A1Great! From Ottawa, Ontario » Blog Archive » two hours with the jabra halo

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two hours with the jabra halo

As a computer user, I do think it’s high time I started using online calling as a tool to help me talk to people (loathsome though they can sometimes be). I have heard that other computer users have been actively doing this for some time – that it is, in fact, No Big Deal. Fine! I will join.

But I want to do it wireless. Bluetooth, A2DP that is, “stereo” to you country folk – and it’d be nice to also use the headset with my iPod Touch. It’d be a feature! And my computer is Bluetooth-enabled, so, you know, should be no problem, right?

My first foray into this exciting world of telecommunications was to come via the Jabra Halo, a rather nice-looking headset that was on sale at the local Future Slut for about $40 off the usual price – worth a try, according to me.

Turns out me is an idiot.

Brought the Halo home. Cut my left index finger opening the packaging. This is mainly my fault – I was so young then, so excited to get started!
Plugged the headset in, as is typically the ritual with anything new and wireless. Noticed the blinking green battery light and thought it a good sign.
Perused the instruction manual over lunch. Noted that a solid red battery light meant charging, while a solid green meant battery full. No mention of blinking green. Thought maybe I had unlocked a special feature that would allow me to, I dunno, be more awesome than usual, or something. If over-the-ear headphones don’t announce your awesomeness, what does, right?
Examine the headset, noting that it must be fully opened to be turned ‘on’ and that it will apparantly only charge if ‘on’. Set the swivel pieces to various positions, assuming that one of them must be ‘on’. Blinking green persists throughout.
Google the thing a bit. Read many complaints about the charging, blinking problem. Also: the hinges, when adjusted inadvertently, will cause the headset to unpair, hanging up or dropping your call, or losing your music, or whatever. Third: the default lowest volume setting is ‘too loud’ for most reviewers – or perhaps ‘too loud’ is too kind, as one writer suggests ‘ear splitting’ instead. Oh, and the Jabra website failed to load in Chrome most of the time, and the URL suggested to consult in the manual in case of problems… yeah, 404.
Observe more green light blinking for a moment.
Bundle up my new Jabra Halo, grab my receipt, and take it back to Future Slut.

So, those were my two hours spent with the Jabra Halo. Thumbs down, in case you’re just skimming for a conclusion. I haven’t had such an unsatisfying experience with a piece of electronics like that in quite some time. Felt great to bring it back to the store, though.

My first foray into wireless Skype-type calling was a dud. Are you using an A2DP-type device to Skype, or Google Talk, or whatever? Tell me all about it.

This is a single weblog entry, posted here on February 3rd, 2010 1 Comment »

One response to this post so far:

· On February 4th, 2010 at 12:53 am, lisa wrote:

At least don’t get one of those dumb ear things. People look like idiots with them on. I’m just sayin.

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