Design
Jabra earns top marks for the simplistic design of the BT530. Its matte black plastic finish and stainless steel trim are subdued and very attractive. The earpiece's three buttons and single switch are integrated into the design well so that the entire unit remains sleek without protrusions.
Many Bluetooth headsets come bundled with a variety of different sized ear gels, but none come with the number of gels we found in the box with the BT530. Alongside a replacement plastic earhook, we found no less than seven alternative gels in a variety of sizes. Taking these gels off is very difficult, the rubber cups grip to the speaker very tightly, and this is probably a good thing.
The BT530 headset charges via a micro USB connection at the base of the unit. This means the BT530 will be able to share chargers with other devices using the same input, including some recent release Nokia handsets. We were surprised to discover the BT530 retail package deosn't include a power adapter for charging, only a USB cable to charge using your PC's power. This is disappointing considering the BT530's top-shelf price point.
Features
As a Bluetooth headset the BT530 features a standard range of functionality. It supports a range of Bluetooth profiles including the A2DP stereo Bluetooth profile (although this is almost redundant being a single speaker system) and also sports multi-point connectivity allowing you to pair with two Bluetooth devices simultaneously.
This multi-point connectivity comes into play with Jabra introducing an A330 USB Bluetooth adapter with the headset for PC telephony, like Skype. This means you can connect simultaneously with the adapter and your mobile phone and take calls coming in from either source. While this is overkill for most individuals, it will make sense for many people working in small business or from home offices.
Performance
Basic operation of the BT530 is simple and fuss-free. After charging the headset, we paired it with the Samsung INNOV8 and began making calls. The Bluetooth radio reception was decent and we managed to maintain a conversation with the phone about five to seven metres away, even with several walls between ourselves and the handset. Beyond this range the reception for the call started to deteriorate rapidly.
Pairing and using the BT530 with the USB adapter is similarly easy. Once both devices are in pairing mode, indicated by a solid blue LED, the devices communicate briefly and pair without any further input. Jabra estimate that the range of the Bluetooth radios when used the headset is paired with the USB adapter is 70 metres. We didn't have the space to test this accurately, but we can say that we had no problems with the reception while we were testing.
While the reception was strong, we did struggle to hear parts of our conversations with the volume pumped up to its maximum. The calls were audible but having a louder speaker would help in situations like when on the footpath of a busy street. It definitely performed better than the Jabra BT2050 we reviewed recently, but then the BT2050 cost over three times less.
The BT530 and bundled A330 adapter could come to good use in a SMB, but unless you plan to take advantage of the multi-point connectivity and the PC telephony function, we suggest checking out cheaper alternatives first.
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