Filed under: Accessories, Retail, iPhone
Get a Jawbone with your iPhone
One of our Weblogs, Inc. designers sent a Twitter the other day bragging that his new Aliph Jawbone had appeared on his doorstep. After a quick Google search, I realized he wasn't talking about a new part of his anatomy, but rather a hot little Bluetooth headset. They don't get slicker than this-- not only does it look like it taps right into your face, but apparently the science works, too, if the demo is any indication. At $120, it ain't the cheapest headset you'll find, but according to our designer, it's completely worth it.And so I wasn't that surprised to see, according to Macworld, that Apple is going to be selling these babies in their stores, right alongside the iPhone. Apparently a quality (and expensive) phone calls for a quality (and expensive) Bluetooth headset, and we're sure Aliph is thrilled to get shelf space next to what is already set to be one of the hottest products of the year. There's no word if the Jawbone is in Apple stores yet, but Aliph says if you want one, they'll be sitting right there in 157 Apple stores across the country next Friday.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kai Cherry said 9:07AM on 6-19-2007
Sadly, I go thru BT headsets like and they Jawbone has been on my radar for quite awhile.
The in store (ATT) demos I've seen of it ware quite persuasive...however Motorola (of all companies) just got me to drop some change on the S9s.
I likes my music, and I haven't had any complaints about voice quality. They use a similar (but not quite as nice...doesn't do the filtering) principle in that the mic is in your right ear and the voice call is in the left.
I'd be interested in anyone's feedback tho that has the jawbone.
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basscadet said 9:21AM on 6-19-2007
"according to our designer, it's completely worth it"
there's a sucker born every minute. in an era of affordable design I do believe ppl give way too much importance on looks. I bet these guys never even read specs or do comparison shopping.
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franko said 9:26AM on 6-19-2007
ooh,baby, i've wanted one of these ever since i heard about them, but the price is keeping me back. apple's right, though -- if you're going to buy an iphone, what's another $130, right?
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Joe Smith said 9:46AM on 6-19-2007
true - it's only a quarter of the cost of an iphone, compacted into a nice little one sided headphone and microphone :P
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Afterschool said 9:51AM on 6-19-2007
quote "But something about this story doesn't seem right. We heard at MWSF that it there would be an Apple headset. We've seen brief glimpses and now a few days after the FCC approval for it, Aliph announces that they'll be selling their headsets with the iPhone. I'm stopping just short of calling BS on this because it's the president of the company saying it but still...."
Correct me if I am wrong but doesn't Apple currently sell multiple headphones, speakers, and iPod cases that don't bear its logo? I think there will be plenty of room for third parties in the new iPhone economy.
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Shaun McLane said 10:02AM on 6-19-2007
I've had one of these (silver though) for months. I'm still confused why people think this thing looks so good - it's HUGE. I must admit, it works incredibly well, except I wouldn't mind the volume being a bit louder on my end, but I had my friend call me from his car with his stereo all the way up, and I heard him very clearly.
Cingular has carried this since at least March '07, so it stands to reason that they'll continue to carry it as AT&T.
I give it an 8 out of 10.
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monica said 10:17AM on 6-19-2007
The quality is great I have a problem with the plastic ear cover popping off in my ear all the time. I've had my jaw bone since it first came out and I've gone through almost all the earpieces that come with it.... Am not sure it was worth the 120.00
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Mitch said 10:18AM on 6-19-2007
Ok, looks good, sounds great... now, what's stopping all the noise coming into my other ear? Oh, that's got to be my finger - boy won't that be attractive. LOL
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Bruno said 10:25AM on 6-19-2007
You don't have to stop the noise coming in you other ear. The human brain has an uncanny ability to distinguish individual voices from an entire room full of chatters and can easily isolate the sound coming in one ear from the sound coming in the other. This isn't a problem for most people.
Apple's own headset looks to be a lot sexier and certainly more svelte.
