Aliph's Bluetooth Jawbone headset sports military-grade noise cancellation

We've seen our fair share of Bluetooth headsets (with and without DSP), and we hold a soft spot in our heart for the hardcore, rugged devices out there that can withstand next to anything, but Aliph's Jawbone earpiece blends the best of both worlds into one fashionable piece of kit. While the firm already has a wired version on the market, this Bluetooth-enabled set rocks a silver or red color scheme, dual microphones, lightweight design, and a noise cancelling sensor that is literally military-grade. Crafted after conducting research for DARPA, the goal was "to create a mobile phone headset capable of erasing background noise," even in less-than-amicable (or safe) situations. Although there's no pricing or availability information just yet, the unit has already made its way on the Award Honorees list for CES 2007, and if you want to see this bad boy in action, be sure to continue on after the jump for a YouTube demonstration.

[Via BlueTomorrow]

[Xayzer @ Dec 17th 2006 7:04AM]

If this really works as advertised, the Jawbone is going to give me the first good reason to buy a Bluetooth headset.

[Tech^Cellfish @ Dec 17th 2006 7:06AM]

Where can I buy this? This is perfect for use in a server room or the car

[Deric @ Dec 20th 2006 6:35AM]

Cingular Wireless stores now carry these in a flashy hard plastic container. The Price? $119.99.

[Z @ Dec 17th 2006 7:16AM]

I just hope it's comfortable and stays put. But I don't like the earhook - they aren't ergonomic and never comfortable. I'd rather have a soft earspring like what you see with Nextlink BT earpieces.

[pangadget @ Dec 17th 2006 7:34AM]

So is a CES Awards Honoree just a recipient of the bogus, paid for, CES Innovation Award? Oh look, it is.

Makes you wonder if the military-grade claim is any more meaningful than when applied to crypto. Aliph has genuinely received DARPA funding, but military-grade still rings like marketing b.s. Here's a fun nugget: googling for "military grade meaningless" currently returns marketing material for Jawbone as the first hit :P

[clemonator @ Dec 17th 2006 7:35AM]

Well considering the non-bluetooth version is $80 and since putting Bluetooth next to anything is still a 'geek-premium' I would have to say tack on an extra $100 for it.

Skype is selling the wired version, btw.
http://us.accessories.skype.com/direct/skypeusa/itemdetl.jsp?prod=2999

Wired would definitely be a consideration if you're in an environment (such as the demo video) and needed the noise cancellation. Throw in BT? Dude you're talking my language.

[pangadget @ Dec 17th 2006 7:40AM]

Hmmph. Previous comment didn't display any of the URLs I included:
- bogus CES Innovation Awards: http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/7507
- Aliph a recipient of said award: http://www.cesweb.org/attendees/awards/innovations/rd_2007honorees.asp?category=139
- Schneier on "military grade" claims (as applied to crytpo): http://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram-9902.html#snakeoil

[Ben Brenker @ Dec 17th 2006 8:02AM]

I'm guessing nobody here knows how a stereo mic works, having two mics in the unit will work the same way, it's hardly high tech. Up close, the mic pointing to the vocal source pics up the majority of the sound while the other points the other way and is getting a slightly weaker signal, while background noise will hit both mics at the same time and the waves will cancel each other out.

[Richard @ Dec 17th 2006 8:44AM]

Interesting.

I wonder...

1. With one mic measuring and correcting for ambient noise - I wonder what the response time is to, say, things like PA announcements in airports. Is the response time fast enough to eliminate random intrusive noise? The demos were done with continuous loud background noise so I wonder if the random intrusive noise scenario will be eased.

2. What's the battery life with all that processing going on.

3. Sure looks Military Grade uncomfortable.

4. Wouldn't mind it in black or grey - but NOT silver or red - though it is Christmas.

[humpty @ Dec 17th 2006 9:47AM]

Would you still hear noise from the other ear.. you're still gonna have to cover that one up if the ambient noise gets too distracting.

[NeoteriX @ Dec 17th 2006 9:57AM]

Military grade claims aside, I'm still interested in any Bluetooth earset that cancels out ambient noise for the user. I hate making phone calls in clubs trying to find your friends, it ends up being a silly exercise in futility.

[Eric @ Dec 17th 2006 11:48AM]

Plantronics 510. Cancells out background noise quite well.

If this thing ever becomes available to the consumer, I'd get one. But for now, my Plantronics is almost perfect...and I've had 6 failed BT headsets in the past. Plantronics 510 takes the cake.

