This is a review for Jabra FREEWAY Bluetooth Speakerphone
I'm not one to take my time to write reviews, but after purchasing three of these speakerphones I thought maybe it would be helpful to tell you why this is the best speakerphone I have ever used.
We live in California and, by law, have to have our Cell Phones connected by Bluetooth if we use them in the car. I have probably used 4-5 different brands and configurations in the past 5 years all with mixed results, until I came across the Jabra FREEWAY Bluetooth Speakerphone. I really dislike using in-ear Bluetooth devices (for many reasons, but mainly because they interfere with hearing and make you look like a . . . . ). Speakerphones I have used in the past (including the less expensive Jabra products) seemed to never clearly pick-up my voice and transmit it to the caller. When I purchased my first Jabra FREEWAY Bluetooth Speakerphone (after reading a glowing CNET Review) I started using it as soon as I charged it for a couple of hours. It is the easiest, most user friendly product I have bought in a long time.
Getting up and running requires:
1. Charge unit (USB)
2. Turn on Cell Phone and put in pairing mode
3. Turn on Jabra FREEWAY Bluetooth Speakerphone it will find the phone and announce "Connected"
4. That's it, your done.
Now to use it you only have to do one thing and remember 2 words:
1. Attach the Speakerphone to your visor and turn it on.
2. Remember 2 words when it announces by name an incoming call. a) Answer (connects you to an incoming call) or b) Cancel (phone goes straight to you voice answer message).
It really is that easy. There is a lot more that the Speakerphone will do, and there is a one year subscription to a second party company that keeps all your contacts + more so you can call one number and transfer to anyone in your contacts, send text, etc. But you really don't need to know or use any of that.
Oh, I forgot, the main reason I like the Jabra FREEWAY Bluetooth Speakerphone is that my clients have no clue that I am even on a Bluetooth device when I talk to them in the car. No extraneous noise, no wind noise, just a clear voice. That, plus the ease of use is why I keep buying more of these and giving them to my wife, children, etc.
Did I mention that once you turn the Jabra Freeway on you don't have to touch/recharge it for a month or more (my experience, moderate use). It turns itself on when I get in the car, and turns itself off when I exit (motion detector).
Pros: All of the above. Plus, iTune music sounds pretty good through the 3 speakers and podcasts are great (you can also transmit the music/podcast to you FM radio) the Speakerphone "knows" to to stop the music/podcast if a call comes in.
Cons: It takes a couple of minutes for the speakerphone to turn-off automatically when you you leave the car. For a short time, if you are fairly close to the car (in you home or office) the unit still picks-up calls. This has happened to me only once, and my iPhone asks if I want to not use the Bluetooth on the screen, so it really is a minor annoyance.
I got the Freeway along with my iPhone 4S. It connected easily, and reconnects every time I get into my car. I sit down, and by the time I turn the ignition, it's reconnected (and lets you know by saying so). It works great as a speakerphone, callers sound good and I sound good to them. The volume goes up pretty high so you can still hear fine if you have a loud car. If you press and hold the big phone button for about 2 seconds, Siri will activate if you have it on your iPhone. Siri will use the Freeway's mic and speaker to talk to you. It's great to just press the button overhead and be able to have all of Siri's functions. If you're listening to music while you activate Siri, the music will fade out, and when you're done with it, the music fades back in.
Playing music is fairly mediocre through the speaker. While I didn't expect amazing sound out of the tiny package, it's hardly the amazing surround sound that Jabra advertises. Most songs are going to sound fine, but if you have anything with heavy bass, it gets pretty distorted. It's good enough to listen to music on my commute, and more than enough to listen to podcasts with.
The battery life is great, I seem to be getting the full 14 hours. Playing music counts as talk time, and when you check the battery status, the Freeway gives it to you in terms of talk time left. So if you have a full charge and drive a half hour with music, it'll tell you that you have 13 1/2 hours of talk time left. Since it shuts off soon after you get out of your car, it's not draining battery while idle.
As a side note, the unit won't shut up if you flip your visor down. I've never had it shut off on me while I had the visor flipped down facing both the windshield and the side window. You just have to be careful not to mash buttons when you're gripping the visor.
Overall it's good as a speakerphone, extension of Siri, and voice-only audio such as podcasts. Music could sound better, but I understand there's only so much you can get out of a tiny speaker. I haven't used any other Bluetooth speakerphones to compare this to, but I'm pretty happy with it.
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The Jabra Freeway is very sleek and comes with a free and optional one-year subscription to VoiceAssist.
Setting the unit up was easy.
1. Before I could use the Jabra Freeway, I charged it for two hours using the supplied USB cable with car charger.
2. Next I made sure the cell phone was Bluetooth-enabled and turned on the Jabra unit.
3. It immediately went into pairing mode. As it is pairing with the phone device, the prompts on the phone needed to be followed and the supplied security code had to be entered (not everyone will have to enter a security code; it depends on the phone)
4. After this I began making and answering calls using voice commands, checking the battery power of the unit, etc. To make a call, I had to press the Voice button to wake up the unit and say "phone commands." If I was unsure of how to speak to the unit I would say "What can I say?" and it would give me options.
