Shootout: Battle Of The Bluetooth Headsets

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With more and more laws coming into effect requiring users to use a handsfree device while driving, making a decision as to which one to get can be a rather daunting task. The last thing you want to see is flashing red lights in your rear view mirror and then being slapped with a fine in the amount that could have gotten you a Bluetooth headset in the first place and prevented this whole thing from happening. So if you are in the market for a new Bluetooth headset, this shootout is for you.

The Contenders

There are hundreds of headsets out there but we decided to narrow down the field to just 2 headsets: the new Aliph Jawbone and BlueAnt’s Z9i. Granted, there are several other very viable options out there but I felt that these 2 had the features and quality that many users are looking for. They are both grouped in the high end category so you would be spending at least $100 on either. In fact, the Z9i is priced $99.99 and the Jawbone goes for $129.99. With all that in mind, just how do these 2 match up? Does a higher priced Jawbone equate a better value or will the lower price Z9i get you all that you need at a lower priced?

For those new to the Shootouts, what we do is pit 2 contenders against each other in a number of categories that we felt were important. In the case of Bluetooth headset, factors such as fit, call quality and noise cancellation are among those that have been considered. For every category that one headset pips the other, a point is awarded and at the end, we tally up the score and announce a winner.

Package

What comes in the package: On the left, you have the 4 ear hooks and 3 ear buds from the Jawbone while on the right, you get the 2 ear hooks and buds.

So first up, we look at the package. You’re paying good money so they should at least provide you more than just a headset, charger and manual right? Thankfully, both Aliph and BlueAnt  made sure that you get what you paid for. In the case of Aliph, your Jawbone comes with 3 different ear bud and 4 types of ear hooks in 2 different sizes and styles so you can find one that suits both your personality and ear comfortably. BlueAnt, on the other hand, only packs 2 ear buds and 2 ear hooks so your choices are rater limited there. 1 point to the Jawbone.

Both the Jawbone and Z9i comes with a wall charger but sadly, neither comes with a car charger. In addition, the charging system of the Jawbone is made up of the a USB cable and the adaptor which gives you the option to either charge from a wall outlet or via one of the USB ports on your computer. On the other hand, the Z9i only comes with a wall charger and no USB cable for charging (the one that comes with the package is actually for firmware upgrades so it doesn’t count). a USB cable for charging from your computer. A point each for both.

Jawbone: 2
Z9i:1

Fit

Now that you’ve got your headset and unpacked it, you’d want to get that perfect fit. You would think that Jawbone, with it’s many options in the ear buds and hooks department would score in this one but it was actually the Z9i who gets the point in this one. Even after fiddling with the different combos for over 2 hours on the Jawbone, I did not manage to get as good a fit as I did with the Z9i which only took me about 5 minutes. I guess having more options does not really matter if you can’t get that perfect fit.

Now, I have come across users who swear by their Jawbones but when you consider that many users have mentioned the perfect fit problem, you start to wonder. That’s not to say that you will not be able to get a good fit from the Jawbone. Far from it. I guess it all depends on you but in my case, I’d go with the Z9i.

Jawbone: 0
Z9i: 1

Design

They say that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder and I am not going to argue that. So I’m not going to say which one is has a more beautiful design. What I will discuss in this section are the other aspects of the design. For one, the Z9i has an innovative tie clip that allows you to clip the headset to your pocket or cuff when you are not wearing it and I’ll give it a point.

Both headsets decided to house proprietary charging ports instead of the more common mini USB which is rather sad. Rather than deducting points, I would just not award any points as it would just cancel out.

Both headset also allows you to switch easily from left ear to right ear without having to change ear buds or hooks a point to each there.

Jawbone: 1
Z9i: 2

Battery

You spend good money on a headset so you want it to go the distance. The Jawbone an Z9i both allow you to do just that with the Z9i edging out it’s competitor by just 1.5 hours in the talk time department and 8 hours in the standby department. Now to give points on specifications alone is not something I do, otherwise, it would not be a fair deduction. So I did put it to the test and results were as expected, though not in the numbers quoted.

The Jawbone lasted about 3.3hrs while the Z9i endured 4.6hrs before requiring a charge. So one point to the Z9i.

What about charging time? Well considering that both took about 2 hours to get a full charge, which is pretty standard for a Bluetooth headset charging time, I decided to not award any points there.

There was also no real way for me to test standby time so I left that one out as well.

Jawbone: 0
Z9i: 1

Call Quality

So this is what the your choice boils down to. No matter what we’ve discussed earlier, to many users, if the headset is not up to par in this department, you’d move on the next one. And rightly so. So let’s break it down to 2 sub categories, call quality when from a point of view as you as the caller and as someone who is receiving a call from one using one of these headsets.

