Compact Jawbone boasts military might

Rhys Lewis

The high-end technology behind the new Jawbone is the ominously named NoiseAssassin, developed for clear communications in battlefield environments

The Jawbone Bluetooth headset is back: smaller, quieter and armed with military-grade technology

When Aliph's Jawbone Bluetooth headset hit the UK last year, the designer earpiece stood out for its smart style and innovative noise reduction technology.

One year on and the next-generation Jawbone has arrived, smaller than the original and using military-grade technology to shut out even more ambient sound than ever.

Again created by industrial designer Yves Behar, the new Jawbone is half the size of the original and features a three-dimensional textured diamond pattern on the back, which Aliph claims isn't just good looking, but also helps to dampen outside noise. It comes in three imaginatively named colours - Bla Bla Black, Silver Tongue and rose gold, otherwise known as Goldy Lips.

The high-end technology behind the new Jawbone is the ominously named NoiseAssassin. Developed by US Military R&D arm DARPA for clear communications in battlefield environments, NoiseAssassin combines with the Jawbone's Voice Activity Sensor - a small bud at the tip of the unit which rests on your cheek and 'feels' speech vibrations rather than picking up sounds as a conventional microphone would - to eliminate 90 percent of the noise other headsets pick up.

The 58x13x13mm unit weighs a barely noticeable 10 grams, and comes with three shaped earbuds in small, medium and large sizes, and four interchangeable earloops to fit ears of different sizes and accommodate glasses wearers. We found it difficult to find the ideal loop/bud combination on the original Jawbone and hope the new version will provide a better balance between comfort and quality.

Talk time is claimed to be four hours, with an eight-day standby time and a full charge time of under an hour thanks to a new fast charge battery. The new Jawbone is compatible with all Bluetooth-enabled phones and is available for £79.99 from Carphone Warehouse.

For more information, visit Jawbone.com