Between Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and various graduations, the spring gift-giving season is here. If you are looking for something special, check out Jabra.com. They have a host of great products your loved-one will appreciate. Here are three of our favorites: the Jabra Elite Sport, the Jabra Halo Smart Bluetooth Headset, and the Jabra Speak 710 Bluetooth Speaker and Speakerphone.
Jabra Elite Sport
Greg reviewed the Jabra Elite Sport and was impressed. The company was kind enough to send me a pair to check out for this roundup, and I have to agree with Greg. His review is awesome so, rather than be redundant, I’ll run down some of the basics and refer you to his full, and complete, review. (You can find the review here.)
Jabra describes the Jabra Elite Sport as, “the most technically advanced true wireless sports earbuds.” I have to agree. These are true wireless sport earbuds that connect to your phone wirelessly without the need to connect to each other. You can use one earbud as a mono-headset for calls or, if you prefer, use both and get true wireless stereo sound… wireless. They feature:
- Superior quality wireless sound and calls
- Up to 9 hours of use per charge (more on that in a moment)
- Are comfortable and offer a secure cord-free fit
The Jabra Elite Sport get three hours per charge, but they come with a protective battery case that is good for two additional charges. The three hours per charge means these probably aren’t the headphones you will want to use as your daily drivers — unless you listen to music sporadically — but the three hours is more than enough for even the most rigorous of workouts. Because Jabra is one of the leaders in wireless sound, they built two microphones into each bud. The dual microphones work together to filter out background noise. The result is that, when using them for calls, your voice is heard clearly with minimal distraction in pretty much any environment. It really works.
Secure and unique cord-free wearing style: With customizable fitting options including a variety of ear gel and ear wing sizes, you can achieve a secure fit no matter how vigorous your workout is, and you have the option to wear one or both buds depending on your activity.
The Jabra Elite Sport ship with an assortment of ear gels and ear wings so you can get the most comfortable and secure fit possible. Included in the box are 3 sizes of EarWings (S, M, L), 3 sizes of silicone EarGels (S, M, L) and 3 sizes of FoamTips (S, M, L). I tried all of them and, in the end, found that I didn’t need the ear wings to keep the earbuds secure. And while they are larger than some of the earbuds we have reviewed, they are amazingly comfortable and stay put even when you are jumping around. At least that is my experience with them.
Be more aware of your surroundings: With just the touch of a button you can be more aware of your surroundings with hear through, which conveniently filters in the sounds that surround you.
Because these are earbuds designed for sport, Jabra assumes you may use them when you are, for example, out running. In order to provide maximum safety, they built a “Hear Through” technology into them. This technology allows you to become aware of your surroundings with just the press of a button. It really works but, of course, the safest approach is to not have anything that isolates you in the first place. Then again, I don’t know about you but I can’t stand running unless I have music to keep me going.
Advanced personalized fitness analysis using in-ear heart rate monitor: Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or just trying to get fitter, you can train smarter, not harder, with Jabra Elite Sport and our integrated fitness app, Jabra Sport Life. The in-ear precision heart rate monitor works with the app to track and analyze your fitness as well as provide personalized audio coaching in real-time during your workout. You can monitor your absolute fitness level, have your reps counted automatically, predict your race pace and finish time, and get recovery tips to avoid over training.
The Jabra Elite Sport aren’t just wireless earbuds. They are packed with tech that will take your training to the next level and, thanks to a special app Jabra offers, they are like fit bits for your ears. They have a heart rate monitor, a fitness tracker and much more. Spring only just arrived here in New Jersey so I’m only now beginning to explore everything this app can do when paired with the Jabra Elite Sport. Greg’s review goes into some great detail on this so check it out here.
In addition, because Jabra knows how these earbuds are going to be used they made them waterproof with an IP67 rating and sweat proof so they will keep the music pumping workout after workout. They are even waterproof to 1 meter of depth! They believe so completely in their product’s durability that they gave them a three-year warranty.
Perhaps most importantly, these wireless earbuds actually stay connected when you use them. Too often these individual wireless earbuds have one or the other earbud cut out occasionally. I have not experienced that at all with these. They have an MSRP of $249.99. Check them out here.