You As The Caller

Now as the caller, you want to be able to hear your callers loud and clear. When I first heard that Jawbone automatically adjusts the volume to suit your surroundings, I thought that was a really cool idea. Until I put it to the test. Most of the time, it was never loud enough for me and I always ended up turning up the volume to maximum when I was in noisy environments.

Compare that to the Z9i which has a really powerful speaker. It was so powerful that I actually had to turn it down from time to time because it was just so loud. Even in noisy environments. A point there for the Z9i.

I also liked the fact that I could increase or decrease volume on the Z9i as I please. With the Jawbone, I had to cycle through 5 levels of volume from the volume that Jawbone initially automatically sets for me. So there were times I found myself having to count the cycles just to get to the loudest volume because they were not loud enough for me. I found this to be a real bother at times, especially when I couldn’t hear the caller. The concept that Aliph had for the Jawbone (automatic volume) is a good one but until it is implemented properly, I would be giving another point to the Z9i.

In all other aspects of the call such as the quality of the call as a whole, I would say that both performed really well, so a point to each for that. In fact, I would say that calls actually sounded better on the headsets than on my Eten Glofiish X500. Maybe it’s time to switch to a new phone.

Jawbone: 1
Z9i: 3

You As The Receiver

So you’re happily using that Bluetooth headset but what does your caller hear? Conversation, being a 2 way process, is just as important for the caller as it is for the receiver.

The Jawbone comes with its noise cancellation technology turned on by default. It’s other mode is with noise cancellation turned off. The Z9i on the hand does not have an option where you can turn off noise cancellation. Default is standard and you can switch to max noise cancellation if you choose. Considering that it’s always better to conduct conversations with as much ambient noise eliminated as possible, the Jawbone gets a point in this case.

In my test conversations, those I called were not able to tell the difference between the headsets used but they did comment that they could hear me loud and clear. My voice sounded as it should, no distortion there with regards to noise cancellation at work, so again 1 point each.

Jawbone: 2
Z9i: 1

Noise Cancellation

You paid good money for noise cancellation so it better work as advertised. That’s a fair assumption right?

Both the Jawbone and Z9i, when used with maximum noise cancellation, worked really well in noisy environments. While neither completely eliminated noise in noisy environments like you see in their promotional videos, they both did a great job of minimizing it to a point that a decent conversation could be carried out. If you asked me which eliminated more, I would say there were on par so a point each.

However, that was not the case in windy conditions. Under such conditions, the Z9i outperformed the Jawbone. I am not sure if it’s due to the way the Jawvbone was designed that it cannot eliminate wind noise properly or that the wind was so strong that it caused the contact point to be thrown off or some other reason but in my tests conducted, the Z9i had a much better performance in such conditions and for that, it earns a point.

Jawbone: 1
Z9i: 2

Additional Features

We’ve pitted the Z9i in terms of fit and call quality, among a few others but you paid good money and expect more. Well in this case, I discuss the additional features that come with each headset. It’s more than just a simple Bluetooth headset. It does…

Multi-point technology

The Z9i that is. That means you could simultaneously pair 2 devices to the Z9i and switch easily between the 2. Really useful for the users who carry 2 phones or even those who use their headset with a phone and computer, like I do. In such a situation, I could carry out a Skype call on the computer and if a call comes in, I could just switch to the phone and back to Skype when the call (on the phone) ends. So a point to the Z9i for that.

Upgradeable Firmware

That’s not all though. The Z9i also allows you to upgrade it’s firmware which means that when the guys over at BlueAnt figure out a bug with your Z9i, they’ll release a patch that you could apply to your headset and get it working better than before. No need to go out and get a new headset. Compare that to the Jawbone which does not have upgradeable firmware which means you’re stuck with the one you bought and you’ll understand why the point goes to the Z9i for this one.

Jawbone: 0
Z9i: 2

And The Winner Is…

Adding up the scores, we have the

BlueAnt Z9i

as the winner of this Shootout: Battle of The Bluetooth. It garnered a total of 13, compared to Jawbone’s 7. Both are really great headsets and do their job really well as Bluetooth headsets. However, when it comes to who does what more, you have the BlueAnt Z9i. The Jawbone is a great headset and has military grade noise cancellation technology and it’s really popular with all it’s marketing. But when it comes to the every day user, I felt that setting one up should be a simple and straightforward affair and the Z9i does just that. It may not even be as popular as it’s counterpart and I am guessing that when I introduced the Z9i, some of you might even be wondering who made them. But if you are on the lookout for a new Bluetooth headset, you’d do great and get yourself a BlueAnt Z9i.

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