Much better than others who have reviewed it

Jabra BT250V

As many of you know who have read my few reviews, I like to use a product for awhile before reviewing it. I have had this Blue Tooth earpiece for awhile, and I think I can give it a more concise review.

I have had a Verizon cell phone for about 4 years now, and until now, I only used wired ear pieces. I think I did not want to buy a BT device because I did not want to spend the money. I also laughed at those folks who I would see in malls, grocery stores, work, etc… with things sticking out of their ears, usually blinking. I often thought they looked like robots from the Star Trek days.

Don’t get me wrong, I had thought about buying one for awhile, but when I would go to Verizon stores, Comp USA or others, I would ask if I could try different ones on to see which ones fit well. I was concerned because I wear glasses.

Recently however, I started working with an attorney on a project that I am managing, and lo and behold, he owned a Jabra BT device, similar to the BT250V. He also wears glasses, and because it fits behind the ear, it seemed less intrusive or less obvious. Though it has a blue light that blinks when it is on, it is a teeny blue light, and not too noticeable. When I asked about the cost of his model (do not remember which), he indicated that he found it for $56 on the internet. I thought this might be the time to try it out. He also was quite impressed with the sound quality, battery life, and comfort.

So after doing a little more homework on the Internet, I decided to buy this from Amazon, using some unused Christmas money (well it was unused until I got my credit card bill). Knowing Amazon’s good return policy reputation, I thought “what the heck?”

Let me tell you about my experiences now:

I suspected that I needed to charge the batteries before using it. Too bad though, the illustration on how to insert the earpiece into the charging cradle were not very clear. Too bad as well that I couldn’t use the same plug as I would for my Verizon phone, but I couldn’t really expect that, since I was not buying a Verizon BT device. Heck, during the past few years, I have owned different Verizon phones, and they each had different plug types.

When sliding it into the cradle, it seemed to hesitate, and I was a little afraid to push it all the way in. Let me tell you that you must push it all the way in (and it gets easier over time). You know it is all the way inserted when you see the blue light come on. So, I charged it up overnight as instructed. I should note here that like my cell phone, I recharge my earpiece every night. Because I do this, I cannot attest to its lengthy standby time. I guess I would at least believe the documentation, or other reviewer’s comments.

After completely charging it, I knew that I had to “pair” the device to my cell phone. I did not know how difficult it would be to “pair” this device to my Verizon phone, but being that I am not intimidated by technical things, and after reading the instructions that came with the BT250V, pairing was a piece of cake. The most difficult thing was to learn how to turn the Bluetooth on inside my phone, and then to detect the BT250V.

So, then after I paired the device, I thought, OK, let’s see how hard it is to wear on my ear. I remember reading other reviews about the lightweight and also other reviews about the “ear gels”, that allow you to hear the caller. In the package that comes with the phone, are 4 ear gels, 2 of each size (small and large). Like other reviewers, I must tell you, that it is too bad Jabra did not include 6 ear gels, 2 small, 2 medium and 2 large. I am a 6ַ’’ guy, so you can expect that my ears may need something larger than the small, and maybe the large. Though God made us in his image, I have found that the small ear gels were too small, and the large are just a little too large. It would have been nice to get a size in-between. I have since read that another company makes three different size ear gels, but those reviews indicate that the gels do not fit the Jabra BT250V, and the quality is quite poor, where they split apart. I am still looking for a medium size ear gel. If any of you can help me, please leave a comment.

Even though I have issues with the ear gel size, I continue to use this device. Let me tell you about the sound quality. When the ear gels are inserted appropriately (if they are not inserted into the well far enough in, the sound quality is diminished by wind noise, etc...), the sound quality is excellent, even in windy conditions. I have a quite noisy SUV, and I have no trouble hearing inside as well.

The buttons that control the volume are on the lower half of the back of the earpiece. Even though contoured, I still find the buttons difficult to use to control the volume. I think however that once the volume is set to a comfortable level, that because of lack of use of the buttons, this is why I find them difficult to use.

Let me compare this volume button difficulty to the remaining button on the ear piece. The button on the top portion of the back of the ear piece is what is used to turn the device on, to turn it on to pair with your BT devices, to turn the unit off, to answer calls, to initiate calls, etc… I initially found this button difficult to use as well, but now that I have used it often, I find not further difficulty, except maybe when wearing winter gloves.

One gripe that I have, that other reviewers have also had is the non-ease of turning the unit on and off. To turn it on, you must push and hold the button mentioned in the paragraph above, until you see the blue light pulse on and off a few times. When this pulsating light occurs, let go of the button, and the device is now on. You can confirm this by looking at the device. The blue light will blink every few seconds. If you press the button for too long, the blue light will stay on continuously. This is how you pair the device to a BT device.

I have been able to successfully pair my BT250V with both my Verizon cell phone and my iPaq HX2495 Pocket PC. In fact, when I paired it with my PPC, I was able to use the BT250V to listen to my stored music. It was not as good though as might be my stereo ear pieces.

Remember I told you that this was my first BT ear piece. When I paired my BT250V with my PPC, it lost its pairing with my cell phone. I thought I would be able to be paired with multiple devices. I learned a valuable lesson, maybe one that some of you also learned or maybe just learned.

Let’s talk about the vibrate feature. Though I have nothing to compare it to, I TRULY LIKE the vibrate feature. When my phone rings, regardless of how the phone is set at (i.e. vibrate, loud, etc), my earpiece vibrates. The first time it startled me, however since then, I have gotten accustomed to it.

I have not yet addressed the microphone sensitivity. Again, I have nothing to compare it. But when I tried out my phone for the first time, I called my office and left myself a voicemail. I used a low-toned voice volume, and the microphone picked it up very clearly. I often make voice-activated phone calls, as my phone provides this ability, and this BT device supports it. I can call my naming someone in my phone book, or I can call a particular number. I have found that when I speak at a normal voice volume, or even a little lower-than-normal volume, my BT picks it up very clearly. Whereas, when I speak too loudly, the microphone seems to not hear the words correctly. I am still learning, but I find it amazing that this microphone is so sensitive.

I remember reading reviews that stated that you have to be sure to place the cell phone on the same side of the body where the BT device is located, and that things like your own head impacts the sensitivity and reception. Well, I must tell you that I DISAGREE COMPLETELY WITH THOSE FINDINGS. Maybe I am just lucky, or maybe the manufacturer corrected these previously reported problems. I always place my phone on my left hip, attached to my belt. I always place the earpiece in my right ear. I often cover my phone with heavy coats, sweaters, etc., and there has been NO IMPACT on reception. I have found also that I can be outside of my car, with the car door closed, but within 20 feet between my BT and my cell phone, and there is no diminishment in reception and transmission.

I have found that my BT lost its pairing with my cell phone once, where I was unable to determine why or how. I suspect user-error, but I cannot attest to that.

I wish also that the numeric code required to pair the BT device with the phone was changeable. I do not think it is possible.

I think the last thing to mention is that with some practice, I have found that I can put the earpiece on with one hand, while driving along. When I first received it, I had to struggle to put it on, but after a few tries, I have it down where it is not hard to put on. I have found also that it is small enough and flexible enough to sit down with it in my side pants pockets, and not damage it at all. When I put it on with one hand though, I have to remember first to turn it on (remember the pulsating light), and I have to be careful not to push the top button when I put it on my ear, because that is what prompts my phone to ask me for a command (i.e. voice-activated activity).

I hope this review has been helpful.