Jabra Wave Bluetooth Headset Review

There are thousands of bluetooth headsets out there these days.  Choosing one that fits you perfectly has been quite a chore.  My first bluetooth headset ever was made by Jabra.  It’s a brand I personally trust and like.  My first bluetooth headset that I owned was the Jabra FreeSpeak BT250 which was extremely comfortable.  Luckily Jabra brought back the design and created the Jabra Wave.

Inside the packaging you’ll get the Wave, micro USB charger, small and large eargel, and a foam wind suppressor for the boom microphone.

The design of the Wave is similar to the original FreeSpeak.  On the left is the larger FreeSpeak and on the right is the slimmer Wave.  The curved designed is made so that the headset rests perfectly behind the ear.  The reason I chose the original FreeSpeak as my first bluetooth headset was because in-ear and over-the-ear designs never really fit on my ear perfectly or even comfortably.  The behind-the-ear design feels extremely comfortable and natural to me.  Best thing about it is that it doesn’t really interfere with glasses.

Of course the new Wave has more advanced features than my original FreeSpeak.  New features for the Wave are

1) Voice Guidance which gives spoken battery level and bluetooth connection status
2) Ability to connect to 2 bluetooth devices
3) 3 layer wind noise reduction
4) Crystal clear sound and voice using DSP technology
5) Status display showing bluetooth connection and battery status
6) Up to 6 hours talk time and 8 days standby time.

The Wave has an integrated micro-usb port for charging which is definitely an improvement versus the original FreeSpeak which required a charging “dock”.

Another great improvement to the Wave is that Jabra put in a dedicated on/off switch.

They also incorporated a dedicated call answer button at the end of the mic boom.

I tested the quality of the sound by calling a land-line.  The receiver said the voice came in clear and loud.  I also did a test call outside in a windy day with a neighbor mowing the lawn 2 houses down.  The receiver said that they couldn’t hear the wind but they could pick up a very faint noise from the mowing but it wasn’t significant enough to get annoyed at.

The Wave is rated for up to 6 hours of talk time and up to 8 days standby.  It does last me through a work day with heavy use.  It weighs only 0.45 oz which you can hardly feel on your ear.  It comes in black or red color.

The only thing that I didn’t like about it was how the eargel gets attached.  The eargel “snaps” on very gingerly and there’s a high chance of it coming out if you leave it in a bag or pocket.  The groove that the eargel gets snapped into isn’t strong enough to keep it in place when you put it inside your pocket.  Don’t get me wrong, the eargel is extremely comfortable and there’s no chance of it falling out when it’s on your ear.  I did wish Jabra would find a way to secure the eargel a bit better on their next version.

The Jabra Wave costs $79.99 direct and $59.99 from Verizon.  I love the all day comfort and ease of use.