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108 of 109 found the following review helpful:
 Simply the BEST of its' kind! Feb 23, 2008
By R. Thompson
"sixseven"
I didn't have the highest of hopes for the Jabra SP5050 -- especially at its' price point -- but I needed something small that I could use in rental cars AND I didn't want to sacrifice quality. What's the point of hands-free if, when you're at speed, there's too much noise in the system for the other party to hear you and you have to resort to using the handset?
I decided to give the Jabra a real-world torture-test right out of the box. We recently purchased a new smart fortwo -- the European micro-car that has just gone on the market in the USA. It is definitely much louder inside than our other cars, as the engine is directly behind the driver's seat and these cars have very little sound-deadening material.
The first call I received was fairly important, and I told the caller to let me know if they had ANY difficulties hearing me. During the five minutes we were on, I drove on different surfaces (some quite rough) and was driving at 60 mph during half of the call. Towards the end of the conversation I asked the caller if they'd been able to hear me OK; they wondered what I was talking about and stated that everything had sounded GREAT on their end.
So, here we have a device that sells for roughly $80 that -- it appears to me -- outperforms the Bluetooth hands-free system designed into my (otherwise nice) German car by fanatical Teutonic engineers. This is remarkable to me, and the Jabra continues to impress.
It has great battery life, along with a feature that will automatically power the unit down if it loses pairing with your cell phone for more than 15 minutes. This is a great feature, since it means you can turn it on once, run many short errands, and never have to switch the unit on and off. It also means that you can't deplete the battery by forgetting to turn it off when you leave your car.
The Jabra also pairs almost instantaneously; it beeps to confirm this, usually within 2 seconds of me "waking" my iPhone. It's almost exactly the same size as an iPhone (but slightly smaller), which makes it very convenient to travel with.
Like others, I don't like the fact that it comes without an AC adapter. There are several adapters on Amazon that have an AC plug on one side and a lighter socket on the other; for me this is a must-have, as I like to charge the Jabra at night and use it during the day without worrying about a cord. I would also like to see a slightly lower profile visor clip, as the one they include seems to be designed for a sun visor that's about twice as thick as the one in our vehicles.
So, there you have it -- relatively inexpensive, extremely simple to use, cleverly designed, works beautifully, and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
A few other reasons I love my Jabra SP5050 -- over the past few years we've owned four different cars with factory systems built into the car. The most expensive car we own has a built-in system, yet -- despite the brand's reputation for German Engineering -- the hands-free BT system is nearly unusable after the car hits 30 mph. Too much noise, and you end up switching to the handset itself to make yourself heard. My wife HATES it if I even call her using the BT/hands-free system in this car.
Also -- just for background -- I've been through a number of hands-free devices over the years. I've bought and used 4 different Bluetooth headsets with varying degrees of success; some work, some don't. I've had 1 or 2 decent headsets, but don't like wearing them and often forget them. They've also been -- in my experience -- a little problematic to operate; some don't work with all phones, for example, and often you have to repeat pairing on a weekly basis to keep the device working with your phone. Some have poor battery life. Some have numerous accessories -- like charging stands and power supplies -- that make them really not that small or self-contained. Then there's the fit issue; some of the ones that clip over your ear are uncomfortable, while some of the ones that use an earbud to fit into your ear are too loose -- you get the picture...
All the more reason to love the Jabra, and I've just ordered a second unit for my wife...
67 of 67 found the following review helpful:
Beautiful speakerphone Jan 14, 2008
By Jeff Magill
With the hands-free law coming soon in California, I started doing research on headsets, but found that there are also speakerphones. Marvelous idea. I was not particularly excited about sticking a headset to my head. I am just not that cool.
I looked all over at the different speakerphones. Some have very good reviews, but their design, in my opinion, leaves much room for improvement, both functionally and aesthetically. Then I saw the Jabra SP5050. Perfecto!
Not only does it do everything the other speakerphones that I was looking at do, but it does it in a form factor that is both pleasing to the eye and very functional.
Because it is so thin, I don't even notice it on my sun visor. The interior of my car is black, so it also blends in very well. Call it a stealth speakerphone.
