Best in class portable, bluetooth, wireless, mobile speakerphone
I have a reputation among friends, associates, family for doing a deep dive and researching the field when choosing new products. I like to understand the differences between products, state of the art, etc., and generally be an informed buyer. I've also been in "tech" for more than 35 years, with roles from hands on through CIO and CTO, so I've got a lot of experience researching and choosing products, whether for one person or thousands. In short: I tend to be a picky shopper. I researched the field here, and think I've found a winner. At this point in my career, I'm traveling weekly, and I'm meeting -- either in person or remote -- with numerous people each week. Conference calls are the norm, and may involve dozens of people, conference rooms with poor equipment, offices with dreadful 15 year old "speakerphones", hotel rooms, working from my home office, etc. One of the most frustrating experiences is trying to participate in a mission critical conference call when 1) I can barely hear or understand the folks at the other end, and 2) they can't hear and understand me unless I lean over a mic and raise my voice. Cell phone "speakerphones" may be acceptable in an emergency, but haven't proven adequate for routine use. I had recently research Bluetooth speakers for use primarily as audio / music listening speakers (for use, e.g., with Google Play Music from my phone). I researched and auditioned many: Bose, Cambridge, JBL, Shark, Amazon, Phillips, Anker, Jambox, etc. I narrowed it down to those with speakerphone capability, thinking I'd satisfy that need along with the media speaker requirement. After a LOT of research and live auditions, I settled on Nyne Bass, and couldn't be happier with it -- as a media speaker - truly amazing in all respects: sound is stunningly good - even outdoors, and both battery life and bluetooth handling are excellent. Unfortunately, it's only mediocre when turning a phone into a speakerphone, and often quite disappointing -- and I've tried out colleague's products like Jambox for the same purpose, and also found them disappointing. So -- I went on the hunt for a "real" business quality Bluetooth speakerphone. After much research, I homed in on Jabra, and the 510+ looked most promising after reading a LOT of reviews. Buying via Amazon Prime, I knew I had no risk, so I place the order -- and had the package on my desk about 36 hours later. Once again -- kudos to Amazon Prime and the vendors that work with Amazon in this program. The product is perfectly packaged, and beautifully made. It appears to be about 4.5" in diameter, and about 1.25" high when sitting flat on a desk or table. It is a gorgeous, professional grade piece of tech with excellent fit and finish and features. It comes with a neoprene zipper case, the USB cord wraps around the body and tucks into a groove that also holds the cable end in place. Incredibly well thought out and executed. This model can be connected to a phone or laptop via bluetooth, and to a laptop via USB cable. It doesn't come with its own charging brick, but the USB cable can charge from any standard 1A or higher brick. It takes a while for a full charge, but once charged, I can use it all day and into the night, and the charge is only partially depleted. Sound quality is absolutely spectacular for the purpose. I can place this on a table or desk in a room with a dozen people at distances from 3 ft to 15 ft or more, and they are all picked up and easily understand by people at the other end of the call. What comes out of the speaker is superb as well: I'm often on the receiving end of a conference call with two dozen people, all different sound environments and volume levels, and half a dozen international accents -- and this speaker yields clear audio rivaling $400 or $500 Polycom and Cisco equipment (no exaggeration). This is so good, in fact, that I've taken to turning it on when sitting in my office at my current client's site, and using it in favor of the brand new Cisco equipment installed there. It's a better experience. The controls around the perimeter are all touch controls -- no physical buttons to degrade, and they work perfectly. Power, answer / hang up, volume up/down, bluetooth (on/off/pair), mute, battery (to check battery charge level). There are a serious of LEDs around the perimeter of the speaker that are almost invisible when off, but light up as needed to indicate function, e.g., Bluetooth connected, power on, volume level and battery life (number of lights on out of ten around the perimeter), etc. Audio prompts walk you through pairing, connection status, etc -- and these can be turned on and off via preferences. The firmware is easily upgradeable via the USB cable and downloadable PC application. I haven't had need to use the app yet, but it provides deeper control over options and connection to services like Lync. This also provides support for soft phones: this "510+ MS edition" is optimized for Microsoft products like Lync -- the other 510+ is, I believe, aimed more at other soft phone products like Cisco. All in all: a beautifully designed, engineered and implemented product. Every now and then you trip across a gem that defines state of the art in its category - and I believe this qualifies. As you might guess, I'm delighted with this product. Read more
