Most of us have at least one Bluetooth device that we use. For some it is a earpiece or speakers. And while newer cars are coming with some sort of Bluetooth set up in them, some of us (yours truly) have a car a little before that tech revolution. Always looking for a solution, we reached out to the folks at Jabra for some of their great solutions to this issue. They reached back, and smacked us with the Jabra Cruiser 2 ($99).
We here at the WGUB love it when something works perfect out of the box. And well, the Cruiser 2 does that perfectly. After a quick charge via the USB port on our computer we were ready to get our sync on get down and dirty. Syncing the Crusier 2 to my old school flip phone was easy as pie. It downloaded all the contacts in my address book instantly.
So I sauntered out to my car, slid this puppy onto my driver’s side visor, and sat there with a sense of accomplishment…staring at it with the wonder of a new-born child…Speak Jabra…Show me what you got…
After waiting for the phone call that never came, I got some technical help from whiteglossy in the form of a phone call. As my phone started ringing, the Cruiser 2 informed me that yes it was whiteglossy calling. Boom! Answer button! Hello hello!
Call quality was outstanding. The speakers on this thing are pretty impressive. Almost too impressive. This thing can get a bit loud if you have it dialed up. No complaints about the microphone either. My end of the conversation was sent and received with little complaints on the other end. One thing I was worried about is that I would have to shout for this thing to pick up my voice. But I found I was able to talk at a normal, comfortable level and still enjoy the conversation. You can also transmit your call through your car speakers. A nice feature to have, even if it isn’t all that necessary since the speaker it has is very powerful. But sometimes you want to hear the sweet sound of your caller surrounding you like a phonic pillow. Simply select the station you want to send it too on the Cruiser 2, dial your stereo accordingly and boom. This function was a little too much static for my tastes, but not in a way that was distracting enough not to use the feature should you want to.
Lets talk about battery life. I was a bit skeptical about adding this thing to my car, simply because I didn’t want to have another thing to have to always recharge. But the battery life on this thing is just about superhuman..err..supercomputer…I don’t know, you get the drift right? 14 hours of talk time is impressive. The 20 days of standby time might be a little more. Thing is for the average user you probably can stretch that to 30 days if you are not in your car all the time. Heck, I’m still on my initial charge on the thing and I’ve had a few long conversations on it. In terms of staying power, this thing has it.
About the only draw back on this product is its footprint on the visor. It is a little big. The original Crusier was much smaller. But had a smaller battery. Even with its larger size though the Cruiser 2 doesn’t take up a lot of room or weigh down your visor.
All in all, the people at Jabra have once again hit it out of the park. You can check out their full line of products here. More on the product below.
“The speakerphone category is a big focus for us and, as the market continues to grow year in and year out, more retailers and consumers become aware of it and realize the benefits of using a device,” said Jonas Forsberg, General Manager North America, Mobile Division, GN Netcom, Inc. “We have conducted extensive consumer research to find out what features consumers care most about and the resounding results point to superior audio quality and ease of use, and that is exactly what we are providing with the CRUISER2.”
With the launch of the CRUISER2, Jabra is looking to provide a “no excuses” approach to hands-free driving in an effort to change consumer behavior. The CRUISER2 in-car speakerphone is compatible with a wide variety of third-party apps that allow users to listen to music or hear incoming text messages and emails, making communicating on the road safer and easier. The CRUISER2 has several features that make it easy-to-use and set it apart from other speakerphones including Caller ID – the speakerphone ‘talks’ to the user, telling you who is calling, exactly how you have the caller programmed into your mobile phone (for example, “Mom calling” or “Martin Work calling”) – and Voice Announcements that provide audio guidance when setting-up the device and to clearly announce connectivity status and low battery levels.
In addition, the CRUISER2 features Noise Blackout™ technology that reduces ambient sound without compromising voice quality, the Jabra CRUISER2 features strategically placed microphones that are able to distinguish between background noise and the caller’s voice, ensuring optimized audio without distracting noise from other passengers or outside traffic. With enhanced Multiuse™ technology that allows users to connect two devices – mobile phones, smartphones and MP3 players – to the in-car speakerphone at the same time allowing for two “active” connections as well as the ability to transmit and play MP3s from a mobile device to the car’s stereo system via the speakerphone.
Key Specifications of the Jabra CRUISER2 in-car speakerphone include:
- – Bluetooth 2.1Technology, including EDR and eSCO
- – Great sound with dual microphones and a powerful speaker
- – Easily connects to car radios via the FM transmitter to transmit music and calls to the car speakers
- – Quickly and easily downloads a phonebook to tell you who is calling
- – Large, easy to access volume controls, including a dedicated mute button
- – Auto-pairing accompanied by audible pairing instructions for no-nonsense set-up
- – Features answer/end, redial and voice dialing*
- – Voice Guidance in 9 different languages**
- – 2 Chargers are included – a micro USB cable for charging via a PC and a universal car charger that fits into the car lighter.
