Jabra BT800

By Zennith Geisler on 23 June 2005

The Jabra BT800's full-featured and funky design will please Bluetooth users on the go.

User rating:9
  • Good: Attractive, streamlined design • Adjustable ear loop • Impressive feature set
  • Bad: Tiny stylus easy to misplace • A bit clunky, can't adjust tightness on ear • Automatically overrides pairings when full
  • Specs: Headset • See more specifications
  • RRP: AU$199.00
The BT800 is an elegant silver model with accents of black and a bright blue LCD screen. Designed for simple ease-of-use, controls are kept to a minimum -- 2 buttons sit neatly along the body, and placement makes them easy to operate while wearing the headset. Depending on the length of time they are pressed, these buttons provide various functions; the power button is also used to end calls, and the "answer" button can place callers on hold.

A blue LED on the center of the headset is used to activate the menu, and doubles as a mute button. We found the scroll wheel (called a "jog" wheel -- presumably aimed at the more athletic mobile phone users wanting to stay completely hands-free while out for a run) very easy to navigate through the menu, and especially handy for volume control.

There is a myriad of call features including last number redial, caller ID, recent calls, call waiting, hold, mute, etc. Other functions include a vibrate alert, selection of polyphonic ringtones, voice dialling, and DSP (Digital Signal Processing) for noise cancellation.

The flexible, rubberised earloop can be rotated up to 180° to fit comfortably on either ear. For optimal performance, Jabra recommends wearing the headset on the same side of your body as your phone -- or within line of sight. While lightweight and compact, there is no way to adjust the tightness on the ear, making it feel loose at times, or as if it's going to slip off (especially when the vibrate alert is activated).

The attractive blue LCD makes the backlit display easy to view when checking caller ID and viewing recent calls, even in low light. Of course, it's impossible to see the screen (or the headset at all) while you're wearing it. I suppose you could flip it around and get someone next to you to let you know who's calling!

On the physical side, pairing a device with the headset is done by using the included stylus to activate a tiny port next to the control buttons. The stylus is equally as tiny as the aforementioned port, and incredibly losable. We recommend pairing devices at home, or wherever you are going to store the stylus as it's way too small to be carrying around.

We tested the BT800 using the Nokia 6260. Pairing was incredibly easy, we just followed the straightforward prompts in the phone's bluetooth menu. Support for pairing up to 8 devices should be plenty -- watch out once you've filled the quota though, as if you try to add more, the least used device will be overwritten. Sound quality while taking calls was clear and concise on both ends, and we didn't need to use the phone at all for basic call functions, though it had to be kept within a few metres to stay in the bluetooth range.

Topics: mobile, wireless, bluetooth, headset, jabra, bt800, wearing, pair, call, caller

Comments (3)

  • Project D gave 8/10 on 12/06/2008 21:36

    • Good: *Attractive design for those of us who like looking like we're d-bags wearing futuristic military equipment (there's a lot of us)
      *LCD caller-ID/menu navigation screen so much better than operating blindly
      *Jog wheel volume control
    • Bad: *far from the firmest fit ever
      *non-invasive earpiece could be more comfortable and doesn't do much to enhance sound quality, EarGels would be welcomed

    Actually, the stylus is thoroughly superfluous. There is an option within the device's menu to initiate device pairing, so the button/stylus really is just a backup measure. After my first was stolen, I ended up getting a second. It *can* be made to sit more securely on my head, but it takes an incredible amount of fidgeting with the earpiece to lock it into the right position. Overall, not my favorite headset of all time (that spot goes to the Jabra BT8010), but I still love it. I only wish the earpiece were more invasive, like the Samsung WEP500. It would feel more secure and help isolate the call from outside sound better. But I like invasive headsets.

  • pete gave 1/10 on 10/11/2005 12:23

    The Rolls Royce of bluetooth headsets

    Just got it a week ago and love it. So many cool features from call ID to DSP. The audio sounds better than the handset and that’s say a lot when the audio is coming from a Nokia 6620. It is a bit more difficult to adjust comfortable fit to smaller ears but can be done. Shop around as it can be found for as low as $60 on fleabay

  • Mike gave a review on 03/08/2005 04:53

    No

    I had one for 3 weeks and found that It fits badly on either ear and not at all securely! It flaps about at the slightest movement of your head and outside in normal use you can hardly hear whoever is talking to you at all! I ended up throwing it away from pure frustration as a complete waste of money!

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