Operating it could not be more simple. The area where the speaker is also doubles as a "mouse" if you will. Click and hold for a few seconds to turn it on/off. Click once to answer a call. Click once to hang up. Double click to redial the last number, etc.
It pairs with my phone (Blackjack II) flawlessly. The sound level, which some have complained about, is very nice. Please note that the speaker level on your phone also affects the sound level on the speakerphone, so if your phone volume is turned down, you won't get much volume out of the speakerphone. Once I realized this I had all the sound level I needed, even at highway speeds, and my car is not the quietest in the cabin.
I can hear callers very well. People on the other end have given me mixed comments. At highway speeds they say you can hear the background noise, but that it is not loud nor distracting from the call. On quieter roads and a slower speeds, when my car is more quiet, I have been told they could not tell I was on a speakerphone and thought I was just talking on my phone normally. Overall a very good review, in my opinion.
The full-duplexing has worked flawlessly. Both people can talk at the same time. No one is cut out while the other talks. Some speakerphones claim to have full-duplex, but I have read complaints that it does not always work. On this speakerphone it has always worked.
There are only two things I would change about this speakerphone:
1) I would include a wall charger. Currently you can only charge the device in the car. I am rarely in my car long enough to get a full charge, so being able to charge it in my apartment would be nice.
2) I would change the visor clip so that you can easily remove it from the speakerphone for easy transport, like with some type of quick-release mechanism. This thing is so thin and sleek that I think it would be great to carry around with you to business meetings. It will easily fit in the pocket of your business suit. You could pull it out, connect it, and have a productive meeting with a room full of people. It could also easily be used at home so you could have a hands-free conversation, like when you are cooking dinner, for example.
Overall a very nice product and I would highly recommend it to anyone. After seeing it, my girlfriend is thinking about getting one for herself.
PS: One thought I have is to attach some velcro to the back of the unit and attach it somewhere in my car other than the visor. You could also do this in your home so you could simply attach the speakerphone to a designated spot in your kitchen, or whatever room you plan to use it. That would make it very quick and ease to move from location to location without having to worry about the visor clip.
31 of 31 found the following review helpful:
Sleek form factor and AMAZING battery life! Jan 08, 2008
By Tech_Geek
I've been using this speakerphone in my car now for over a month now on the ORIGINAL charge and its still going strong. I make and receive about 10-15 calls on it daily. The battery life on this thing is amazing! The sound quality is not bad either although the volume could be a little bit louder at its highest setting. I love the slim design and often forget its even clipped on my visor due to it being so thin. I purchased the Jabra SP5050 to replace the BlueAnt Supertooth II which broke after only a month. Overall I'm very satisfied with this Jabra and would buy it again in a heartbeat. Highly recommended!
30 of 30 found the following review helpful:
Simply the best of its' kind! Feb 23, 2008
By R. Thompson
"sixseven"
I've been through a number of hands-free devices over the years. I've bought and used 4 different Bluetooth headsets with varying degrees of success; some work, some don't. I've had some decent headsets, but don't like wearing them and often forget them. They've also been -- in my experience -- a little problematic to operate; some don't work with all phones, for example, and often you have to repeat pairing on a weekly basis to keep the device working with your phone. Some have poor battery life. Some have numerous accessories -- like charging stands and power supplies -- that make them really not that small or self-contained. Then there's the fit issue, some of the ones that clip over your ear are uncomfortable, some of the ones that use an earbud to fit into your ear are too loose -- you get the picture...
Over the past few years we've also owned four different cars with factory systems built into the car. The most expensive car we own has a built-in system, yet -- despite the brand's reputation for Superb German Engineering -- the hands-free BT system is nearly unusable after the car hits 30 mph. Too much noise, and you end up switching to the handset itself to make yourself heard. My wife HATES it if I even call her using the BT/hands-free system in this car.
As a result, I didn't have the highest of hopes for the Jabra SP5050 -- especially at its' price point -- but I needed something small that I could use in rental cars AND I didn't want to sacrifice quality. What's the point of hands-free if, when you're at speed, there's too much noise in the system for the other party to hear you and you have to resort to using the handset?
