Many people don’t realize that AT&T carries a lot of accessories and they recently sent us the Jawbone Jambox to test out. After using the Jawbone Jambox with my HTC Titan, there is no doubt this device is a solid Windows Phone accessory. On the positive side, The Jambox delivers exceptionally well as a solid Bluetooth stereo speaker. However, the downside to the Jambox was its poor performance as a Bluetooth Speakerphone.
When I was asked to review the Jawbone Jambox, I had actually never heard of it. My first reaction was to look up the specifications on Jawbone’s website. I thought there is no way that little box is pumping 85 decibels. Once I actually unboxed and powered on the Jambox, my early opinions began to change.
In the Box
- 60″ micro SB charging cable
- 12.5″ micro USB charging cable
- 36″ 3.5mm stereo cable
- Carrying case
- A/C wall charger
- User guide
The Design
The design of the Jawbone Jambox is unique. At first glance, you wouldn’t know it was a speaker. As each of my three daughters passed the Jambox, they would ask, “Dad, what is that?” Therefore, the design definitely makes this little speaker a great conversation piece. While the six-inch rectangular box is wrapped in a mesh grille, both the top and bottom are made of a thick molded rubber material. The use of this material allows the Jambox to sit pretty sturdy on just about any surface without sliding. If you hold the Jambox up to the light at the right angle, you can see the proprietary acoustic drivers (stereo pair).
The three controls along the top are very large and simplistic. The plus symbol raises the volume and the minus symbol lowers it. To the left of the symbol buttons is a multifunction circle button. This button is used to connect to pre-paired devices; get battery status and activate MyTalk services. On the left, there is a three-way power switch which, when held in the top position activates pairing mode, a 3.5mm auxiliary stereo mini jack to connect directly to alternative audio inputs, and a micro-USB port for charging and software updates. The Jambox is available in four colors, Black Diamond, Red Dot, Grey Hex and Blue Wave.
JawBone Jambox Performance
When you power on the Jambox, it rumbles to life like a robot with a very distinctive sound. Then pressing up on the power switch for 3 seconds puts the Jambox in pairing mode. Pair the Jambox to my HTC Titan was very quick and easy. The initial pairing to about 10 seconds, but connections once paired is almost instantaneous. Once paired, using the Jambox as a speaker is straightforward. My testing consisted of several Windows Phone applications ranging from the Radio Controlled Pandora app, movies and even games. I thought the Jambox performed very well while listing to countless session of my Pandora music. The sound was very crisp and clear and the small box filed my bedroom with great sound. I also used it I used it daily listening to podcast during my morning and evening commute. However, where I was impressed is when I started play Rise Of Glory flight game while paired to the Jambox. Gaming sounds were also very good in my opinion.
The Jawbone Jambox also doubles as a speakerphone when paired to a smartphone device. It has an audible caller ID that calls out the number of the incoming call. When receiving calls using the Jambox, the caller’s voice came in loud and clear. However, using the Jambox’s built-in microphone I found it less than impressive. While the Jambox cancelled out the background noise, callers complained that I was speaking too low and that it sounded like I was too far from the microphone. To me this is a minor issue, as I would not really use it as a speakerphone.
Conclusion
While this review was done with the Jawbone Jambox paired with the HTC Titan, it can be paired with just about any device that supports Bluetooth. In addition, there are optional features available such as the MyTalk service that was not quite relevant for this review. This Jawbone Jambox retails for $199.99 however, you can usually get the Jawbone Jambox cheaper on Amazon. Although the Jambox may not be the ultimate conference call device, it did deliver great sound for just about everything else. If you are looking for great sounding, Bluetooth speakers for Windows Phone, then the Jambox will serve you well.
user: great...
Steeve Pommier: Thank you !...
ljfy: big thanks, it's working! never notice that stuff in the settings....
jkavanagh58: It looks cool but no backward compatability. I am also confused about ...
hakan: very helpful but we can't we do this for twitter app?...