra from my boss, who had a Jabra unit after his Nokia unit also went kaput.

Now came the decision which model to buy? When I was purchasing my Nokia, HotSpot had a deal that one Jabra Headset for 1.5K and 2 for 2.5K, so the devil in me said: “do khreed leta hoo, eak gift kar doonga and tell the cost as 2.5K and keep the other for myself ”.

The set was ‘jabra BT250v’. It is a behind the ear kind of headset with a built in vibrator for notifications in case the system is set on silent. I used it for sometime with my Motorolla L7 unit when tragedy stuck: My cell slipped from my shirt pocket and went swimming in the washbasin. So now I am using my Nokia 6110 Navigator as my primary phone. The voice quality of this Headset is ok, voice is clear but there is a static crackling noise present many times that is annoying, but not enough to destroy the usability of the system. It is no set to be used for muzik playback. The voice & muzik clarity of the Nokia definitely better, pity the quality was pathetic. Boding with handsets is a lil different but not rocket science. The buttons are large and easy to use and perform well.

The best part of the headset is that it is soooo comfortable to wear … even inside a helmet u hardly notice that you are wearing it, that is until a call comes. Then it will vibrate to tell you that “hey man, pick up the phone” and if you have is set on auto answer, after 2 vibrations, the call is auto answered. The voice quality for both sides is good, even when the microphone is covered by the helmet foam. My L7 gave me the option to pick up the call after 2,5 or 10 second, not in Nokia, which is a lil idotic as sometimes the Headset is lying in my pocket and before u can put it on ur ear, the call has been answered.

Now for the stress testing, past few days, I used my phone on my bike with the Headset. I was listening to muzik, using the navigation feature and answered a few calls too. Muzik, as I have said is no good, bearable at max. Zero bass. Now the phone has its limitations, so when the muxik is playing, only 50% of the navigation prompts got through, but they were clear. When a call came, the muzik, shut down and the call answered and call over, muzik resumed. Seamless, zero intervention from my part. In case the muzik, was not playing, 100% navigation prompts got through, and call were also no problem. In all the limitation is of Handset not of Headset.

Finally, I think if you are the ones who love to drive a bike and receives a zillion calls on his mobile, this headset is perfect. It smoothly fits inside your helmet, without any pressure on your ear or head. Voice quality is ok (thanks to the patented minigel system that delivers sound right into your ear canal) and the vibrator ensures that you are well notified of the calls. It has a 10 hour talk time so wont go dead even on long drives. I believe this set is going out of production so the discount. It has 6 months warranty, same as Nokia. In all I am satisfied with it  A good gift and money well spent !!!!!


Anupam Kansal

[apache_rider]

Thanks for the review Anupam. I am looking for decent stereo bluetooth headset but couldnt find any in noida. So decided to shift to normal BT headsets, just had a look at the Jabra BT135 for 1.5k in the mobile market in noida, any reivews about this model
Will be buying this monday, still confused?? which one?? where?? any other model for price range around 2k, will be buying two headsets.

PS Thanks for warning against Nokia, i was about to order them...

[anupamkansal]

If you are a bike rider, buy a behind the ear type of headset, as you can wear them even when u r driving with a helmet on. I could not wear my Nokia under the helmet as it applied a lot of force on my ears and head. Jabra BT135 is also good, but u cant wear it under your helmet. Also, please look around, this headset is also available in the discount package at Hotspot. Though it is not easily available. Try the Hotspot at Great India Place they have this model in stock. The guy will say that the scheme is over, so u tell him ki mere dost ne kal hi scheme mei khreeda hai. Try negotitating and ask him to call his headoffice to confirm ...

One model of Sony BT headset is also available for 1.6K easily at Hotspot or any other shop. Check the big group of mobile shops near Atta Market. Rest all Nokia, Sony, Motorola, Jabra headsets are expensive, and i dont see much difference in the sound quality etc.

Even I was looking at Stereo BT headsets at one time, and after much research I found that they are only good for muzik and even then the quality is not as good as the wired headsets. Though Motorolla ka snoop is decent but not available in individual retail. Rest all Nokia etc are very expensive at around 5K. Also, U cant use them for normal use, it looks weird with two big headphones hanging from your ear for the whole day, while for the behind ear mono headset, it is not that odd looking.

[apache_rider]

Yup as my profile depicts i am a bike rider, the two reasons for choosing stereo headset was music and comfort. Now the one which you are using seems rather perfect. will check the store in G.I.P. Sony headset which one any model number.

The moto snoop L9 is nice but costly and seems not so comfy for me and only avaliable at Moto stores and Nokia headphones are of no use either.

Thanks for the pointer, will have a look..

[anupamkansal]

Ask for the cheapest Sony BT headset , it is around 1.7k but it is not the behind ear type. BTW, My office is in Noida, so if u want to test run the Jabra, u r more than welcome to drop in any time. Also, I generally meet up with BCM guys at the weekly dhabba meets too. My Mob: 09873665964

[apache_rider]

Thanks to anupam bought the same headset and i must say its nice, works fine with my phone, also have paired with the new phone so that i can use any one of the numbers to call up with ease.


There are some doubts which i would like to ask first the headset works fine for good 10mts in straight line.For example if i leave my phone on table i can talk very comfortably in my balcony but as soon as i am out of line of sight there is disturbance, is it okay or there is any issue..

Another thing is that the headset is too loud for me, even if the volume is set to 1 and volume set to minimum in the headset itself. Any idea what to do or do i need to get habitual to the volume.

PS:The headset is huge for my small and light ear lobes, its seems as if there is heavy load on the poor ear lobes :mgreen:

[anupamkansal]

Congrats .... on ur new possession ...

The max bluetooth range for headsets is 10mts (33feet), but since it is a very low power technology the best audio is when u r in few feet of the devices. Also, since this a one generation old device as compared to the latest devices, it has a little more noise sometimes, which depends on your mobile also.

Hmmm, about the volume, every ear is different sensitivity so cant comment much on that. But a small advise, since these headphones deliver sound directly to your ear, please use as little volume as possible and keep alternating the ear you use. On a lighters side another advantage of alternate ear use is that both ur ears will get stretched by the same amount


One thing though, i talk a lot on my headset, so now a days, most of my coleagues are confused as to am I talking to them or on my phone ) side effects of technology .... P

njoy maadi

[apache_rider]

Thanks, sorted out the issues, firstly the phone is kept closer or in the same room where i talk or in my pocket so there is minimal interference.

and another about the volume i felt loud even when volume was set to minimum(have been using regular ear phones so keep ear based devices in minimal volume while using), i actually started using the long minigels, those ear gels were delivering sound too close to my eardrum which i suppose was causing discomfort, shifted to regular gels and there are no issues.

Have been shuffling between ears, while driving on the left side(avioding cops view ) and rest of the time on the right ear..

Even here people around me think i am talking to them...