Pocket PC Thoughts: More Than Just Good Looks: Jabra's JX10 and BT500 Bluetooth Headsets

Round One: JX10
Jabra prides itself on delivering "design with attitude" with the JX10 headset, and this is evident even without opening the box. The exterior is bathed in black with two clear plastic windows covering the headset and the cradle. Four words, "Design by Jacob Jensen" are printed on the front, and already, you get filled with expectations that whatever is inside the box is sure to leave a lasting impression.


Figure 1: Elegantly styled. Clearly the work of well-known B&O designer, Jacob Jensen.

Out of the box, the JX10 stands out. A symmetrical arrangement of curves and a good blend of silver and black allows the headset to look both stylish and professional - a quality that many products in this day and age fail to achieve. And measuring roughly 38mm x 19mm x 10mm (1.5" x .75" x .39", both minus the earpiece and earhook) and weighing less than 10g (.35 oz.), the headset is both compact and light, which is great because it doesn't weigh down the ear.


Figure 2: From the bottom-left to the top-right, note the microphone, miniscule pairing button, multifunction call/power button, the earpiece, and the earhook attached to the neck of the earpiece.

The edge of the headset houses all the familiar controls (the plus- and minus-labelled volume controls at the rear, and multifunction call/power button on the side), charging socket (rear), and microphone (front). The inner surface of the headset contains the hard protruding earpiece and a tiny pairing button. In fact, it's almost too tiny, but considering it's only ever used once during setup, its size can be easily disregarded. The outer surface features a tiny Jabra logo and a soft glowing indicator light. In standby mode, it flashes blue once every three seconds. In use, it flashes blue once every second. When the headset is low on juice, it flashes red. While charging, it's a solid red or green (depending on the battery's status).

Attached to the neck of the earpiece is a clip-on, non-rotating ear-shaped earhook. By "non-rotating", I'm referring to the fact that the earhook cannot perform a 360° dance, but you can still choose to clip it one way or the other (for use on the left or right ear). This isn't a problem, since the earhook is shaped to fit snugly on the ear.


Figure 3: Don't be alarmed. It's not broken. ;)

There are moments when the earhook feels a little fragile, especially the plastic attachment that clips on to the neck of the earpiece. Yet surprisingly, on closer inspection, it appears solidly constructed, so any fears of damage are soon flushed away.

Jabra advertises the JX10 as a headset that can also be worn without the earhook. I tried this out, and I wasn't a fan of it for two reasons: (a) the headset is so light that it might fall off without you even noticing, and (b) due to the shape and hardness of the earpiece, having it act as the only means of attachment to the ear can lead to discomfort pretty quickly (and incidentally, after extended periods of use, the earpiece itself already contributes to discomfort, even with the earhook acting as an aid).