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Resist

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 15, 2008
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Trying to decide between the Plantronics Discovery 975 or the Jawbone Prime. I have seen numerous video reviews about both. I wish someone did a head to head comparison on them. Both use a similar style ear piece and are about the same price.
 
had them both..
returned the Jawbone after 3 hours, and got the 975

LOVE the 975; I hate headsets that just get jammed in your ear, but I can wear this thing for 5 or 6 hours without taking it out..Damn Jawbone is almost impossible to fit properly, the buttons are HORRIBLE, and the sound was robotic..

the jawbone gets LOTS of horrible reviews, but, I haven't seen many on the 975. I've had at least 15 different bt headsets over the years, and, as far as "mono" in the car types, this one is the best for sure...As far as stereo bt is concerned, that is a whole different story..
 
Are you sure you had the latest Jawbone (version 3 Prime)? I have not seen any horrible reviews for the Jawbone. The only issue I read about with the 975 is that it's noise canceling isn't as good as the Jawbone's.
 
yes, I am sure..
As a matter of fact, I have had all 3 versions of the Jawbone, and the first version was probably the most functional of all..
If you insist on trying it, buy it at Best Buy, so if you hate it, you can bring it back and get the Plantronics there instead...
 
I ordered the 975 from Amazon. And even though everything I have read says the Jawbone's active noise canceling is better, the 975 is suppose to feel better in the ear.
 
smart move, you wont regret it!

Plus the 975 has a charger/extra battery built into the case, so you get a "extra" battery thats always ready when you buy this guy!

and, you can wear it all day in your ear without any discomfort..that comes from a person who can't stand ANY sort of "in-ear" headset...

post up here when you get it; I am curious as to what you think!
 
Plus the 975 has a charger/extra battery built into the case, so you get a "extra" battery thats always ready when you buy this guy!
Yea this seems like a nice feature to have.

But isn't the advertised 15 hours of total talk time a bit misleading? You really only get up to 5 hours of continuous talk time before having to recharge. Granted if I don't have an electrical outlet close by, using the charged case is very convenient, even I have to wait several hours for it to fully charge.

Now to find a good backup battery for my iPhone.
 
Well, I think you should get a little more than 5 hours of talk time..I only have to charge mine every 3 or 4 days, using it normally during the day..
Is it actually possible to talk for 5 hours "continuously"???

And, as far as their "marketing claims" of 15 hours of talk time,this is just another example of why our colleges should STOP issuing Marketing degrees for at least the next 10 years!!!
 
I am not much of a bluetooth ear bud wearing person, so it will be interesting to see if I like using one or not. Not sure I would wear it for other than while driving or if I needed to use the phone when my hands are doing other things.
 
The 975 arrived today. Played around with it a bit, feels very comfortable and it sure is pretty. Used it next to a loud TV and could still hear the TV on the other end of the call. Not sure what happened to the active noise cancellation there. Maybe I need to play with it some more to understand why it is worth the $130.

Anyone know if I can play music from my iPhone to the 975?
 
no, you cant play music with it..

And, grab the online PDF for more detailed instructions than the ones that come with it;
For example, this headset supports multi-point, and the manual that comes with it, does not tell you how to turn it on..

"With the earpiece turned off, press and hold the volume and call control buttons simultaneously until earpiece turns on, and indicator flashes white two times"
Its expensive because of the charging case that comes with it;and the fact that its new..without that battery case, its probably 30 bucks less!

You'll appreciate the noise canceling when you use it in the car...this is the best bt headset for making calls that I have owned so far, at least for me..
 
I am reading how other people are having echo problems with the 975.

Can you post a link to that PDF, I can't seem to find it.
 
Its expensive because of the charging case that comes with it;and the fact that its new..without that battery case, its probably 30 bucks less!
Great, so that means it's just a $30 headset with $30 quality. Sure the charging case is interesting but what I really wanted was a higher quality headset.
 
I have an issue with Plantronics statement on the 975's box. It says "charging case triples talk time". This is a bold faced lie and clearly false advertising!

The talk time is in no way tripled just because it can be charged via the case. You still have to end your call (talk time) to charge the headset. There is no difference if the charge came from the case or an outlet.

What they should have said was "three charges without using an outlet".
 
So I let my better half use the 975 for a day. She is telling me that people on her calls say she still has an echo sound. And it didn't seem to cancel any background noise. No different than her cheaper bluetooth headset.

So am I missing something here about all the great reviews for the 975 or what?
 
Have been using mine on my iphone 3gs, and my home phone, a Siemens gigaset, without any problems or complaints from folks on the other end..maybe you got a defective one?
 
Maybe, but I just read other reviews where people had the same echo issue.
 
Strange to hear that the Jawbone has got such bad reviews. The ones I've read put it ahead of the 975 in sound quality but behind it on comfort in the ear. And the 975's case is a very cool addition...
 
hey

I have the Jawbone..

Not the new Prime but the one released in 2008.
Pretty great headset.

Pros:
I can use it with my sunroof and windows down - no problem.
Looks good
Comfortable
Battery is great
Sound is as it should be no crackling, echoing, or drop outs I get with other units.

Cons:
The buttons.. I cant stand that the buttons are underneath the housing. While it is easy to answer and end calls Volume and pairing are a pain in the A$$$.

- my work around is to control volume with my iphone. Even the crappiest bluetooth headsets I have tried have dedicated convex volume up and down buttons. None of this push to cycle the volume up and down business..

Price - Expensive.. I got it when they first came out in 08 and i think i paid around $130 CDN.. Not sure what they go for now but since the new prime is out you can probably find a good deal.

Speaking of the Prime, Ilounge did a review recently and they didn't like it as much as the 2008 version.

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/reviews/entry/aliph-jawbone-prime-and-earcandy/

Chiba
 
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