jlehrer

The Jabra Cruiser (model SP715) just came out. Costco has it for $69.99. Best Buy has the Motorola T505 on sale for $79.99. Which should I buy?

I want to do hands-free speakerphone and also stream MP3 to my FM radio. Both units do this. I live in Chicago, an area with very few vacant FM frequencies, so I'm guessing that no device will give me clear streaming to the FM radio.

Any thoughts? It looks like the Jabra model has many upgrades over the SP700, its precursor.

alwaysaimee

I just ordered my Jabra Cruiser. Looking forward to using it. I have not been a fan of the bluetooth ear pieces, I have used several and they just hurt my ears. Has anyone got their hands on one yet and used it with Pre? Any reviews?

Quintus

That price can't be right....is it? I just ordered mine through the precentral store and look forward to receiving it tomorrow!

I found this thread with a youtube video for those that might be interested. Otherwise, very little in the way of reviews anywhere on the net.

http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=195306

alwaysaimee

I got my Jabra Cruiser on Amazon for around $70 ...love it!! Works pretty well especially through the radio not just as a speaker. Even figured out how to stream my Pandora throught it. I would highly recommend this for anyone who hates Bluetooth headsets.

Mickie

I just got mine today, but can't seem to upload my contact list from the Pre. I can't make outgoing calls. How did you handle? Thanks, Mickie

jcbone

I have the t505, haven't experienced anything with the jabra one but I can say that I am very impressed with the t505. I use it for calls, music and music from pandora too all off the fm transmitter so it comes out loud and clear from my car speakers. Quality of the audio is very good, not cd quality of course but I'm still impressed. I got mine off newegg.com for 60 shipped. I've had it since july with no problems at all and the battery life is great, only charge it twice a month and my commute to work is 30 mins each way. So if u do decide to choose the t505 I don't think you'll regret it judging from my experience.

Mickie

Can you voice dial on the 505? How did you upload your contact list? I have the Jabra Cruiser and can't initiate a call due to the lack of Pre having voice dialing...

Quintus

Mickie, I don't believe either the T505 or the Cruiser allow you to upload a contact list to the unit. My wife has the Yada YD-V16. That is a bluetooth rearview mirror phone with an uploadable contact list. Very neat and works well. She loves it. The sound quality is not as good as the Jabra Cruiser but it's not bad either. It has a display built-in to the mirror itself so you can scroll through your contact list (not sure what the contact limit is). My wife even prefers the mirror to her car's original! No FM transmission though so you cannot stream your music or podcasts through the mirror.

Here is the link: http://www.letsyada.com/yd-v16.html

Quintus

I have had the Jabra Cruiser now for a few days and I have to say that I am really liking it. Very sleek little machine. For those who care about esthetics, it sure doesn't look like a garage door opener.

The sound quality seems better than my Aliph Jawbone II as it sounds a little more natural. The FM transmission is pretty good although obviously you are losing some sound quality going from A2DP to FM transmission. I found that the sound quality was noticeably better when I streamed music from the Pre direct to the car's stereo via A2DP (This is done using an Insignia Bluetooth ipod adapter (NS-BT300F) connected to an ipod dock which is hard-wired to the car's stereo.)

What I have done, therefore, is that I have gone back to using my ipod to listen to my music collection (no big deal because I always leave my ipod in the car anyways as I have no other use for it) and I use the Jabra Cruiser to listen to internet radio and podcasts through my Pre.

Don't get me wrong, the FM transmission is not poor, it is actually pretty good, just not as good as using A2DP via the ipod adapter and I'm a bit of an enthusiast when it comes to audio sound. (Don't start flaming me here....I know that A2DP is not that great either. Trust me, I have an Arcam AVR-600 receiver (yes, the flagship unit) at home powering Totem speakers so I know exactly what excellent audio should sound like.)

Another thing I have been told, however, is that the person on the other end of the line is hearing their own voice when you use the Jabra's built-in speaker. This goes away when you use the FM transmitter to transmit the caller's voice through the car's stereo. I rarely use the speaker on the Cruiser so not a big deal. Everything sounds better through the car speaker anyways.

One thing worth noting is that the volume of the FM transmission cannot be changed via the unit's volume buttons once the transmission begins. I have found, however, that if you increase the volume on the Jabra's speakerphone to max and then initiate the FM transmission, the sound is louder. (Of course, don't forget to max the volume on your Pre as well as this also affects the volume of the FM transmission.)

Once all of your settings are done, however, the unit pretty much runs itself. It has auto shut-off and when you reenter the car, it connects at the touch of a button. Another touch of a button and you have your FM transmission going. When a call comes in, your music or podcast is paused and the call is answered at a touch of a button. When the call ends, the music or podcast automatically resumes.

Very easy, very functional, very sleek, very good.

gworrel

I have had the Jabra Cruiser for a couple of days now. In general it works great but a couple of problems could be deal breakers.

I was using a cheap wired FM transmitter which allowed an FM setting of 87.5 which worked great in my area but the Jabra only goes down to 88.1. I have had to experiment with different frequencies to find one that is empty as I drive around town.

A bigger problem is that the FM transmitter just shuts off at random times while listening to a podcast. It is supposed to shut off after 10 minutes if it is not being used but I was USING it. It is very annoying to suddenly hear static while listening to a podcast.

I have also found the FM volume to be lower than other stations which is a big problem when switching back and forth. I discovered that turning up the volume on the Pre was at least a partial fix. After reading Quintus post above, I will have to try to adjust the volume on the Jabra as well.

I was thinking that perhaps the low volume was the reason it was shutting off the FM transmission. If it continues to shut off the FM unexpectedly then I will return it and try the Motorola.

Quintus

I found this to be strange as well. Not a problem in my area although I could see this being a possible issue in a saturated FM market.

This has never happened to me. Might be a defect in your unit.


I have no doubt that you will notice a significant difference. This should really be in the manual. Instead, the manual simply says that you cannot control volume from the unit when using FM transmission. It doesn't go on to tell you though that the unit's volume setting determines the initial volume of the transmission to your car's stereo.

whippingboy

I too picked up the Cruiser at Costco and REALLY like it. Very easy to use (yes I was annoyed at the volume issue you describe above- but did figure it out- yes they should correct the manual.) I live in LA- so finding an FM station that is clear is very hard- almost makes one wish the FCC would MANDATE a channel or 2 for just these sort of devices.

Really like the ipod blutooth adapter idea- so you can send the Cruiser to connect to the ipod blutooth to act as a reciever? Can you do this with car stereos? I like the ease of use of the cruiser- but like the idea of blutooth streaming rather than FM. Would like the cruiser to be able to communicate w/ a compliant radio for ease of controls rather than ditch the Cruiser when I upgrade the stereo.