We took a look at the original Jawbone Bluetooth headset in July of 2007, almost one year ago. Just a few weeks ago, Aliph released their new Jawbone headset. It’s 50% smaller and features even better noise cancelling technology, but does it improve on it’s downfalls? Read on to find out more.

The new Jawbone comes in three different colors: silver tongue, blah blah black, and goldy lips. First things first, Aliph, drop the cheesy names. On the design front, the new earloop comes in two versions, one for glasses wearers (a downside to the previous version) and now is encased in leather instead of plastic and rubber. It feels better on your ear, and has a much better fit than before. The new headset is also lighter, and half the time, we didn’t even know it was there.

One of the best features of the original Jawbone, was the “Noise Shield”, now called “Noise Assassin” technology. The technology did make a considerable difference to people on the other end, and kept noise at it’s lowest, making our speech easier to understand.

Now, in terms of battery life, the new Jawbone is rated for 4 hours of talk time and charges up full in about an hour. We received just around 3 1/2 hours of talk time in our tests using the headset with a Nokia N95 8GB cell phone. In the range department, the new Jawbone supposedly gets a 30+ foot range, but we were only able to walk about 15 feet before the headset started to lose its connection.

We were impressed with the new design, and enhanced noise cancellation, but it still does have some flaws that should have been fixed this time around. First, digital static is very audible when on calls and became very annoying on long conference calls. Second, the headset still becomes very uncomfortable after long periods of use, something to take into account before purchasing, however, it may be more comfortable for some than others.

It isn’t the best headset on the market today, and throughout this week we’ll be taking a look at four other Bluetooth headsets available, from the high-end to the low-end. The new Jawbone is available today for $129.99 from Jawbone.com and from AT&T retail stores near you. Find the closest store at wireless.att.com.

Pros

• Smaller design.
• Redesigned earloop.
• Improved noise cancellation.

Cons

• Expensive.
• Static audible in calls.
• Still becomes uncomfortable after long periods of time.

Edited 06/23/08 10:22am: Added availablility at AT&T retail stores and store locator link.

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