- ICON – The Thinker features military-grade NoiseAssassin 2.5
- Spoken updates keep you connected, delivering in-ear caller ID, battery status and more.
- Offers the most ergonomic options of any headset (includes 7 earbuds and optional earloop to ensure a stable fit)
- The latest and most sophisticated Bluetooth Noise Cancelling Technology!
- Droid, iPhone, Eris, Blackberry, Storm, Curve, Apple, Android, Google Phone, Nexus One
Product Description
ICON – The Thinker features military-grade NoiseAssassin 2.5, for crystal-clear communication. NoiseAssassin 2.5 delivers best in class noise cancellation, wind suppression and call quality. Easily connect and disconnect with dedicated on/off switch. Spoken updates keep you connected, delivering in-ear caller ID, battery status and more. Offers the most ergonomic options of any headset (includes 7 earbuds and optional earloop to ensure a stable fit). Brand New! Latest Aliph Jawbone, The Thinker! The latest and most sophisticated Bluetooth Noise Cancelling Technology!
Standby Time: 10 Days
Talk Time: 4.5 Hours
Compatible Versions: 2.1
Color: Black
Included Items:
Model #: Jawbone Icon Black
Brand: Aliph
Compatible with:
Condition: New
Aliph Jawbone Icon Series – The Thinker Bluetooth
For me, a headset must have excellent noise cancellation. Also, the headset must be loud enough to drown out surrounding noise. These trump all other features. Why have a headset if no one can hear me or I can’t hear them, right? In fact, I will gladly give up comfort and features for a better noise canceling and/or louder headset. This headset is good, but the Jawbone 2, my headset before this one, has noticeably better noise cancellation.
I wear my headset on the left side. I also find that the medium earbud, no loop, fits perfectly. It seems to seal out noise better than the small or larger earbuds. My 5’2″ girlfriend needs the small one. All testing was done with a Sprint Palm Pre.
I purchased ‘The Thinker’ from a Verizon Wireless store. On the Aliph’s website, the headset it white/silver with a texture of ellipses featuring an “intellectual man’s voice” for the MyTalk app. My version of ‘The Thinker’ was black, same texture, and featuring the voice from ‘The Catch.’ The voice was a nice change from the beeps and dongs of most headsets. The voice will tell you when the battery is low or how much time you have left when pressing the multifunction button once when not on a call.
The Jawbone 2 doesn’t seem to pick up anything outside of two-three feet. I could drive at 65 mph with the driver side window rolled down and people said the wind is about a 4 on a scale of 1-10. I could drive my 2005 Corolla with the radio blasting, windows rolled up, and people would say that the radio was at about a 3. I could have a conversation with someone about 4-5 feet from me and callers said they could only hear me speaking. When riding my bike 20 mph, yes I can ride that fast, people said it was between 4 and 6. They could hear me just fine. I could eat granola and the sound would fade to a distant 3 in a few seconds. I brushed my teeth and there was no audible noise being transmitted until I brushed the tops of my teeth.
The Jawbone Icon seems to pick up sound over five feet away. While at a store, callers could hear grocery carts crashing about 15-20 feet away. People were astounded at the loud wind noise while driving with the driver window rolled down. They gave it a 7 or 8. Sometimes, they couldn’t even understand my speech. When driving with the radio blasting and the window rolled up, callers could understand and even repeat what was on the radio. This goes for music and spoken word. When conversing with someone 5 feet away, callers could hear the other person as well as me. While riding my bike, people could still hear me, but the wind was obtrusive. They stated that it was noticeably louder than my Jawbone 2. People could hear me chomping on granola as if NoiseAssasin was turned off. Brushing my teeth was the same as the Jawbone 2.
The Jawbone 2 hurts my ear when wearing it for over an hour. In fact, my ear usually feels bruised, but it is not. Therefore, I only wear it while on a call. The Jawbone Icon is a dream to wear. I don’t even feel it after an hour. I could easily where it all day. However, using the medium sized earbud translates to a looser fit when compared to the Jawbone 2 so I used the hook.
The absent volume adjuster on the Icon didn’t bother me too much. The Icon is supposed to be able to normalize audio. This didn’t seem to work for me. Callers could make a sudden loud sound and it would pierce my eardrum. Also, notification sounds from my Palm Pre didn’t seem to get normalized either.
All of the Jawbones have a multifunction button on the side that the user inevitably presses by mistake. Moving that button to the back of the headset with the Icon was a stroke of genius. I never accidentally hung up on a call. However, I got used to the side mounted multifunction button on the Jawbone 2 and adjusted my habits accordingly.
Reception with my Sprint Palm Pre was the same with both headsets. 15ft or so with a couple of walls between the headset and phone was about the maximum distance.
The short, stiff, but bendable microUSB cable was nice. I could attach it to the computer with it dangling. The headset charges quick…about an hour.
A battery life of 4 hours is the bare minimum these days for a headset. It’s nice to know that Aliph shot par with this feature.
The Icon’s microUSB charger, Multipoint, and possible firmware update capabilities make an attractive choice over the Jawbone 2. A2DP on the Icon is just a rumor at this point. Besides, necessary access to the Private Beta area to download the software that is capable of firmware updates is very limited. So limited that I haven’t been invited. Maybe it will be opened to the public if Aliph decides to post downloadable firmware updates?
