Jabra BT530 Bluetooth headset

Asavin Wattanajantra

We review Jabra's BT530 Bluetooth noice cancellation headset, a capable device with a simple pairing process

Published on May 29, 2009

Unless you want to be pulled over by the police forusing your mobile while driving, a good Bluetooth headset is vital - and the Jabra BT530 is a no frills device that does the job more than competently.

First of all, it's stylish and discreetly designed. It doesn’t look ‘yuppified’ as some headsets you might have seen in the past, and looks classy, sleek and aesthetically pleasing.

Charging the device is very simple with a very long battery life, and a dedicated on/off switch means that its is also easy to recognise when it is powered up, which can be a problem with other headsets. There is five and a half hours and up to 250 hours standby time charged up – more than ample to keep you going for a couple of days.

It did take us a little while to figure out the most comfortable way of wearing the BT530, but once you have positioned it fits very comfortably. There are an array of earhooks and eargels available, depending on your preference.

Connecting the headset is very simple, and can connect with several devices if you’re lucky enough to have several phones. It also offers you the ability to charge with a USB cable or the supplied AC adapter.

One of the biggest attractions of the headset is its noise cancellation technology, and this works just as it should - in fact better than other headsets we've trialled. Good when speaking in a crowd, driving or in other situations with a lot of background noise, with crystal clear sound when talking and listening.

Technology in the headset is supposed to identify the source of sounds and enhance it, and through testing this seemed to work, with the person on the other end of the line commenting on the clarity.

Pairing can be a little bit of an issue as on occasion the headset needed to be re-paired with the phone, which was an annoyance.

One interesting feature of the headset is that you are able to listen to music at decent qualities, which might not be very interesting to people as its only in one ear, but could be a useful distraction when waiting for a call.

All in all, you can’t really go wrong with the Jabra 530. If you’re looking for a simple stylish device that works reliably and well in a driving or situation where a Bluetooth headset is needed – it’s a fine choice at a reasonable price.