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Ron said 10:36AM on 6-19-2007
I too have a silver Jawbone and love it. The sound quality is noticeably better compared to many Moto, Jabra and Nokia headsets I've used. The headset is a bit bigger then most, but it doesn't feel or look large when wearing it. In fact it feels very solid. Although it has a great design, sound quality has been their primary focus and it shows.
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Kender said 10:52AM on 6-19-2007
I actually have had one of these Jawbones for a few months now, using it in concert with my Treo650. People report that I sound clear even with music going - though it does NOTHING for wind noise. Also it's hard to get a good fit with it, I'm still fiddling with it, but that could just be ear size. (It does come with several hooks and earpieces.) it has decent range as well.
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Timothy Idol said 10:56AM on 6-19-2007
To All,
The JawBone noise cancelation technology IS really amazing, HOWEVER, those of you who think that the sound quality is good or great really need to get your ears checked. I tested the JawBone for a month and found that for those who really need to use their phones in noisy environments the JawBone is absolutely THE BEST for that... They use a wired version in M1 tanks after all. But for the best sound quality there is no beating the Nokia BH-900. Yes... It's a bit big, but it has very long battery life and an extended boom mic that makes a real difference in sound quality. EVERYONE I talked with said they couldn't tell that I was using a headset! Nuf said.
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djfred said 11:02AM on 6-19-2007
I wouldn't mind seeing it at all. The jawbone has been on my radar for some time and the only reason I haven't jumped in is because I wanted to see what Apple would come up with first. But something about this story doesn't seem right. We heard at MWSF that it there would be an Apple headset. We've seen brief glimpses and now a few days after the FCC approval for it, Aliph announces that they'll be selling their headsets with the iPhone. I'm stopping just short of calling BS on this because it's the president of the company saying it but still....
To kai cherry: I don't have a lot of first hand experience with it but all my friends who have one won't stop gushing about how awesome it is and most of the reviews I've seen have been positive. Here's a link to one of the most recent and negative.
http://mocoloco.com/archives/004203.php#more
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akatsuki said 11:16AM on 6-19-2007
The thing is huge and sticks out like a foot from your ear (it is thick also). And Apple has their own BT headset that is far more svelte, even if it is rather boring looking. I played with one for a while and I felt like those ridges just amplified wind noise.
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Jason Ross McMillan said 11:33AM on 6-19-2007
who would want a headset if they had an iphone. I would want to pull out the iphone every time i had a chance.
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Paul said 11:34AM on 6-19-2007
I had one for a bit, and hated it. It was good at canceling noise, but absolutely lousy sound quality in my ear, and according to everyone I called with it, it sounded like I was in a bucket. It was nowhere near loud enough as well. I returned it.
Not at all worth it.
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dumas said 11:45AM on 6-19-2007
I bought one of these and returned it the next day.
Cons:
-It's a lot bigger than it looks
-It sticks out from your head farther than shown in the pictures
-I couldn't get it to fit right. I tried all combinations of ear buds and loops
-It wasn't noticeably better at noise cancellation (for people I was talking to) than my PLT 510
-The sound quality (for me) was inferior to my PLT 510
-Price
Pro
-No hassle returns
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Chris said 11:51AM on 6-19-2007
I had the same experience as Paul. Everyone say's that I sounded tinny like I was on a bad speakerphone. Too much hype.
I use a Plantronics headset that fits and sounds fine.
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Kai Cherry said 11:53AM on 6-19-2007
@ Jason Ross McMillan
Well, you see, i don't want an iPhone so that the world knows I have one, lol...I want one because my current phone is a PITA...
Conspicuous expenditure is so passé, man :)
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TheWirelessWizard said 12:13PM on 6-19-2007
I've written an extensive analysis of the Jawbone in my blog - see it here:
http://www.thewirelesswizard.com/tips-tricks-shortcuts/2007/6/6/the-only-wireless-headset-to-consider.html
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