Jabra BT8040

Summary: i returned my jawbone because people reported i was constantly breaking up, and i bought this one: the bt8040 is a keeper! NEVER andy static. sounds great when listening to ...

Read more

Summary: i returned my jawbone because people reported i was constantly breaking up, and i bought this one: the bt8040 is a keeper! NEVER andy static. sounds great when listening to music. comfortable. light. small. ive tried about 30 different headsets and this is the best one. beats the jawbone for sure, the jawbone had static problems, my voice cutting out, the fit is horrible, and the volume is too low to hear in your car. get the bt8040, you'll love it

Show less

Summary: After trying several of the "top-rated" headsets (Discovery, BlueAnt, Jawbone, etc) I took a plunge on this new model from Jabra. It is by far the best one I have ...

Read more

Summary: After trying several of the "top-rated" headsets (Discovery, BlueAnt, Jawbone, etc) I took a plunge on this new model from Jabra. It is by far the best one I have seen or used. It fits firmly in the ear without that nasty ear-piece which is always uncomfortable. The connection is sure and constant (the only one that works on my Verizon Treo 700p), with no loss of connection. The voice and audio are crystal clear, with no static whatsoever. Noise reduction seems to be excellent. The controls are easy and straightforward to use.
All that said, I do wish it could be made a little louder, though it is certainly acceptable in most situations. I suspect something like VolumeControl can improve that.

Show less

Summary: Clearly, it all depends on what's important to you in a headset. For me, noise reduction in windy/loud environments is critical. I owned this headset for a couple ...

Read more

Summary: Clearly, it all depends on what's important to you in a headset. For me, noise reduction in windy/loud environments is critical. I owned this headset for a couple of days, but returned it when I realized the headset was better at picking up surrounding noise than it was at catching my own voice. It seems as though the rating given by CNET is more for it's extensive feature set (music capability, ability to pair with two BT devices simulateously) than for it's real-world usability. Again, the reviewer mentions toward the end of the review that it's not the best in wind/noise. For me, that was the dealbreaker!

Show less

Summary: I agree with winodave's opinion. What I can add is that the low volume problem he encountered can be corrected by removing the ear cover the bt8040 comes with ...

Read more

Summary: I agree with winodave's opinion. What I can add is that the low volume problem he encountered can be corrected by removing the ear cover the bt8040 comes with and then installing a Jabra "assorted size" ear gel. They're the clear ones that come with about 6 in the box. Couldn't see a model number; possibly "Eargel202" which was on back of the box. Anyway, I waited to evaluate this one for 2 weeks. I have not been disappointed. Battery life is fine. I had a problem keeping it secure in my ear, until I used the Jabra eargel. Now the fit is secure and comfortable for long periods. More importantly, the sound is loud and clear. I have not heard the all too familiar static we hear with most bluetooths.

Show less

Summary: I am the pickiest person when it comes to bluetooths, and I work for U.S. Cellular so I am constantly trying them out to see which one is the ...

Read more

Summary: I am the pickiest person when it comes to bluetooths, and I work for U.S. Cellular so I am constantly trying them out to see which one is the best, and I honestly think my ears are deformed because I have yet to find the most comfortable headset, until I bought this puppy, OMG it is seriously like an Ear Condom, it fits perfect and my ear doesn't hurt after an hour like with other headsets...I even forget it's on my ear...I LOVE IT! I bought it yesterday and I LOVE IT! Thank you so much Jabra you are AMAZING I am selling the crap out of your products.

Show less

Summary: This type of desgin easily falls out of
the ear not meant for any activity - not secure - get one with ear loop much more secure

Summary: This type of desgin easily falls out of
the ear not meant for any activity - not secure - get one with ear loop much more secure

Summary: While I really like the small, compact size of the jabra, I bought it based on some reviews I read that said the headset had good volume control and could ...

Read more

Summary: While I really like the small, compact size of the jabra, I bought it based on some reviews I read that said the headset had good volume control and could be turned up to a really loud level. now maybe I listened to too much loud music growing up and my hearing is a bit shot, but I have not been impressed with the volume control of the jabra. I have an older motorola bluetooth and honestly the jabra is not any louder than the motorola. If I'm in a quiet room or an office setting the volume control is for the most part fine, but when I'm in any type of public place and even sometimes in the car, I often struggle to hear it adequately. I have a Lexus and the car is super quiet when driving, so its not the noise of the car that's creating unnecessary background noise.