[Aaron @ Dec 17th 2006 12:42PM]

Here is another vote for the Plantronics 510 - Love it! I own 2. Tried many many others and they simply don't compare. And it is cheap too. Most recently paid around $30 on buy dot com with google ck out.

[Travis Kirby @ Dec 17th 2006 12:53PM]

On December 12, 2006 Cingular will launch the Jawbone Bluetooth headset, the first BT headset offered by Cingular to have state-of-the-art noise suppression, eliminating background noise so that audio is clearer to all parties on the call. This product will be exclusive to Cingular! SRP is $119.99.

[Barry @ Mar 1st 2007 10:39AM]

I just purchased the Jawbone and I am very dissapointed. It does not seem to do what they say people say it sounds like I am talking in a barrel with lots of echoing. I can't get enough volume out of the ear piece to hear comfortable.The only thing it has going for it is the looks.

[Ted Brengel @ Apr 12th 2007 11:43PM]

I just got a Jawbone and must say that both in clarity and range it beats every one of the five or six others I have owned. I did take the advice I got here though and use it with a Jabra Ear Gel instead of the Jawbone ear loop and bud. This allowed me to remove the ear loop entirely. It actually seems more secure with the ear gel than with the loop

[Matt @ Dec 17th 2006 1:05PM]

Add another vote for the Plantronics 510. A little hard to get in, and a little uncomfortable after long periods, but it's got great sound inbound and outbound. I can stand in the middle of a noisy bar and still be heard over the noise; another headset I had (Motorola 820 I think) couldn't isolate my voice at all.

[Jim @ Dec 17th 2006 3:12PM]

Isn't Nextlink releasing a jawbone bt headset too? I think it is the C7 or something like that, Radio Shack has the rights to its release in Jan 07. Anyone else have any additional info?

[technogeek @ Dec 17th 2006 6:40PM]

Don't know about using active noise cancelling AND bluetooth: bound to be a battery drain.

I recently got the BOOM headset (www.theboom.com) - it's wired and works with passive noise cancelling - it works great walking around in NYC with all the ambient noise. The performance is superior enough to warrant the cyborg look. check it out...

I hear they have a BT version in the works, I can't wait ...

[fincan @ Dec 18th 2006 4:22AM]

For clarification, it's main purpose is eliminating OUTGOING noise, not the incoming (sound you hear) since you need a stereo headset for incoming noise reduction else you'll hear noise from your uncovered ear. For incoming sound, it simply adjusts volume level automatically. Still it's a very good thing, if they sell it for sub $100 of course.

[Anthony @ Dec 18th 2006 10:08AM]

For anyone that's used digital noise reduction, the demo sounds exactly like that. Yes, the cideo clip is compressed, but DNR has a unique garbled nature to it. So part of the noise reduction can indeed be done with phase cancellation from two different mics (similar to what they use for communication in headsets used on the loud NFL playing fields) and then augment that with DNR that finds the consistant randomness (like a motor, a big crowd, etc) that may be different enough in the two mics to not cancel perfectly, and you have yer Jawbone.

[Jonathan Sundy @ Dec 18th 2006 5:16PM]

I'm confused.

I see no mention of bone conduction in the article linked to. Plus wouldn't bone conduction be a competing approach to dual mic's and aren't they mutually exclusive in nature??

If I'm reading this right, I find this Jawbone name to be extremely misleading.

I was really excited for a minute there.

[bill @ Dec 20th 2006 4:34PM]

fincan is right, the old Jawbone cancelled outgoing noise so that other people could hear you clearly when you were in a noisy place (car, outdoors, etc). I doubt they would have removed the bone sensor, so maybe this has 2 mics and a bone sensor. This headset's probably similar to the old one with bluetooth instead of wires.

[stikraverboy @ Dec 20th 2006 7:06PM]

Cingular started selling this headset today for 119.99 + tax

[Big Al @ Dec 26th 2006 9:21PM]

Just picked up one of these today at a Cingular store. After trying two other headsets with so-called DSP, I was skeptical but wated to give it another go. Let me just way, this one works and worked well. I let myself a message on my landline voicemail while sitting in fron of my PC and cranked up the music while talking intermitently. There was a faint amount of audible music in the background while I talked, but it was dead silent when I wasn't. Then I tried the real test. I left myself a second message from my small, echoey bathroom and turned on the louder than average fan and proceeded to take a leak. Not even the faint sound of a tinkle came through on the other end. No fan noise, no echo, no anything. There was the slightest blip when I flushed the toilet, but if I didn't know what the sound was, I would not have known. The range seems equal to or better than any other BT headset I've had, but there seems to be much less static that my previous Plantronics 640E and 655. I am amazed by this unit and actually feel like I got my money's worth!

