A tangle free hands free solution with some flaws
Written: Oct 08 '03 (Updated Oct 08 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Convenience, comfort, sound quality
Cons: Gels fall out and get lost
The Bottom Line: The best way to avoid that obtrusive and tangled headset wire. Only the gel design keeps this one from getting an "excellent" rating.
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| andykay's Full Review: Jabra Winder Headset |
This headset is a good choice for those tired of the tangling wire of other headsets and don't want to go Bluetooth. I have tried several head sets over the years. I would use them in the car, but avoid them other times because of the obtrusive wire. When not using the headset I would inevitably stuff it in my pocket, guaranteeing it would be a tangled mess the next time I used it. I picked up a earboom winder about a year ago and have been using it ever since. I tried to replace it with a Bluetooth headset (Jabra) but found the added size of the headset, need to charge it and short battery life were less than desirable.
Design- The main body is shaped like a small tape measure with a belt clip. There's a small chrome button that retracts the spring loaded wire and on newer models, there's a answer button for compatible phones. The headset uses jabra's Gel ear plugs that hang on to the folds of the ear. Include are 6 Gels sized small, medium and large for left and right ear. I really like the Gels for comfort, they're unobtrusive and much easier to insert and remove compares to the hook over the ear type headset. The Gels are also my biggest complaint about this headset, they are all too easy to loose. I glue the Gels on with silicone, and still occasionally loose one. There is a new locking design available, but I've only seen them included in Earset units. The Gels are available separately, costing ~$10 for 6. The wire is in 2 parts, a 3' retractable piece connected to the headset and a 3' coiled wire connected to the phone plug. The coiled wire allows me to remove the phone from my belt while the main body of the Earboom Winder remains attached to my belt.
Speaker- Excellent! The gels help isolate the ear making these about the best sounding headset I've ever used.
Mike- Good. The mike is on a ~2" flexible boom putting it a little closer than a Earset or in-line bud design but not a obtrusive as a "full size" Plantronics type. The sound is a little faint and lacking tone when compared to not using a headset. Though not perfect, it is much better than the Earset or any in-line bud design I've tried.
This headset is arguably the best of the bunch for combined convenience and sound quality. It certainly has proven to be durable, lasting a year and counting. Jabra now makes a Earset Winder that is even more minimalist than the Earboom, eliminating the "Tape measure" case altogether. It looks a little fragile to me! I do hope the new locking Gels work better. It's a little frustrating having to buy new ones occasionally.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
andykay
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Reviews written: 26
Trusted by: 5 members
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