[chips]

I’ve just got it this morning and it looks promising. Firstly I should explain that I have been using the superb Sony HBH-300 for the last few months. However, I’ve experienced incompatibility problems with my new V3 RAZR whereby the connection between phone and headset is occasionally lost resulting in an incoming call not going through to the headset. This is quite a rare occurrence, but as is to be expected, always happens at the most inconvenient time.

First impressions of the BT800 are favourable. It paired easily with the V3, it’s comfortable, voice dialling works, Bluetooth range is good and the audio both ways seems pretty good. Time will tell if it’s 100% reliable with regard to incoming calls going through to the headset, but so far I haven’t managed to trip it up. I haven’t tried it in the car yet though and that will be the acid test. I drive a pretty noisy car and the noise cancelling on the Sony really is superb.

[dealmaker]

Chips, similar findings to mine - I've had similar problems with the HBH300 and the Motorola RAZR V3 - here's my initial findings as posted elsewhere:

Had the Jabra BT800 for about a week now (thanks to L8Shop - Blue Unplugged - who seemed to get it it before anyone else).

Thoughts so far:

Very feature rich - lots of "nice to haves" - including caller ID on a minature LCD(vital when you leave your phone in your pocket!), vibrate feature, selectable ring tones etc..

Sound quality - very good on both transmit and receive - nice and loud and seems to adapt well to changing environments - people on the other end have noticed a lack of "duplex" on/off switching - they hear "everything" which most people seem to prefer.

Comfort - OK but not great - no doubt this is dependant on the shape of your ear - for me it's more comfortable than say a Nokia HS4W but not as comfortable as the Sony Ericsson HBH range (albeit that I struggle to get the HBH range into my ear correctly - so volume is normally a problem).

Build quality - better than Motorola and Nokia, not as good as SE.

Downside - the only slight concern I have at this stage (other than comfort during extended wear periods) is the battery charging - what's good is that Jabra provide a mains charger AND a USB charge adapter so you can charge from a PC/Laptop (take not Nokia!) - what's bad is that on a couple of occassions I've inadvertently plugged the charger into the headset upside down - it's easy to do and seems to result in the battery being DRAINED - once you've done it a couple of times it's easy to figure out a way around it - but for me the fact that you can plug it in backwards effectivley, is a design flaw. Not a major problem but worth noting.

So far so good.

[chips]

We seem to be pretty much in agreement. Although I initially found it comfortable, the clip starts to hurt my ear after half an hour or so. The automatic gain control on the ear mounted speaker is excellent and I can hear the caller better than with the HBH-300 which is a bit quiet in noisy environments. However, the noise cancelling is not nearly as good as the HBH-300 when used in a noisy car. With the BT800, callers can hear a fair bit of noise and my speech is described as distant, whereas with the HBH-300, they don't even know I'm in a car.

On balance, I prefer the HBH-300 even though the occasional Bluetooth disconnections are a bit of a pain. I now use a holder rather than leaving the phone in my pocket, so that I can quickly re-connect to the headset if necessary. However, since getting the holder, I've not had any disconnection problems, Murphy's Law.

The search continues, perhaps Sony will bring out an updated HBH-300 with Bluetooth 1.2 soon.

[rudychow]

Hi guys. Just found this great site. My first post here. Be gentle to the N00b please

I'm a bit in the same boat as you guys. I am deciding between the SE HBH-300 and the Jabra BT800. My own preliminary test gives the edge to the HBH-300.

However, I am concerned about the sudden loss in connections. Can anyone shed any more light (theories / speculation) on this?

[chips]

Originally Posted by rudychow

Hi guys. Just found this great site. My first post here. Be gentle to the N00b please

I'm a bit in the same boat as you guys. I am deciding between the SE HBH-300 and the Jabra BT800. My own preliminary test gives the edge to the HBH-300.

However, I am concerned about the sudden loss in connections. Can anyone shed any more light (theories / speculation) on this?

Hi and welcome to the AVForums.

I'm beginning to think that the disconnections are a V3 issue, as I've had one instance with the BT800. My HBH-300 was 100% reliable with my old SE T610.

[dealmaker]

Originally Posted by chips

Hi and welcome to the AVForums.

I'm beginning to think that the disconnections are a V3 issue, as I've had one instance with the BT800. My HBH-300 was 100% reliable with my old SE T610.

Chips,

I'm not so sure - I had similar issues with my HBH-300 and my Nokia 6230 - and as of now I have not had a single dropped connection with the BT800 - the Jabra unit seems better at re-acquiring the handset if you inadvertently wander out of range etc. as well.

If it wasnt for the slight concern I have about extended-wear comfort (which I think I've sorted by playing around with in-ear position?) - then I'd give the Jabra my unequivocable thumbs-up

Many people (who I talk to regularly from the headset) also seem to prefer the "inferior" noise cancelling of the Jabra - as they know I'm still there and have not been disconnected/gone out of range!

[chips]

Originally Posted by dealmaker

Many people (who I talk to regularly from the headset) also seem to prefer the "inferior" noise cancelling of the Jabra - as they know I'm still there and have not been disconnected/gone out of range!

I've never had any complaints about the noise cancelling on the HBH-300. My wife can tell immediately which headset I'm using, she say's the Sony is much clearer than the Jabra in niosy environments. Mind you, I do drive a VERY noisy car so perhaps the BT800's noise cancelling would be adequate for most people.

I had high hopes for the BT800, but my old HBH-300 (now fitted with a Jabra eargel) is the one I prefer. The BT800 is a very good headset though and I shall keep it as a spare.

[rudychow]

Originally Posted by chips

I had high hopes for the BT800, but my old HBH-300 (now fitted with a Jabra eargel) is the one I prefer. The BT800 is a very good headset though and I shall keep it as a spare.

