ClarityLife C900 Cell Phone for Seniors

Author: ClarityProducts
Keywords: Clarity ClarityLife C900 hearing loss cell phone seniors amplified telephone
Added: November 20, 2009

Aliph Jawbone Noise Shield Bluetooth Headset Black Retail Packaged

These days, it seems that wireless Bluetooth headsets are a dime a dozen, but Aliph’s Jawbone stands apart from the pack due to its unique look and some seriously amazing noise canceling technology. Originally developed for DARPA (The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) to create a communication headset that would pick up voice in hostile environments, the Jawbone offers some of the best clarity from a Bluetooth headset we’ve experienced. This version comes in black, but it’s also available in red and gray.

Sophisticated modern industrial style meets the next step in audio technology with the Jawbone Bluetooth headset.

It can be worn on either ear, and you can customize your fit by choosing from one of the included earloops and earbuds.

The first thing you notice about this headset is its rather chunky size and cheese grater-like texturing on the exterior. Designed by Yves Behar, an award-winning industrial designer who also contributed to the design of the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child, aka the $100 Laptop), the Jawbone certainly has that iconic modern look that will be copied for years to come. It’s also a bit large on the face (due to the embedded technology and speech sensor), which reminded us of Lando Calrissian’s assistant, Lobot. But then there’s no easy way to disguise a Bluetooth headset, and it’s probably an advantage as passersby won’t think you’re just muttering crazily to yourself.

The Jawbone can be worn on either ear, and it comes with four earloops of varying sizes to fit your lobe. Made of solid metal with a rubber cover, they’re fairly comfortable around the ear. The trick, however, is getting it on over the ear, and this is the Jawbone’s biggest disappointment. Because it’s so stiff, you literally have to use both hands to try to slip it on over your ear. And since we don’t wear our headset constantly, we missed a few calls while performing this dance. Also, the metal frame does bend (as we found after carrying it in our pocket), which can be viewed as an annoyance or as a feature–enabling you to form-fit the frame to your ear. It also comes with five ear pads of varying shapes and sizes, and we tried one of the teardrop shaped pads to secure the Jawbone inside our ear sans metal frame–it was comfortable and worked for awhile, but isn’t a solution if you’re moving around a lot.

As with Steve Jobs, Behar is not a fan of protruding buttons. Thus, the Jawbone’s two controls are hidden within the headset, requiring you to press either the front or back of the unit to answer calls, adjust volume, or turn on/off the noise cancellation function. While we’ve read some reviews that complained about these hidden controls, we had no problem in accessing them and appreciated their tactile response. The Jawbone also comes with a custom-fit recharging cable that can either plug into a PC’s USB port or into the included wall jack. We enjoyed the flexibility of the USB charging, but wished the cable could have been a more standard USB mini-jack (for those times when you forget to bring the cable along).

But the true test of the Jawbone is how its “noise shield” performed. First, a little about this technology. The Jawbone has a small piece of rubbery plastic that protrudes from the bulbous microphone and sits flush against your face, and this sensor tells the Jawbone whether or not you’re speaking and can remove background noise from your ongoing speech signal. It can also dynamically adjust the volume of the incoming audio from your call.

We tried the Jawbone in a number of different situations, and for the most part it worked flawlessly. Sitting at our desk with the stereo volume cranked up while playing The Chemical Brothers, our call partner was none the wiser. She didn’t hear any of the music coming through, and our voice came through strong on her end. While standing on a street corner, the undulations of traffic noise never made it through to our caller, while we noticed an uptick in volume with an increase in traffic noise.

However, the Jawbone wasn’t perfect, as it doesn’t do a great job in windy situations. Still, for the good majority of situations you’ll find yourself in–from busy airports to talk-heavy coffeehouses to traffic-laden city streets–the Jawbone should perform very well, masking the surroundings to improve fidelity for you call partner as well adapting your ear volume to the surrounding environment. We just wish the ear frame was a bit more flexible.

Pros:

• Amazing background noise masking capabilities–even when faced with loud, thumping music
• Outstanding adaptive volume as the environment around you changes
• Options for customizing the fit

Cons:

• Metal earloop frames are hard to quickly put on
• Non-standard USB connection is a bummer if you forget the cable at home

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Making it fit your ear
I out it on and try calling from outdoors on a very windy day. The person on the other end couldn’t hear me. I was very down thinking I bought another piece of garbage. I read the directions and found out that there is a white knob on the end that has to be in contact with your face. So after 4 trys and finally bending one of the supplied ear loops to fit my ear properly i got it perfect. I then made a call again from a noisy place and it was amazing. The noise reduction was awesome and I had no problem hearing even in a crowded noisy environment. And on the other end my friend was so impressed he bought one to. So the moral to the story is it’s worth the fight to get it to fit the end result justifies the struggle.

2 Stars hard to get a good fit
The over-the-ear piece is a not a good fit for my ears. Moreover, they are extremely fragile and prone to breaking. Within 5 minutes of getting the phone out of the box, I broke the ear piece just trying to get the headset over my ear. I put the headset in my piece and bent the second piece. The plastic piece covering the control buttons seemed very cheap also, and I think it would be a matter of time before that broke as well. I generally take good care of my headsets and electronic equipment, so if the headset seemed fragile to me, it probably will for most. Also, as a woman with a small head, the headset just felt clumsy and big. On the upside, the acoustics seemed decent, but then I only used the headset once and decided to return it.

