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I have been testing the new Jawbone Era for couple of weeks and thought it was time to share my thoughts on Aliph’s latest noise destroying headset. I have been a fan of the brand since its inception. To launch the original Jawbone, the company produced a short video with some pretty crazy demonstrations to show the power of the its then new NoiseAssassin algorithm.
When they turned on the leaf blower and the headset was able to effectively eliminate that level of background noise, I was sold.
Of course, as powerful as those demo’s were, there was one huge gaping hole in that strategy. It does not matter how well the person on the other end of the call can hear me, if I cannot hear them. With a leaf blower going full blast just a few yards away, the user would have little chance of enjoying a conversation. Which sums up my main issue with technology even now, four years later.
While manufactures have improved nearly every other aspect of their headset, incoming audio quality has remained a continuing source of annoyance and frustration. So after reading Aliph had specifically addressed this issue, I was quite excited to get and see how successful the company was in achieving a resolution.
Their method of attack was to use the NoiseAssassin 3.0 technology to automatically adjust the incoming volume level based on the users surrounding. So ideally, you will no longer have to resort to fumbling around trying to find a couple of small buttons on the side of your head to try and hear what your wife wants for dinner because you happen to driving by a construction site.
So far, I have not noticed the technology in action. And to me, that indicates the effort is pretty darn effective. My experience in both an office environment that can get quite loud and regular use commuting, dealing with the usual road noise I have not had to adjust the volume or ask someone to speak up. In fact, I kinda forgot about it until after an especially long conversation and realizing that not once did I have any trouble hearing.
The updated Era also adds HD audio for a better music/media experience and an accelerometer that lets you shake the headset to pair and double tap to answer a call. At $130 the Era is a the top of price heap, nothing unusual for the flagship Jawbone and if you rely on a headset to get through your day, you cannot do any better than the Era.
Link:Jawbone ERA Headset