Can you post some pics of the HBH-300 with the eargel fitted? And how is the fit right now? Because of the natural position of the speaker (slightly behind the ear canal), does fitting the eargel directly into the ear canal stretch the ear hook?

[rudychow]

Originally Posted by dealmaker

Many people (who I talk to regularly from the headset) also seem to prefer the "inferior" noise cancelling of the Jabra - as they know I'm still there and have not been disconnected/gone out of range!

Are you saying that with the HBH-300, when you are not talking, it will block out all sound transmissions to the other party? I have had headsets like this in the past and its annoying as the other party will sometime break stride to ask if i'm still on the line.

[dealmaker]

Originally Posted by rudychow

Are you saying that with the HBH-300, when you are not talking, it will block out all sound transmissions to the other party? I have had headsets like this in the past and its annoying as the other party will sometime break stride to ask if i'm still on the line.

I'm not sure exactly waht goes on (never having talked to someone with an HBH300 on the other end) - but maybe the HBH300 noise cancelling is too good ! People ocassionally think you have either hung up - or got disconnected because it is so silent.

With the Jabra they hear something ALL the time (even if you arent talking - they hear "background" noise - car etc)

[chips]

Originally Posted by dealmaker

I'm not sure exactly waht goes on (never having talked to someone with an HBH300 on the other end) - but maybe the HBH300 noise cancelling is too good ! People ocassionally think you have either hung up - or got disconnected because it is so silent.

With the Jabra they hear something ALL the time (even if you arent talking - they hear "background" noise - car etc)

Perhaps they vary. My wife has an HBH-300 and when she talks to me from the car I can hear a VERY faint background of road noise, radio etc., but if I didn't know she was in a car, I wouldn't suspect it.

[chips]

Originally Posted by rudychow

Can you post some pics of the HBH-300 with the eargel fitted? And how is the fit right now? Because of the natural position of the speaker (slightly behind the ear canal), does fitting the eargel directly into the ear canal stretch the ear hook?

It fits fine, could have been made for the HBH-300. The bit that goes into the ear is offset so there is no stretching of the hook or ear. I'll try to take a photo later.

[chips]

rudychow,

I've posted a couple of pictures in the "Best Headset" thread. Hope this helps.

Which is best Bluetooth Headset?

[rudychow]

Thanks!

There is an independent review of eight of the latest Bluetooth headsets available in the UK in this months (March 2005) 'What Mobile' including a review of the Jabra BT800.

[rudychow]

So what are the scores? Whos da top dog?

Originally Posted by rudychow

So what are the scores? Whos da top dog?

Scores out of five.

The Sony Ericsson Akono HBH-660. Three Stars - WM summary says 'Stylish and with an external screen, but pricey'

Logitech Mobile Freedom. Four Stars - WM summary says 'Great value, but not the most attractive design'

Jabra BT 800. Four Stars - WM summary says 'All the bells and whistles, but a tad plain'

Motorola HS-850. Four Stars - WM summary says 'Stylish, with a neat folding power button'

Samsung WEP-150. Four Stars - WM summary says 'Complete the look of style with this lightweight masterpiece.

Sonorix OBH-0100. Five Stars - WM summary says "Top stuff - all they forgot was the 'kitchen sink' profile"

[rudychow]

Originally Posted by Blueteeth

Scores out of five.

The Sony Ericsson Akono HBH-660. Three Stars - WM summary says 'Stylish and with an external screen, but pricey'

Logitech Mobile Freedom. Four Stars - WM summary says 'Great value, but not the most attractive design'

Jabra BT 800. Four Stars - WM summary says 'All the bells and whistles, but a tad plain'

Motorola HS-850. Four Stars - WM summary says 'Stylish, with a neat folding power button'

Samsung WEP-150. Four Stars - WM summary says 'Complete the look of style with this lightweight masterpiece.

Sonorix OBH-0100. Five Stars - WM summary says "Top stuff - all they forgot was the 'kitchen sink' profile"

Top post! Thanks!

I'm kinda disappointed with their choices though. IMO the Sonorix belongs in a totally different category by itself. Imagine wearing that in a business environment!

[rudychow]

Chips & Dealmaker:

Can you guys do a comparitive test of the wind-blocking performance for both headsets? I have the HBH-300 and it is pretty much unusable outdoors when in strong, windy conditions. Did a test and left a recording on my own voicemail and true enough, I get loud 'thuds' due to the wind hitting against the microphone. Even when speaking, the 'thuds' overpower my voice.

Read somewhere that using the Shure Quietspot's foam windscreen will help this a bit but am a little apprehensive about it falling off unnoticed. If the Jabra BT800 is able to offer better performance against wind, I might just opt for it.

Can any of you guys help me out here? Would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

[chips]

I did try both the BT800 and the HBH-300 in windy conditions. Both suffer, but the BT800 was reported to be worse by the person on the other end of the line. To be honest, I very rarely make calls in windy conditions so I haven't investigated the foam wind thingy.

I now use both headsets quite a lot, the BT800 is great for use indoors as it connects quicker and is a bit easier to put on (although it is not as secure as the HBH-300 and flaps about a bit), but the HBH-300 is in a different league for noise cancelling when I'm in the car or other noisy environment.

If I could only have one and had to choose between the two, I would pick the HBH-300 without hesitation.

A pretty comprehensive review on the BT800 at the address below for anyone interested?

http://www.mobile-review.com/review/...bt800-en.shtml

Hi All,
Just to share my experience with BT800 .
Tried with my Sony Ericsson P910i :

1) Caller ID did not work.
2) Even "Yes / No" menu did not appear during incoming call.

Very disappointed. Hope the future firmware will fix this