Jabra Halo Smart Bluetooth Headset
If you don’t need the earbuds to be independent of one another, want more than three hours of use per charge or don’t want to spend almost $250 on a good pair of wireless headphones you might want to check out the Jabra Halo Smart Bluetooth Headset. As Jabra Explains:
Life doesn’t stop when you’re low on battery, which is why the Jabra Halo Smart offers an industry-leading 17 hours of talk time, or 15 hours of music time, with just one charge. For Android users, the Jabra Assist app allows you to track your exact battery usage and suggests when to next charge your Jabra Halo Smart, giving you total peace of mind when on the go.
This collar-style headset has a main area that sits comfortably around your neck with each individual earbud connects to a thin cable. The “collar” has a large capacity battery that will provide up to 17 hours of music per charge. And because the battery and technology are housed in the section that wraps around your neck, the earbuds themselves are tiny. The “collar” can be adjusted by bending it so you get the best, and most comfortable fit possible.
The left side of the “collar” houses the power/smart button.
The right side has all the music controls you would expect.
Designed for serious and extended use, the Jabra Halo Smart is both wind and water-resistant. No, it isn’t waterproof the way the Jabra Elite Sport is but the use scenarios for the two headsets are different.
Be on top of your day: To get things done on the go, just tap the voice button for instant access to Siri or Google Now and get the information you need. For Android users, Jabra Halo Smart can read out your calendar notifications, e-mails, text messages and social media messages.
What makes the Jabra Halo Smart “smart” is the ability to activate Siri or Google Now with the touch of a button. Another “smart” feature is the magnet hidden in each side of the collar. It holds the earbuds out of the way when you aren’t using them.
Features:
- Bend it for the perfect fit
- Access Siri / Google Now with one touch
- Keep your earbuds in place
- Up to 17 hours of talk time
Other features include:
- Take your calls anywhere: Jabra Halo Smart’s wind-protected microphone and weather-resistant durability means you can comfortably take your calls wherever life takes you.
- Amazing sound: Tune out with an exceptional sound experience. Jabra Halo Smart is built with prevailing 10 mm (0.4 in) speakers that deliver full spectrum music quality. Whether you prefer rich bass or crisp high tunes, Jabra Halo Smart delivers amazing sound quality.
- There is an app for that: Jabra Assist is the most powerful voice assistant on the market, allowing you to completely revolutionize your call experience, read out messages (Android users only) view your battery meter, and much more.
The Jabra Halo Smart is comfortable, gets amazing battery life and sounds pretty darn good. Best of all, it is under $80. Check it out here.
Jabra Speak 710
Finally, for the person who works on a computer and is looking for better sound or needs to hold conference calls, there is the Jabra Speak 710. Jabra describes the Jabra Speak 710 this way:
Enjoy high quality sound in a premium portable design for your calls and music with the Speak 710 speakerphone. The first truly professional and personal conferencing device with a HiFi grade speaker for crystal clear conversation and music.
The Jabra Speak 710 is a portable speaker that doubles as a speakerphone for conferences with up to six people. It has an omni-directional microphone and delivers HD voice so you get clear conversations when using it as a speakerphone. Jabra went a step better however by recognizing that the same device that serves as a speakerphone can also double as a speaker for music and multi-media consumption. They built HiFi-grade speakers into it and gave it both plug and play and Bluetooth connectivity so you can use it with pretty much any device on the market.
You can even pair two Jabra Speak 710 devices together and get a full, and loud, stereo experience. Be warned however the Jabra speak 710 is $299 so creating a stereo pair will put you out just under $600.
At just 10.51 oz, and offering up to 15 hours of use per charge, the Jabra Speak 710 can go pretty much anywhere with you. That’s why the company ships it with a protective travel pouch.
Features include:
- Omni-directional microphone and HD voice: For a rich immersive sound ideal for voice, music and multimedia. The high-performing Omni-directional microphone has 360-degree pick-up, allowing everyone to be heard.
- Intuitive plug and play connectivity: Connect in seconds to laptop, smartphone and tablet via USB or Bluetooth
- Exclusive portable design: Be mobile with a lightweight design, protective travel pouch and 15 hours battery life
- In-room coverage for up to 6 people: Flexible and scalable device for small and larger meetings
- Personalize your Speak with MS Cortana, Siri or Google Now
- Interact with your digital assistant with the one touch Smart button
- Compatible with all leading UC platforms
- Certified for Avaya, Cisco and Skype for Business for a plug-and-play experience.
Judie has a Jabra Speak 710 in for review, so keep an eye out for that. For now, you can check it out here.
So there are three gift options from Jabra at three different price points. If none of them fit the bill check out Jabra.com anyway. They offer a wide range of products and, in my experience, all will impress.