I didn't have the highest of hopes for the Jabra SP5050 -- especially at its' price point -- but I needed something small that I could use in rental cars AND I didn't want to sacrifice quality. What's the point of hands-free if, when you're at speed, there's too much noise in the system for the other party to hear you and you have to resort to using the handset?

I decided to give the Jabra a real-world torture-test right out of the box. We recently purchased a new smart fortwo -- the European micro-car that has just gone on the market in the USA. It is definitely much louder inside than our other cars, as the engine is directly behind the driver's seat and these cars have very little sound-deadening material.

The first call I received was fairly important, and I told the caller to let me know if they had ANY difficulties hearing me. During the five minutes we were on, I drove on different surfaces (some quite rough) and was driving at 60 mph during half of the call. Towards the end of the conversation I asked the caller if they'd been able to hear me OK; they wondered what I was talking about and stated that everything had sounded GREAT on their end.

So, here we have a device that sells for roughly $80 that -- it appears to me -- outperforms the Bluetooth hands-free system designed into my (otherwise nice) German car by fanatical Teutonic engineers. This is remarkable to me, and the Jabra continues to impress.

It has great battery life, along with a feature that will automatically power the unit down if it loses pairing with your cell phone for more than 15 minutes. This is a great feature, since it means you can turn it on once, run many short errands, and never have to switch the unit on and off.  It also means that you can't deplete the battery by forgetting to turn it off when you leave your car.

The Jabra also pairs almost instantaneously; it beeps to confirm this, usually within 2 seconds of me "waking" my iPhone. It's almost exactly the same size as an iPhone (but slightly smaller), which makes it very convenient to travel with.

Like others, I don't like the fact that it comes without an AC adapter. There are several adapters on Amazon that have an AC plug on one side and a lighter socket on the other; for me this is a must-have, as I like to charge the Jabra at night and use it during the day without worrying about a cord.  I would also like to see a slightly lower profile visor clip, as the one they include seems to be designed for a sun visor that's about twice as thick as the one in our vehicles.

So, there you have it -- relatively inexpensive, extremely simple to use, cleverly designed, works beautifully, and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

A few other reasons I love my Jabra SP5050 -- over the past few years we've owned four different cars with factory systems built into the car.  The most expensive car we own has a built-in system, yet -- despite the brand's reputation for German Engineering -- the hands-free BT system is nearly unusable after the car hits 30 mph. Too much noise, and you end up switching to the handset itself to make yourself heard. My wife HATES it if I even call her using the BT/hands-free system in this car.

Also -- just for background -- I've been through a number of hands-free devices over the years. I've bought and used 4 different Bluetooth headsets with varying degrees of success; some work, some don't. I've had 1 or 2 decent headsets, but don't like wearing them and often forget them. They've also been -- in my experience -- a little problematic to operate; some don't work with all phones, for example, and often you have to repeat pairing on a weekly basis to keep the device working with your phone. Some have poor battery life. Some have numerous accessories -- like charging stands and power supplies -- that make them really not that small or self-contained. Then there's the fit issue; some of the ones that clip over your ear are uncomfortable, while some of the ones that use an earbud to fit into your ear are too loose -- you get the picture...

All the more reason to love the Jabra, and I've just ordered a second unit for my wife...
I didn't have the highest of hopes for the Jabra SP5050 -- especially at its' price point -- but I needed something small that I could use in rental cars AND I didn't want to sacrifice quality. What's the point of hands-free if, when you're at speed, there's too much noise in the system for the other party to hear you and you have to resort to using the handset? I decided to give the Jabra a real-world torture-test right out of the box. We recently purchased a new smart fortwo -- the European micro-car that has just gone on the market in the USA. It is definitely much louder inside than our other cars, as the engine is directly behind the driver's seat and these cars have very little sound-deadening material. The first call I received was fairly important, and I told the caller to let me know if they had ANY difficulties hearing me. During the five minutes we were on, I drove on different surfaces (some quite rough) and was driving at 60 mph during half of the call. Towards the end of the conversation I asked the caller if they'd been able to hear me OK; they wondered what I was talking about and stated that everything had sounded GREAT on their end. So, here we have a device that sells for roughly $80 that -- it appears to me -- outperforms the Bluetooth hands-free system designed into my (otherwise nice) German car by fanatical Teutonic engineers. This is remarkable to me, and the Jabra continues to impress. It has great battery life, along with a feature that will automatically power the unit down if it loses pairing with your cell phone for more than 15 minutes. This is a great feature, since it means you can turn it on once, run many short errands, and never have to switch the unit on and off. It also means that you can't deplete the battery by forgetting to turn it off when you leave your car. The Jabra also pairs almost instantaneously; it beeps to confirm this, usually within 2 seconds of me "waking" my iPhone. It's almost exactly the same size as an iPhone (but slightly smaller), which makes it very convenient to travel with. Like others, I don't like the fact that it comes without an AC adapter. There are several adapters on Amazon that have an AC plug on one side and a lighter socket on the other; for me this is a must-have, as I like to charge the Jabra at night and use it during the day without worrying about a cord. I would also like to see a slightly lower profile visor clip, as the one they include seems to be designed for a sun visor that's about twice as thick as the one in our vehicles. So, there you have it -- relatively inexpensive, extremely simple to use, cleverly designed, works beautifully, and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! A few other reasons I love my Jabra SP5050 -- over the past few years we've owned four different cars with factory systems built into the car. The most expensive car we own has a built-in system, yet -- despite the brand's reputation for German Engineering -- the hands-free BT system is nearly unusable after the car hits 30 mph. Too much noise, and you end up switching to the handset itself to make yourself heard. My wife HATES it if I even call her using the BT/hands-free system in this car. Also -- just for background -- I've been through a number of hands-free devices over the years. I've bought and used 4 different Bluetooth headsets with varying degrees of success; some work, some don't. I've had 1 or 2 decent headsets, but don't like wearing them and often forget them. They've also been -- in my experience -- a little problematic to operate; some don't work with all phones, for example, and often you have to repeat pairing on a weekly basis to keep the device working with your phone. Some have poor battery life. Some have numerous accessories -- like charging stands and power supplies -- that make them really not that small or self-contained. Then there's the fit issue; some of the ones that clip over your ear are uncomfortable, while some of the ones that use an earbud to fit into your ear are too loose -- you get the picture... All the more reason to love the Jabra, and I've just ordered a second unit for my wife...