Review: Jabra BT2070 Bluetooth Headset 5

With the Jabra BT2070 bluetooth headset, Jabra set out to bring a stylish and functional headset down to mass market prices. Featuring a black cylindrical with an eye-catching glowing yellow activity ring, the BT2070 certainly hits the stylish mark, though in a much more in-your-face manner than its more understated upmarket rivals. Unlike those upmarket rivals, the Jabra BT2070 dispenses with fancy voice isolation tools to offer a straightforward calling experience that works relatively well.

Voice Quality

Without any high-tech voice isolation algorithms or activity sensors, the Jabra BT2070 transmits to your caller exactly what it hears. Now, that does mean that it will pick up surrounding noise, but the microphone isn’t quite as sensitive as that on the Pre itself, so distant noises or people simply talking in the same room likely will not go through. What does go through is adequately clear, though slightly muffled. Incoming voices were similarly dampened, though it certainly isn’t a dealbreaker. All-in-all, incoming and outgoing voice quality with the BT2070 is simply adequate, it’s definitely not horrible, but it’s also certainly not the best you’ll ever hear. For the price, it’s not bad at all.

Controls

Unlike many more expensive headsets, the BT2070 actually sports three buttons (instead of two, or one, or none): power/call, volume up, and volume down. All three work exactly how you would expect and are pleasantly easy to use when wearing. The large dish-shaped power/call button is especially nice, as it fit my finger just so perfectly and required little effort to register a tap.

Comfort

As they say, you do get what you pay for. While the Jabra BT2070 scores decent marks for voice quality and ease-of-use, it loses some when we look at comfort. Initially I though the large speaker was going to be a good thing: bigger speakers = clearer sound. While this wasn’t necessarily the case (I’m not willing to pin the muffledness on the speaker or electronics alone - it’s a cheap headset, there had to be compromises), the large speaker cuts into the space normally reserved for squishy ear gel cushioning. This leaves room for only a sheath of rubber around the speaker, which provides little padding for extended wear. That said, that was the only gripe I had about the headset’s fit: the tight-looking ear hook had me worried at first, but I never noticed any discomfort in that area.

Style

If there’s one thing to be said for the BT2070, it’s that it is in your face. Rather, it’ll be in everybody else’s face, since you can’t really see it when it’s on your ear. The body of the headset is essentially cylindrical and thus sticks out close to two centimeters when worn. But it’s the bright yellow light ring that’ll draw the most attention. For one, it’s bright and yellow even when not lit-up, but when it flashes on a call it shines brightly. If it were blue, you may not notice (so many headsets are unimaginatively blue these days), so the yellow was quite the bold choice. Not everybody is going to like it, but that’s what happens when you take a design risk. I’d say that this risk paid off - the BT2070 trends onto the good side of funky.

In the Box

At the price point of $35, you can’t expect much in the way of included accessories for an accessory, right? Right. In the box with the Jabra BT2070 you’ll find the usual manuals and warnings, a Micro USB charger that will provide juice for your Pre as well as the headset, and one slightly smaller replacement ear hook.

Conclusion

The Jabra BT2070 bluetooth headset isn’t anything special outside of its offbeat styling, but it is a decent entry in the low-cost headset market. Voice quality is about on par with what you’d expect for the cost, though ergonomics do seem to have taken a hit in exchange for the large speaker. All in all, it’s not a bad choice for a budget bluetooth headset.

The Jabra BT2070 is available in the PreCentral store for $34.95, a savings of 30% off the list price of $49.95.

Pros

Funky - but refreshing - styling

Cons

Minimal ear padding