What I found very frustrating was:
1. Once I was done with a call, ending the call is not hands free. I couldn't say "hang-up, or cancel, or end" because that doesn't work. Instead I had to press the "answer end button" (which is the "phone icon" on the Jabra device) or end the call via the phone end button.
2. I also disliked having to press the Voice button every time I wanted to make a call because this meant it was not totally hands free. The only hands free part is if someone is calling you, the unit then automatically awakes and you can tell it to "answer" or "ignore" the incoming call.
3. Many times I asked the unit to make a call. Twice it brought up the EZ tip calculator, once it brought up the one-minute beep "application," and another time it brought up some other application on the phone that I didn't ask for. Another time I tried to call someone and instead it brought up the address book and rambled off both the mobile and work number without giving me the option to dial either one.
What I really loved was the optional VoiceAssist package even though I had difficulty getting this set up because the code to redeem the free one-year subscription was hidden underneath a sticker either Amazon or the manufacturer put on the box. However, VoiceAssist has the best live customer service around. In fact we called each other almost five times to get this situation resolved in a few hours. Hopefully, new purchasers won't have this experience where the offer code is hidden between stickers and impossible to read even after being held up to the light.
Below are the steps I took to get VoiceAssist to work:
1. I had to first redeem the free offer code on the box by going to [....].
2. Once signed in online to [....], I imported all my Gmail contacts into the VoiceAssist application and also set up a connection to my review_maven twitter account ([....]).
3. Once registered and after I cleaned up the Gmail import which had about an 85% accuracy rate, I then needed to program the number of 949-257-0923 under the name of VoiceAssist into the Bluetooth phone.
4. After this I had a lot of fun:
I used the Jabra unit to call VoiceAssist.
Once connected I used another set of VoiceAssist commands to "call" people in my contact list (they had to have a phone # in the Gmail contact listed that was imported), to "post to Twitter," to "read my e-mail" on Gmail--which it read very well (except it said it couldn't read the pictures), and to send an email, which it sent okay though some of my message was garbled. However, since an MP3 was attached to the email, the person receiving it could play that to get the full message.
The two posts to my Twitter account were okay, buy it got VoiceAssist wrong and typed voices instead and it typed Jabra as Java. You can look on the review_maven account to see the posts for May 28. 2011.
I didn't have the phone functionality to try the FM Transmitter or play music features of the Jabra device.
Below are some of the key features that I liked and some things I disliked:
PROS:
1. The Jabra unit is pretty easy to set up
2. The Jabra Freeway has a long battery life (about 14 to 17 hours)
3. You can pair two Bluetooth phones to the device with the last phone paired being the primary one
4. Jabra Freeway comes with a car charger for charging in your vehicle or with a 12Volt Battery Pack; the USB cable that is used to plug in the car adapter can be used without the adapter for charging with your PC
5. A free one-year subscription to VoiceAssist is supplied with purchase
6. Voice Assist understands commands better than the Jabra unit itself
7. I could check and send email and post to Twitter with VoiceAssist (Posting to Facebook is also possible.)
8. VoiceAssist provides SUPERB customer service.
CONS:
1. VoiceAssist setup was difficult and the instructions that came with the device did not tell you to program in the telephone number to VoiceAssist. Instead the Jabra instructions tell you to call VoiceAssist making you assume it's already pre-programed in the device.
2. Managing your contacts online in the VoiceAssist web site is somewhat cumbersome as the tool is in its infancy. For instance, every time I edited one of my 100+ contacts it kept going back to the first one after I saved the edit--then I had to scroll through the entire list again to go back to where I wanted to in the contact list.
3. Answer/End button is not intuitive on the Jabra unit (it's the phone icon on the Jabra Freeway); although the instructions do tell you where it's located.
4. The Jabra Freeway did not always understand my voice commands Voice Assist understood my commands much better but that still was not perfect)
5. Jabra is from the UK and only an automated help line is provided along with a website. Other than this you can send an email and wait for a response--no live support here
In summary, although Jabra will work with any Bluetooth phone, I did not feel I could get it to work exceptionally well with the Verizon LG phone I tried it with. I cannot be sure whether it was because of my or my boyfriend's voices (as we both tried it), the phone, or just the functionality of the device. Despite this, the Jabra Freeway is a very sleek unit and I felt that it responded better the more familiar I got with the device. In addition, the other reviewers are raving about the Freeway. Although VoiceAssist was not perfect, I absolutely loved that optional add-on.
Updated May 30, 2011 I sent an email to Jabra with two simple questions to see how responsive their email support was and I can tell you it's great. I sent it over the weekend and got a response this morning. The only thing that wasn't great was that one of my simple questions was answered wrong. I had asked where the answer/end button was and according to the manual it is the phone icon on the Jabra device; however the reponse I got was to "Slide the On/Off power switch to turn the speakerphone on or off" so the question was either misunderstood or the tech did not know the answer. I think it's the former.