In the end, the Icon’s dual mics do not offer any kind of protection from the wind and only serves as a gimmick. NoiseAssasin 2.5 is a huge step backwards from the Jawbone 2. Callers could hear me despite the extra background noise. Therefore, the Jawbone Icon is still very useful in noisy situations. However, it just picks up more background noise than the Jawbone 2. This results in me having to repeat myself a little bit more and the callers having to live with more noise during a conversation.
Rating: 3 / 5
I’ve had over 20 headsets and am extremely fussy. This headset is by far the best is most ways.
Fit:
Its difficult to explain how it fits different, yet its comfortable and secure. The headset slides into the ear instead of being compressed into the ear.
Quality of Voice in normal setting:
Perfect. It’s the only headset where I NEVER got a complaint.
Noise Cancellation:
Almost perfect. Just make sure the headset touches your face.
I had Prince jamming on the radio where the windows in the house were rattling.
I could barely hear the other person or myself, yet they could only hear a clip of the music every few seconds. They could hear me fine.
Connection to Phone:
This is where the biggest problems occurred. It sometimes took up to a minute of trying to get the headset to connect on my Palm Treo.
My Blue Ant connects every time without a glitch.
The only other headset that comes close is the Blue Ant V1.
If I were to rate both, I would give the Icon a 9.0 and the Blue Ant V1 a 7.5.
I rate all other headsets below a 5.
The only feature I would like to see on these headsets is a way to find them when they get misplaced.
Perhaps a way for the phone to communicate with it when a button is pressed on the phone.
Rating: 5 / 5
I’ve used the Jawbone in the past, so it actually pains me to say this.
This thing is crappy. Bottom line, you need a headset to allow people to hear you clearly.
Secondly, you should be able to hear them clearly. On the former, the Icon seems to be good, on the latter – UGH.
I will be cautious and say this: I am using a Sprint Treo 700p. That may have an impact, but it should not.
Pairing the phone to the Icon was very quick. Thumbs up. I called a few people while driving, and they heard my conversations, and that was a good thing. Most noise was wiped out.
Sadly though, every voice that I heard was too soft and tinny. The proverbial bottom of the canyon. Several times, I had to switch off the headset and listen on the phone. Compounding this is that there are no volume controls on this model, so you’re basically stuck.
I REALLY wanted to like this phone. Sadly, I can not recommend it – at this time.
Rating: 2 / 5
This ICON is my first Jawbone earpiece…So far I am very happy with it.
It comes with lots of ear adapters to allow users to find their preferred fit and everyone on the other end comments how quiet and clear it is (even while driving my noisy truck). I wish there was a little more control of the volume. Aliph claims that to be a set it once and forget it type feature, but I have already wanted it at times. I Like the charger in terms of USB/Wall adaptable but a more standard usb connect to the device would be nice for once.
Overall, the job it does allowing me to communicate is a huge improvement over my WEP520. I don’t need to repeat myself as often and I can hear clearly even in noisy environments. I am very satisfied with it and would recommend it to others.
Rating: 4 / 5
Before I purchased the Icon, I had the Plantronic Voyager Pro. The Voyager was a great headset, but it was so cumbersome because it was so big. I had it for a few days, but I felt the need to return it because I didn’t like the fact that it drew so much attention to my ear.
Before purchasing the Icon, I read every review I could find, and even watched the review on [...]. I was a little skeptical at first when I read that there was no volume control button on the headset itself, but I decided it wouldn’t hurt to try, so I ordered headsets for both my wife and I.
First, the design of the headset is very stylish. I don’t feel like a Verizon operator when it’s in my ear. It comes with a loop, but I actually use mine without the loop. It has various ear gels so most people will be able to find the right fit.
As for the clarity, after the first full charge and pairing with my phone, people sounded tiny, but then it started to work great. The clarity is amazing. A few people have complained about the volume, but I realized that I had to turn the volume up on my HTC Touch Pro 2, which in turn controls the volume on the headset. I would encourage people to do this before you give up on the headset.
As for the features, voice dialing is great. The activation button is located at the back, so I never have to worry about accidently disconnecting a call. This was not the case with the Voyager. This may not mean much to people, but with the Icon series, you can download different applications, voices, etc. to personalize your Icon. When my reminders alarm on my Touch Pro, it also comes through in the headset, which I think is great if your phone is on silent.
Noise Assassin – Here’s where I can’t give this headset a complete 5 star rating, although I would love to. Noise Assassin is very good, but its not perfect. While I was in my car, I had the windows down and the radio turned up as loud as possible. Although my wife could hear me clearly, there was still noise heard every so often, which is good considering the situation.
Overall, the Icon gets a 4.5 stars from me. The clarity is great. Stand by time is listed as 10 days, but I highly doubt that. If you have the headset on, but you don’t use your phone at all, it will probably be 2-3 days until you need to charge, which in my opinion still isn’t bad. 4 hours of talk time is all you get. I’m not complaining, but it could be longer.
Rating: 4 / 5