Jabra BT200

Jabra is another company trying to make the headset look less like a growth on your ear. The BT200 is an inexpensive, unsophisticated headset that's suitable for less demanding users, and is designed to be less obvious in use.

Most of the BT200 sits behind your ear, but unless you have longish hair it's not going to be hidden, since it's too large. The microphone is on a small stub at the bottom of the headset, sticking out beneath your ear, but doesn't protrude far. The BT200's earpiece sticks into your ear canal opening using a gel bud. You're supplied with three of these, so you can share the headset if necessary.

The BT200's controls are on the back edge of the headset, with the call button above the volume control rocker. The call button is easy enough to locate by touch thanks to its raised phone symbol, but you'll have to brace the whole headset with another couple of fingers to press it.

The BT200 supports both headset and handsfree profiles, although to use the latter you need to use a slightly different pairing procedure or you won't get the extra functionality. This consists of last number redial, call reject, answer second call and hold call. There's no explicit mute function on the headset, but a similar effect can be achieved by putting the current call on hold.

The BT200 is supplied with a mains charger which connects to the headset through a cradle that doubles as a belt clip. Although this doesn't protect the headset, it does hold it quite firmly, so it's unlikely to drop out. The belt clip holds onto the cradle very firmly -- so much so that if you want to take the clip back off the cradle, you'll need to use a flat blade screwdriver to lever it off.

If you want a Bluetooth headset, but you don't need fancy functions and styling (and aren't prepared to pay for them), the BT200 is a reasonably priced unit that works and is reasonably comfortable. Its poor battery life makes it less suitable for long-distance travellers, but commuters should get a good day's use out of it.

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