1 Star It did not sit on my ears at all
Even though, personally I think it’s look is the best, I bought this blue tooth headset since it was rated best and importantly it had noise canceling feature. However when I received it I could not make it sit on my ears (I have normal ears, in case if you are wondering). I felt like it is always dangling from my ears and can fall off any moment. I returned it with in a day. I wish this one worked out for me.

5 Stars What a great Bluetooth headset!
Clear reception, loud, and ease to intialize with your cell phone. Not as easy to slip on your ear as most Motorola headsets I have used. I would recommend it to anyone and buy it again myself.

3 Stars Jawbone Bluetooth Headset
The Jawbone bluetooth instantly connected with my iPhone and has worked reaonably well, allowing me to talk and be understood when there is background noise. It has some disturbing features which is the reason for the low score. The ear pieces are likely to fall off due to activity such as running because they fit so loosely on my ear. In addition, on occasion the pin has slipped out of the retainer hole allowing the Jawbone to drop on the ground. This is due to the retainer hole in Jawbone that is apparently too big to retain the pin at the end of the earpiece if it is knocked. In addition, the wire that connects the ear piece to the Jawbone easily snaps. Fortunately, four ear pieces came with the Jawbone. Of these, three pins have snapped, making them useless. I now have one earpiece left and only use the Jawbone in my car to save it for as long as I can before it too snaps and I need to make other arrangements. I am hoping that the ear pieces can be purchased separately when this time comes.

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Plantronics CS55 HL10 Wireless Headset Bundle

The Plantronics CS55 wireless headset system combines the clarity of traditional corded technology with the mobility of wireless, so employees can move around the office to wherever business takes them - without interrupting or missing a call. Continuing the tradition as a technology leader, Plantronics presents CS55 as the first headset in the United States to implement 1.9GHz UPCS voice-dedicated wireless technology.The CS55 gives workers 10 hours of unencumbered talk time and the option of remote answering with the HL10 Handset Lifter, so they never miss calls when away from the workstation.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Great set
I have been using this product for years and highly recommend it. The wireless headset is first rate in terms of sound quality and range from base-station allowing for “walk and talk” across the whole office. I have yet to figure out how to get the handset lifter to fit my office phone, hence the missing star, but once I do I will be happy to update this review to reflect that.

4 Stars Easy to set-up, use, works great, can interfere w/ wireless net
This is a great product. Stable and clear for my entire condo (2000 sq ft, 3 stories)

It is easy to set-up and use.

I have had to adjust my wireless network channel a couple of times.

Occasionally, when turning on the headset, it would reset my dsl router.

I’m now on wireless channel 9 (2.452 MHz) and haven’t had an issue since switching to this channel.

5 Stars awesome!
I already use this headset, I loved mine so much I purchased this as a gift for a close friend, they are pretty darn awesome, can’t believe I worked without one for so long!

4 Stars Bundle is the way to go!
The CS55/HL10 Bundle is the way to go. I run a small medical clinic and am on the phone several hours a day. With the bundle, I can answer the phone from anywhere in the clinic, pull charts, and get back to speak with the staff . . . all with great clarity and excellent reception. A great tool for responsive customer service! I will be buying another bundle shortly for another staff member in the office!

1 Star Very Poor Sound Quality
I purchased this unit for work and was very disappointed with the sound quality. I had several people who I would talk to that complained that there was a buzzing noise. I also could not hear the other person very well if there was any sort of low background noise, TV, radio etc…I went back to my wired headset within a week. Needless to say, I sent this unit back.

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Plantronics MX150 Flexible Boom Headset with 2 5 mm Plug

Plantronics MX150 Mobile Headset combines Flex Grip design with advanced microphone technology, resulting in a discreet, stable and high-quality headset. The bendable noise-canceling boom provides optimal fit and superior call clarity in nearly every environment. The MX150 series is compatible with most headset-ready mobile devices including Motorola, Samsung, LG, and Kyocera.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Overall the Plantronics MX150 is a very good wired headset
This is a very good wired headset. And for the price, it’s a great value.

Clear sound both for the user and the person on the other end of the call. Most people state they don’t know I’m calling from my car, so it shields road noise pretty well.

The only drawback for me is that the rubber “U” that curves over my earlobe is a little uncomfortable after wearing it for 15 minutes or more. This is the only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars.

Overall I’m very happy with the Plantronics MX150 wired headset and would definitely buy it again. Enjoy!

3 Stars Basic wired hands-free for cell phone.
I’ve used this product in the past with reasonable success. Tried a (low-end) bluetooth headset and didn’t’ like it….couldn’t hear or be heard.

If you don’t mind being corded to your phone, this one works moderately well and is cheap. The foam around the earpiece is necessary, and will fall off at regular intervals. You will need to buy replacements at radio shack. If I had been smarter, I would have bought them with the purchase of the headset.

1 Star It would be great if I could hear.
The price was right, and the microphone works great. Now if only I could hear my phone calls over the headset…

5 Stars Good product, but an imitation Plantronics
This is a good product, although the Plantronics brand name wasn’t written on it. I have had Plantronics headsets before, and their brand name is always written on it. But good product anyway. Works the same and the price is better.

3 Stars Works Fine…
Just tried it out and it seems to work fine but it’s kind of uncomfortable. It did not come in the manufacturer packaging and did not have any instructions so I’m not sure if I have it positioned right.

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Clarity C900 Cell Phone for Seniors

Author: crunchgear
Keywords: tech gadgets phones cell elderly seniors crunchgear
Added: November 25, 2008