Updated November 7, 2011 I recommended this to a former colleague and this is what he said about the device verbatim. "Regarding the Jabra device, it has worked very well. I will admit, I have not used any of the advanced features much (other than initially playing with them) as honestly I have not needed them. It has strictly been used as a straight bluetooth device and for that purpose it has worked extremely well. The speaker quality is above and beyond competing devices and the functionality (recognizing bluetooth connections regularly, turning off when it doesn't detect a device, etc) are features that are useful and allow it to stick out from the pack of competing devices. Overall, it has proven useful when I needed it."
Read Best Reviews of Jabra FREEWAY Bluetooth Speakerphone (Black, Retail Packaging) Here
I don't give 5 stars that often, but I love this thing.
The calls are very clear as advertised and they can hear me fine as well. It's fantastic being able to finally answer calls hands free in the car; no having to have an earpiece or anything.
I love that you can connect two Bluetooth devices at once; I don't have a smartphone, but I can connect my basic cellphone with Bluetooth to this device, as well as my iPod Touch to send music to it!
The size makes it great to take it with you anywhere and use it as a speakerphone/speakers at home.
It looks great on the sun visor of the car, as well on a desk.
There is also a built-in FM transmitter. Personally, the transmitter doesn't seem that much of an advancement to send a clear strong signal than other FM transmitters that I've owned (still getting a static or fuzzy sound on a higher volume), but still, it is definitely a nice bonus to have!
The device is also firmware upgradeable if there are any improvements in the future.
It uses a Micro USB to charge.
If you ever feel like using your cellphone in the car, when you think about the safety and traffic ticket costs, this product is a no brainer worthy investment. The versatility of this product being suitable for home use just makes it even better. Fantastic design.
Recommended.
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Jabra I stand up and give you a standing ovation for the Jabra Freeway Speakerphone. I previously was using the Jabra CRUISER2 Bluetooth In-Car Speakerphone but sadly had to give it up to my dear husband who refused to use a headset. I did not mind because this way I was able to acquire the newer model. The Jabra Freeway is the newest model since the Cruiser 2. It is a tad bit larger, but offers a few more features such as automatic turn on and off with the built-in motion sensor, and acoustically optimized HD quality microphones and surround sound speakers. You pretty much give all the commands by your voice. For example when you call comes in, you can just say "answer" or "ignore". If you want to make a call, just hit the "Voice" button once and say "phone commands", then say "call mobile". It is that easy. That is one big difference between the Cruiser 2 and the Freeway. With the Cruiser 2 you had to hold and count the seconds on the action button to make it do certain commands such as last redial or voice dial. With the Freeway everything is done with the touch of one button and I don't have to hold it for 1, 2 or 3 seconds!
I got so excited about talking about the actual usage of the speakerphone that I almost forgot to mention the setup. I am using it with the Verizon iPhone 4G and setup with so simple it took less than one minute. The automated programmed voice is very clear to hear and understand. This is the first time I have had to actually turn the volume down on a speakerphone because it was too loud! The sound is crystal clear. I really do not know how anyone can give this item a bad review unless it does not work with their particular brand of phone. in regards to the FM transmitter functions, it works as well as other types of transmitters I have tried. There is NO wireless FM transmitter out there that is not going to be static free. Think about, the only way is be able to be static free is to be directly plugged into your radio and not be "wirelessly". This speakerphone will be primarily used for phone calls and not for my the FM transmitter. I can hear perfectly loud and clear by the units speakers and have no need to be using it to play my iTunes music through it. the speakers alone will be sufficient for me to hear my calls loud and clearly.
Now lets get to the Voice Assist. Forget about it. Not worth it. I did sign up for it since it is a free trial offer for one-year but I don't see any use for it. I asked myself do I really need to urgently send someone a text message or post a status on Facebook? Is it that important that I can't wait till I am out of the car and on my computer, iPad or iPhone. I can wait I am not that important to be posting about my life's every moment for all to know. Also, what most might not realize is that you have to call a landline phone number that uses airtime off your cellular plan in order to use the Voice Assist. Signing up was not as much of a hassle as some made it sound. Just make sure to read the instructions on the Voice Assist website and you should have no problems. You have to download the firmware upload and apply it, THEN enter your UPC code after the firmware update is applied. This is for units purchased from Amazon ONLY.
YOU WILL LOVE THIS SPEAKERPHONE. I am curious to see what is next for Jabra since I can not imagine how something so perfect could be improved. Well now that I think about it, maybe they will come up with "Park Assist" on their next units. :-)
EDIT: I almost forgot to add one more thing. This comes with a really nice long micro USB cord. Not one of those "bungee" ones either. It is straight and long enough to fit plugged into a 12V that is inside my center console glovebox while charging the speakerphone still clipped to my sunvisor (while parked of course).
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I got this for my '69 VW. Sometimes I may leave it sitting for extended periods of time, and the radio was draining the battery.
