Jabra BT530 Review

Introduction and Design:

“Damn, what´s all the noise? Dude, close the window, please! I can´t hear anything and I´m trying to have an important conversation here”. We bet this is something that happens quite often, especially in offices that, just like ours, overlook streets with heavy traffic. Fortunately, we can simply shut the window or get to a quieter room anytime. Sadly, this is not an option when walking along a busy street and just as Murphy´s laws go, something will come up, traffic, cars, wind or whatever to prevent you from being able to have a proper conversion the second you take an important call. Fortunately, today´s Bluetooth headsets feature noise cancellation technologies to handle environmental sounds. A new advancement of the afore-mentioned technology that supposedly makes your conversations in noisy environments more pleasant, called Noise Blackout, makes its debut with the Jabra BT530. The headset comes with 8 ear gels in 3 different sizes, 2 ear hooks in two sizes, USB cable, charger and a manual. You don’t really need the latter, since the gadget is fairly easy to operate. Just power it on using the slider on its side and it automatically enters pairing mode.



Aside from the latter, there are three more buttons – two to control volume and one to take/reject calls and re-dial. They all have discernible travel and pressing them doesn’t require much effort. We are pleasantly surprised to find out the device is charged via the standard microUSB port.



The Jabra BT530 belongs to the Smart Series of the manufacturer and relies on functionality, not on appearance. As a whole, it looks really simple and sports a nice, rubber-like finish. 

Performance:

The Jabra BT530 is feather light and comfy Bluetooth headset. We put on the standard ear gel and hook and almost forgot we were wearing a hands free headset in less than 10 minutes. The device doesn’t cause discomfort even after prolonged wear, so it can stay attached to your ear all the day if need be and you won´t have to suffer from tics that make you feel like killing someone. You can use the Jabra BT530 without an ear hook - we don’t like it, since it made us feel certain discomfort.

We tested the device in various conditions and we can say it performed decently on the overall. Sound in quiet rooms is somewhat muffled and not as loud as we would have liked. People on the other end didn’t have any gripes and rated the quality top-notch. Things remained pretty much the same when we tested the Jabra BT530 while walking in a busy street. We were able to hear everything even in really windy conditions and out in the open, but the thing is people on the other end complained they couldn’t catch onto what we were saying. In this case we would recommend that you shield the device with your hand, because this seems to help improve in-call quality. The battery is robust and provides up to 5hrs of continuous talk time and 250hrs in standby.



Conclusion:

All told, the Jabra BT530 is a really decently performing device. It´s easy to use, comfy to wear even for prolonged periods of time and will allow you to have proper conversations even in busy streets. In-call quality itself is not exactly stunning, but will do. The same goes for the overall look of the gadget – we have seen better looking headsets, although all of them come with steeper price tags. For an instance, you can get the Plantronics Discovery 925 for $150. Ultimately, we believe the price of the BT530 is well worth it for what the device delivers – it´s available from the manufacturer´s website for $79.99