I decided to give the Jabra a real-world torture-test right out of the box. We recently purchased a new smart fortwo -- the European micro-car that has just gone on the market in the USA. It is definitely much louder inside than our other cars, as the engine is directly behind the driver's seat and these cars have very little sound-deadening material.
The first call I received was fairly important, and I told the caller to let me know if they had ANY difficulties hearing me. During the five minutes we were on, I drove on different surfaces (some quite rough) and was up to 60 mph approximately half of the time. Towards the end of the call I asked the caller if they'd been able to hear me OK; they wondered what I was talking about and stated that everything had sounded GREAT on their end.
So, here we have a device that sells for roughly $80 and -- it appears to me -- outperforms the Bluetooth hands-free system designed into my high-end German car by fanatical Teutonic engineers. This is remarkable to me, and the Jabra continues to impress.
It has great battery life, along with a feature that will automatically power the unit down if it loses pairing with your cell phone for more than 15 minutes. This is a great feature; it means you can turn it on once, run many short errands, and never have to switch the unit on and off. It also means that you can't deplete the battery by forgetting to turn it off when you leave your car.
The Jabra also pairs almost instantaneously; it beeps to confirm this, usually within 2 seconds of me "waking" my iPhone. It's almost exactly the same size as an iPhone, which makes it very convenient to travel with.
Like others, I don't like the fact that it comes without an AC adapter. There are several adapters on Amazon that have an AC plug on one side and a lighter socket on the other; for me this is a must-have, as I like to charge the Jabra at night and use it during the day without worrying about a cord.
So, there you have it -- relatively inexpensive, extremely simple to use, cleverly designed, works beautifully, and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
29 of 29 found the following review helpful:
 Very Low Volume Feb 13, 2008
By RJ
I bought a total of four different Bluetooth speakerphones to test for mounting to my car visor and operate with my Sprint HTC Touch phone. Each unit has flaws and two are unusable in my opinion when used with the Sprint touch. Your results may differ.
Here are the units I tested:
The Jabra SP5050, Parrot Minikit, BlueAnt Supertooth Light and BlueAnt Supertooth II. I chose these units based on the positive user reviews on the Amazon site.
Here's how they stacked up when using with my Sprint HTC Touch.
BlueAnt Supertooth Light - Works great with few complaints. Has mini USB for charging which is exactly the same as my phone. Great speaker volume (but you can turn the volume too high which may cause an echo on the other end). I've spent the least amount of time with this unit and need to do a little more testing. I like how turning the unit on or off is accomplished by pushing the mic in or out.
BlueAnt Supertooth II - Works great but doesn't always connect. Sometimes need to push the talk/end button to connect. Great speaker volume (you can turn the volume too high which may cause an echo on the other end). This unit can be used with the visor up or down since the mic can swing totally open. Aesthetics might not appeal to some. I like how turning the unit on or off is accomplished by swinging the mic in or out.
Jabra SP5050 - Best aesthetics with very slim size. Easiest to understand if it's on and connected with the alert tones. Very light unit and did I say how slim it is?
Terrible low volume! The volume is unusable for highway speed driving and is a deal killer compared to the other units. This cannot be corrected using the volume on my phone as it's at max on the phone! I was so hopeful for this unit.
Parrot Minikit - Works great sometimes. Has great speaker volume. Sometimes cannot get it to connect and sometimes locks up. I believe this is an issue with the Minikit and the Touch as I also tested a Parrot LS3200 color in car unit with the exact same results.
Jabra SP5050
Pros:
Wonderful size
Connects perfectly and easy to use.
Cons:
Proprietary charger connection.
Only comes with car charger.
Terrible low volume issue. I can't hear this thing at highway speeds. This would be my favorite if not for the low volume! This is not a case of just turning the phone volume higher. Both the phone and the SP5050 are at max volume.
I don't doubt the Jabra SP5050 works great with some phones, but it probably depends on the specific phone Bluetooth stack design. I can't give this product a high rating since I've tested other speakerphones and found no low volume issues with those .
See all 130 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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