Bluetooth Speaker And Speakerphone Review: Jawbone Jambox

Bluetooth Speaker And Speakerphone Review: Jawbone Jambox

If EVER a Bluetooth speaker and Speakerphone can make you the centre of attention, the Jawbone Jambox would be it. Its good looks are by no means a coincidence: The Jambox is a masterpiece of multiple award-winning designer Yves Behar. Heart-stirring designs never come cheap though, and this one will set you back by S$328.

Our fire-engine red review unit looks fiery sleek and red-hot chic. There are only three buttons sitting atop the device: Volume up and down buttons, next to a Talk button that's used for accepting or rejecting calls. You slide up and hold the power button, located on its side, to put the Jambox in Bluetooth pairing mode.

Pairing was a cinch on the Android and iPhone devices we tried it with. However, we could not get it to connect to our Windows Vista laptop even with repeated attempts. While the pairings were successful, we were unable to use the Jambox for audio playback. Good thing you can still plug the (included) matching red stereo cable into the 3.5mm audio jack to make it work.

Sound quality is very satisfactory - the thumping bass is a joy to hear, and we could hear the nuances in our tracks through the Jambox. We tried playing movies on the laptop, and the speaker produced sound that was almost of cinematic-quality. We also like the quirky sounds the Jambox emits after its voice notifications.

The audio playback would stop sometimes when the handset its connected to is moved but playback would always resume on its own.

Jambox is also a Bluetooth speakerphone - just pair it to your handset, and press the Talk button to answer, end or reject calls. You can redial the last number by hitting the button twice, or programme the button to call your favourite contact after installing software online at mytalk.jawbone.com.

In our tests, call quality was not very clear at the receiving end, as a buzzing noise could often be heard in the background. Other than that, the other person could hear us reasonably well. On our end, we would hear the other party loud and clear.

The Jambox weighs 347g, and feels solid, but not heavy - I imagine the 151-mm-long device would fit nicely in a picnic bag and lugged along for a leisurely day in the sun. It lasts about 10 hours on a single charge, and has a range of about 10 metres. Both were verified in our tests.

Verdict: The Jambox rates higher in form than function, but you might not care that much about the latter since it looks so good. MAY CHUA

Charm personified

by May Chua
04:46 AM Apr 13, 2011

Source: www.todayonline.com