Oh, and it comes with a cool A/C to USB charning adapter that I can use for my iPod and other stuff. Nice!

[Gregg @ Dec 27th 2006 3:31PM]

Remember, this provides noise cancellation for the listener on the other end, but not for the user. The spring mounted ear clip creates so much force on the swivel, that it pushes the device hinge point away from the ear, and pulls the earbud away from the ear canal. I have to constantly push the earpiece back into my ear to hear anything, even with the audio turned all of the way up on my end. The noise cancellation works great for the far end, though, or I'd likely have returned it already for the down side. If anyone has a line on custom fit ear buds, please post it here, thanks!

[rizwan @ Dec 28th 2006 12:08AM]

I own a convertible and primarily drive around in it with the top down. I have owned many headsets, and none have been any good with the top down, except the jabra 250 was okay. Today I drove around with the jawbone and here are my experiences. With the top down, windows up, the radio at a reasonable listening level, 30 mph crosswinds and approaching triple digit speeds, my wife said that she could clearly hear me and I could hear her. With the windows down, she thought the background noise was too loud. Wlaking around SF today with the same windy conditions, she could hear me reasonably, but there was significant background noise. We could carry a conversation without raising our voices, though. These good experiences are a first. I have owned a bt headset since the first week they came out in San Francisco, and have owned every top of the line product... 655, a jx10, etc. This thing is great. It is not perfect, but it is definitely, by far, the very best bt headset out there!

[Ji @ Dec 28th 2006 4:26PM]

Bought a silver/gray one from the Cingular store and its so far the only headset where I've yet to have people tell me they can't hear me in any position. The only thing I don't like about it is that their "smallest" ear piece is quite large and is quite uncomfortable after awhile. It doesn't sit well in or on my ear.

[Vincent007 @ Dec 31st 2006 10:30AM]

I managed to get the gel ear piece from my Jabra BT250 to fit. I am now able to "rotate" the ear piece to fit comfortably in my ear canal. It works great! This is the only short coming I see in the short time that I have the unit. I wish someone would make a ear piece that has a straighter approach to the ear canal.

[Jimmy @ Jan 3rd 2007 5:50PM]

So how about the battery life?

[jdap @ Jan 27th 2007 3:20PM]

Battery life = ~3-4 hours talktime for me. In fact, I really don't recall having drained it completely before the day ended & back it went on the charger.

Having previously owned a Plantronics 2500 P.O.S. (after 6 mos. use battery life MAXED out at ~7 - 10 minutes, then died), then upgrading to the Discovery 640 (still having withdrawals), the Jawbone was a welcome addition (thanks for the b/day present, wifey!) to my typical day in IT support.

I use this headset paired with a Blackberry 8700, & from day one callers have said "I had no idea you were driving your loudass VW .:R32...thought you were at your desk". It works as advertised, in nearly every noisy situation.

CONS: that swiveling earpiece does pull the bud away from you ear, making it difficult to hear the other party compared to the depth other BT earbuds sit. Although it's not bad enough to return to Chingular, I hope Aliph makes ver 2.0 of their earhook/earbud combo. Otherwise I'll try to score some Jabra gels & make those fit.

[dean @ Feb 6th 2007 7:38PM]

i don't know about jackhammers but i was walking by a moving truck on a manhattan street and the people on the end did not hear it

[matt musillami @ Mar 3rd 2007 4:12PM]

I just purchased mine online at http://www.avediamedia.com and it works great! Couldn't find it anywhere else but they had it in stock for $119.99 and I received it in a few days. They have the silver model available in Cingular packaging. Once you try this product, you won't believe how well the noise cancellation works! You can have your radio on in background and all that comes through is your voice.

[Jeet Radia @ Sep 11th 2007 3:00PM]

I have the same fit problem with the Jawbone but it works great (as advertised) otherwise. Do the Jabra ear gels screw onto the Jawbone just like the original ear buds do?

[Ted Brengel @ Sep 11th 2007 9:27AM]

The Jabra Ear Gels just pop on but are secure enough. At first even a properly placed ear gel feels like it is falling out, but after a short period it feels comfortable.