I love the size of the jabra and haven't experienced any of the fitting issues that other reviewers have... the included eargels work great for me. so overall I'm satisfied with it, but really want a bluetooth headset that is louder. if anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Show less

Summary: Pros:
Small size
Easy to move from ear-to-ear
Simple/few buttons
Lightening fast to charge
Multi- pairing so that you can use one headset for multiple phones
Excellent range

Cons:







...

Read more

Summary: Pros:
Small size
Easy to move from ear-to-ear
Simple/few buttons
Lightening fast to charge
Multi- pairing so that you can use one headset for multiple phones
Excellent range

Cons:
Doesn't seem to be compatible with my Blackberry 8030
Does not block background noise on the user's side
Not the most secure fit
Not intended for use with streaming music/mobile GPS

I have tried several bluetooth headsets over the years. This particular one has many positive attributes that I enjoy. It also has some significant downsides to it, that I can't easily excuse for the price I paid.
Out of the box, it comes with both a wall charger and a USB cord for charging. There is no complete paper-based manual, instead it comes with a CD. I'm sure that is a pro on the environmental side, however, I like something that I can refer back to without having a computer handy.

Charging is super quick- I would have to estimate that it usually takes well under an hour. The lighting system is very helpful in indicating where in the charging process it is (it goes from red to a gradually shifting to a solid bright green).
Pairing is very easy to do- I have done it a few times on the go when I've upgraded or changed my personal and work phones.

Making calls through voice activation is good (if your phone is compatible). It is not something that can be used for streaming music or navigation use, like I have on my EnV/Voyager- it will shut off reception of the sound and not recognize that you require the ongoing listening ability. According to an associate at the Verizon store, it is working as intended. I see this as a flaw, as who really wants a secondary bluetooth to accommodate functions that will be commonplace across phones in the not-so-far-off future?

Sound quality on the user's end is great. I have had a few complaints from callers if I've got backgound noise, which was disappointing for its noise-cancellation claims.

Where it gets dicey is when I attempt to use it with my Blackberry. It works like a charm with my LG's I've paired it with. The Blackberry is touch-and-go. Often, when I engage it's use (either before I place a call or during the call), the incoming sound is very metalic and robotic sounding. I don't even know what I would sound like if I tried to talk during this. Sometimes after maybe 20 seconds, it will sound normal. Other times, I have to toggle back and forth between my handset and bluetooth to get it to "click". Even when it is working right on my end, I have been told that I'm static and hard to hear. I usually wind up just defaulting to my handset or speaker phone if I need to participate in a discussion.
Battery life seems decent- no complaints there!

Probably the best thing about this is the range. I can leave my phone on the couch and go run to my car or let the dogs out with no break in reception. I still sound fine on my LG and hear perfectly on both phones (assuming that it finally starts working well on my end for the Blackberry). This is the beauty of the newer Bluetooth technology. I had a Plantronics that I love but the phone had to be within about 18" of my ear or it would get static-sounding.
Volume-wise, this phone does well. I'm always turning the volume on everything up- with this one I can hear easily, as the gel covering funnels the sound into your ears (rather than my old Motorola H500 that rested outside of the ear- I never could hear well on that one).

In terms of fit, the headset comes with a number of different contoured gel ear moldings that pop on and off of the speaker. The gels are right/left interchangeable so you can move it from ear to ear without making any adjustments. They are easy enough to change, but I really have yet to find one that is 100% secure. I'm on my second headset currently, as was on the phone with the first one, when it was brand new, washing dishes and... you guessed it. It still worked after the fact, but I blamed the "disconnect" that I had with the Blackberry on residual water damage. As you can see from my review above, it wasn't. Based on this, I think they are pretty durable though. The Verizon consultant that I worked with on another issue said that his dog chewed his into 4 pieces- he put them back together and it worked like a charm. That says a lot for a bunch of plastic!

All and all, I have mixed feelings about this purchase. For the price they are charging, I'd expect truer noise cancellation and the ability to pair it with any phone with ease. I'd also think that it would not time out for ease of use with modern cell phone media applications. I think it's a decent headset (when it works), but would imagine you can find a less pricey multi-device pairing headset that functions equally as well.

Show less