Product: Jawbone Era

Design: 3.5 / 5
Sound Quality (in): 5 / 5
Sound Quality (out): 4 / 5
Build Quality: 4 / 5
Battery: 5 / 5
Comfort: 4 / 5
MSRP: $129.99 (USD)
Overall: 4.5 / 5



I started using wired headsets while in University. I was pretty active, so the only time I really had to talk on the phone was when I was cooking, or doing laundry. So when I found out about Bluetooth headsets, I jumped at the opportunity of getting one. I picked up my first BT headset to use with my Sony Ericsson T68i (still one of my favourite phones I've ever used). I've been hooked ever since. I have since developed a big distaste for wires in general, opting for the wireless alternative at any opportunity.

For Valentine's Day, I was given my newest headset, Jawbone Era. It boasts using Noise Assassin 3.0, a military grade noise canceling technology using the vibrations of your jaw, and blah blah blah. I'll just let the video tell you what it does.




Jawbone decided that they were going to introduce some new technology to their latest release.
It has the ability to "learn". You can plug it into your computer via its microUSB port, and download apps for it. You can change the voices that talk to you, and other little gimmicky features. 
They've also put in an accelerometer. Pretty cool, but totally useless. Another gimmick to increase the price of what I suspect could have cost under $100. But it's certainly gives you pause to think about some of the possibilities of having such technology in place for a headset. I'm fairly certain that, and excited to see, more useful applications will be rolled out in the future. You can currently shake the headset 4x to put it into pairing mode, and double tap to take and end calls.

The incoming sound is a VAST improvement from previous iterations of the Jawbone line. It was pretty good before, but a little soft, and slightly "tinny". The Era has a 25% bigger speaker, giving fuller, richer sounds. It features pretty good stereo-over-mono music (music in one ear), and adaptive volume, depending on how loud your surrounds are.
They boast 5 hour talk time and deliver. And at the push of a button, a voice tells you how much more time you have to speak.

I am however, getting a little bored with their design. It still looks great, but I think it's time for them to try something different. I also don't like their hidden on/off switch, which is located on the inside of the headset. That being said, I am THRILLED that they've done away with the flashing LED light that broadcasts to everyone around you that you're on the phone. Instead, they've put it subtly on the inside of the headset, forming a sleek ring around the jawbone sensor.

Fantastic improvements overall, but I still wish that SOMEBODY (hopefully Jawbone) will come out with a commercial BT headset that will get rid of wind noise.

~Cheers.