| Company: | Jabra |  | | Website: | www.jabra.com | | Price: | $149 list | | Pros: | | | Caller ID built-in, sleek design, custom ringtones. | | Cons: | | | Larger than regular mobile phones and heavier, keyboard too cramped. | | Score: | 3.5  |
Jabra’s BT800 is a Bluetooth headset with a difference – a convenient display that supports Caller ID information. The BT800 has a sleek design and is lightweight (0.8oz) and fairly comfortable to wear, but we found it a bit bulky in terms of size. The volume can be easily controlled by an external jog wheel. The selling point of the BT800 is the backlit LCD display. Through the display you can ID callers and access menu features like ringer settings. Unfortunately, if you are one of those people who like to wear their Bluetooth headset on the go, you won’t find much advantage in the Caller ID feature - or the LCD display at all, for that matter. Unlike other Bluetooth headsets that usually simply require pressing a button for a few seconds in order to pair, the BT800 requires you to navigate through the menus in order to switch to discoverable mode. This is not the most user-friendly experience, but then again, pairing a headset is not an everyday event. We tested the Jabra BT800 with two cell phones, the Sony Ericsson S710a and the Motorola V600. Sound quality was mediocre; we had to keep the volume on maximum in order to hear the other party. When holding a phone conversation in a crowded area, the other party would often have problems hearing our end of the conversation. The Jabra BT800 is not fully compatible with cell phones that do not support the Bluetooth Handsfree profile. We also tested the BT800 with the Sprint PCS Treo 650 and the Sony Ericsson P900, two popular phones that don’t support Handsfree. While the headset did work on a basic level, it would take several rings to connect and the Caller ID just didn’t work. We strongly recommend our readers to follow the compatibility guide offered by Jabra. Overall the Jabra BT800 is a good Bluetooth solution, but with some room for improvement in compatibility, sound quality and form factor.
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