Cons: Ill-fitting earpiece and flimsy earhook. Constant hum when idle. Unexplained beeping and many disconnects.
The Bottom Line: It is cheaply made and extremely uncomfortable. Frequent disconnects,idle humming noise and unexplained beeping are very annoying. Not truly hands free if you have to hold it in place!
auntnono's Full Review: Jabra BT2040 Bluetooth Headset
If the new California hands free law were not going in to effect, I would never have purchased any kind of headset or hands free device. I am not a cell phone fanatic. I use my phone sparingly and rarely while driving. Hands free usage has never been an issue for me and searching for a hands free device is all new territory.
I knew I didn't want any kind of wires running from my ear to the phone and I didn't want to spend a lot of money, which narrowed the field considerably. I was immediately drawn to Jabra products because of their lower price tag. The BT2040 seemed to fit my requirements. It has Bluetooth technology, didn't need an additional charger and at $19.95 met my desired price range.
The unit is lightweight (16 grams) and looked small enough to fit my ear (L 2.1 x W 0.75 x H 0.59 in).
It comes with 1 "AAAA" battery and a removable plastic ear hook.
The initial set up is quite easy. Using the quick start guide, I had the BT2040 paired with my Motorola phone within minutes.
My disenchantment started the minute I put the unit to my ear. The plastic ear hook is not bendable and the unit does not feel very secure on the ear. You can wear the BT2040 without the hook, but that is a problem for me. The earpiece is bigger than my ear and very uncomfortable. Without the earhook, the unit kept popping out and falling to the ground. With the ear hook, it feels loose and I am constantly pressing it in place. I thought that maybe it was just a case of getting used to it, so I tried it out at work.
The BT2040 promises talk time of 8 hours, standby time of 6 hours and an automatic sleep mode to save power. The operating range is supposed to be up to 33 feet. This thing beeps in my ear constantly! I don't know if it's going to sleep or if I'm going out of range. I am continually checking the phone itself to see if the Bluetooth icon is lit. 8 times out of 10 it has disconnected. The next to useless 2 page owner's manual does not address this. Using the beeping as a guideline, I've determined the range is more like 12 feet. This is fine inside the car, but pretty limited if you need to be hands free around an office. It goes to sleep in about 30 minutes, As far as I can tell, it "wakes up" when calls come in as long as it hasn't completely disconnected.
There is also an annoying humming sound when the unit is idle. Typing on a keyboard will change the tempo of the hum, so it might be picking up interference from the computer.
Answering and ending calls could not be easier. Simply press the round button on the unit. You can set up for automatic answering if your phone has that feature. Calls also disconnect within a few seconds if the other party hangs up first. The sound quality during calls is not bad for a cheap unit. None of the people I spoke with complained about not hearing me and I could hear fine when I hold it in place. At least the humming goes away while the unit is in use.
Bottom line:
You get what you pay for. I've used the BT2040 for over a week now and all I've really got out of it is a sore ear. With or without the earhook, the unit does not fit comfortably in or on my ear. It falls off at least 3 times a day. Having to hold it in with my hand defeats the whole hands free purpose. The beeping is driving me crazy. I'll be replacing the Jabra BT2040 with a unit that has either a smaller or interchangeable earpiece. I know I'll pay more, but comfort outweighs the cost.
The Bluetooth headset combines Caller ID display, built-in ring tones, vibrator alert and Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technology for ultimate conv...More at BargainStation.com
The BT2040 is probably the most convenient and affordable headset on the market. Jabra BT2040 never needs charging. It lets you talk for up to 660 min...More at Buy.com
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