At some point, all of these Bluetooth headsets start to blur together. At least the basic kind. And the Jabra BT 125 is very basic. So basic in fact, I wondered if I had already reviewed it. A quick look through my files indicated that I hadn’t yet written this one up. So without further ado, here’s my take.
Design
The Jabra BT 125 is about as minimalist as you can get. It’s a little dollop with an ear loop. The speaker, without any sort of foam or plastic gel, rests in your ear. The ear loop itself is bendable, and the inside is coated with soft rubber type material. About the only trick this headset can muster is to flop over for left or right ear use.
On the face of the unit, which is of course basic black, is a translucent tear drop shaped multifunction button, which does the usual, answer, hang up, transfer and all of the rest. The only other button on this little non-wonder is a volume up and down switch on the side.
The unit charges from a lightweight AC adapter. The end is a non-standard one, when it could easily have been the mini USB I prefer. I had to root around in my box of electronics for a while before I retrieved the right charger.
Functionality
Well, I’ve come to expect a lot more from a headset these days. Perhaps the Lubix headphone headset combo I’ve been using is spoiling me. It has wonderful 3D sound for music and call quality, and although not stellar, is solid. Other standard earpieces tend to have better sound quality and a bit more style than the Jabra BT125. If you can’t tell already, I wasn’t much impressed with this one. It does have a couple of things in its favor. It is absolutely minimalist in design and is very lightweight. For me, the weight didn’t seem to translate into extra comfort as I was always trying to bend the earhook into just the right shape, and never quite got it.
More importantly, I found the sound quality is very mixed. This headset doesn’t sport any sort of noise cancelling circuitry or any sort of digital enhancements. Under some circumstances it was fine, under others the usual problems with static echoey sound prevailed. I wouldn’t want to use this under sonically stressful environments such as a car or wind, nor would I want to use it in a spot near a lot of wireless devices as it seems susceptible to interference.
The Jabra B125 has 8 hours of talk time and 170 hours of standy time. As mentioned above, the B125 is lightweight, weighing in at 0.50 ounces. You can compare the Jabra B125 against other Bluetooth headsets here.
The Jabra B125 works with the following Palm smartphones: Palm Centro / Treo 755p, 750, 700p, 700wx, 700w, 680, and 650.
Conclusion
As you can tell, I am not taken with the Jabra BT125. It’s too simple for me, and the options too limited. The multifunction button is fine to use, but the volume rocker is a bit more difficult. I also expect a lot more from a headset these days. This headset does have two things going for it. It is very lightweight and it is reasonably inexpensive. If these are your main criteria, then maybe it’s the right choice. You may also have better luck with the sound quality than I did. If you’re in a budget crunch, I’d suggest you take a look at the wired solutions, as they might be a better choice. If not, then spend a few more bucks to get something better.
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| Pros |
Lightweight at less than half an ounce
Inexpensive
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| Cons |
Too few features
Sound quality fair |
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