Mobile Phones

For use in an office, the SP500 can be placed on a desk, much like a speakerphone. For car use, there are two mounting options - a suction cup for the windscreen, or a clip for the visor.

The SP500 isn't the most appealing piece of hardware. First off, it's quite large and a protruding boom mic doesn't help. This limits the portability of the unit, as you won't be able to carry it around with you comfortably. Secondly, it lacks the usual slick design of other Jabra products.

In terms of operations, it possesses exactly the same functions as a Bluetooth headset. The SP500 supports voice dialing, last number redial, muting calls, swapping calls and rejecting calls.

As with most Bluetooth devices, there is one main Call button which performs most of the functions of the SP500, such as answering, ending or rejecting calls. A volume dial and mute button are one side, while the pairing button and power input are on the top.

Interestingly, the SP500 uses two inbuilt rechargeable batteries. This allows it to have 20 hours of battery life and usefully, it can be charged from a wall socket or in your car. The device can also be used while it's being charged, meaning Jabra has really put some thought into ensuring you can get the most out of the unit.

If you've ever worried about looking a little silly with a massive Bluetooth headset stuck onto your ear, the JX10 from Jabra is the solution to all your style worries. With its contoured edges and silver black colour scheme, this little number simply oozes class.

The style doesn't stop as the headset though, with Jabra providing an artistically crafted and futuristic looking charging cradle. The box includes a USB cable charger, so you can charge the unit from your PC or you could use the included AC adapter to charge it directly from the power socket if you choose.

The JX10 is small, light and almost unnoticeable, and if people do notice anything, it will be just how professional this unit looks. Appearances aren't everything however, and Jabra has delivered both ease of useability and functionality to match their design.

Operating the JX10 is very simple and almost as easy as the Plantronics 320. The Call Accept/End button is conveniently placed on the top of the unit, while two volume buttons are within easy reach on the back. Operating the unit is merely a matter of pressing and holding these buttons.

The Jabra BT800 is a Bluetooth headset with a difference, sporting a small display that can be used to view incoming call details and recently received call lists. This unit is fitted with a surprising number of extra features compared to the BT500 - and only retails for slightly more.

The BT800 is more aesthetically pleasing than the BT500 - it's smaller, more compact and the microphone is neatly integrated into the headset itself.

As with all Bluetooth headsets, the BT800 must be paired with your phone before you can use it. To pair the Jabra BT800 you must use the supplied stylus to place the unit in 'pairing mode'. To unpair your mobile, you have to turn the unit off.

Unlike the BT500, the controls on the BT800 are very easy to use and to identify. There are two separate buttons for Answering or Rejecting a call, making it easier to determine which one you have to press. Additionally, the buttons all have a slightly raised rubber portion so you can feel them easily and the volume control is a jog dial, as opposed to the stiff slider on the older unit. Depending on whether your phone supports it, the Jabra BT800 can be used to make calls using Voice Tags (by pressing the Answer button) or by dialing the last used number (by pressing and holding the Answer button).

The BT800 has an automatic volume control that adjusts the volume of the call depending on the ambient noise. For the most part this works well and you can always easily adjust the volume yourself using the jog dial if the call isn't loud enough. There is also a button for muting the call. The sound quality of calls on this unit are average.

The problem with writing about Bluetooth headsets is that they are very much dependent on your individual tastes as to just what exactly constitutes 'stylish' - one person's style can be another person's fashion faux pas.

Weighing just 19 grams and silver black in colour, the BT500 is designed to sit comfortably behind your ear, with the rotatable mini Gel speaker resting just inside the ear itself. The unit is fulyl curved (almost forming a U shape) with the microphone positioned behind under the ear lobe. It took us a little while to get used to the feel of it, but once on, the device is almost unnoticeable.

All the controls for the BT500 are on laid out on the top curve of the unit. There is one Answer/End button for accepting/ending calls, voice dialling and redialling. A second button further up on the device is used to place it in 'pairing mode' to use with a phone and above that is a slider control for adjusting volume. There are also two LED lights - one which tells you if the unit has low battery, is fully charged or charging and the second if the unit is in active or standby mode.

While the controls on the BT500 are all laid out logically, only the first Answer/End button is raised, making it difficult sometimes to find the other buttons or be sure you are pressing the right one. The volume slider is easy enough to find. The controls are a little tricky to use because most of the functionality is accessed through the Answer/End button and the type of operation performed depends on whether you tap it, press it, or press and hold it.

Back in April of 2007 at the CTIA Wireless show in Orlando, Samsung unveiled what it at that time called the UbiCell, a small white femtocell for CDMA networks on the 850 and 1900MHz frequency bands, such as those used by Verizon, Alltel, and Sprint. It promised strong, localized coverage for users that otherwise had trouble connecting to their carrier's network. Fast forward more than a year, and the UbiCell is finally available for purchase as the Samsung AIRAVE for Sprint.

Features and Cost

In short, what the AIRAVE does is it acts as a small cell tower in your home or office, through which Sprint phones can make voice calls or establish data connections. This isn't the same as a signal booster, instead the AIRAVE connects directly to Sprint's network through the customer's broadband internet connection. The net result is that AIRAVE users get a strong, fast signal, and Sprint gets to conserve some of the capacity in its existing towers.

This sounds like a win for everybody, right? Well it is, but the twist is that Sprint charges $99.99 for the AIRAVE itself as well as for the service it provides. For $4.99 per month a home or office can use the AIRAVE to boost signals inside the building. The AIRAVE supports up to 3 simultaneous active connections at a time - be they voice or data. So if your building has poor Sprint coverage, you can pay Sprint to fix the problem. That might prove perhaps a bit difficult to swallow for some people, especially when one considers that T-Mobile's @Home service, which uses WiFi based UMA and specific handset models, provides that improved coverage for free. Any UMA capable T-Mobile phone can connect via WiFi to T-Mobile's network to get improved coverage.