INTRODUCTION

   One of the things i hate while driving is to see other people using one hand to drive their cars or bikes and the other to answer and hold their smartphones close to their ears. As a matter of fact I’ve lost count of the how many times i had to evade cars and bikes coming right towards me just because the driver was paying more attention to his/her call and not what was happening around. Of course as many of you are aware the law in most countries forbids use of smartphones while driving and strictly dictates that people need to use hands-free devices such as wireless Bluetooth headsets to avoid getting distracted. Such headsets may not have improved enormously over the past few years but they've become smaller while at the same time retaining all their features and audio quality. The ECLIPSE by Jabra is their latest entry in the hands-free wireless headset and it will be the subject of today’s review.

   Jabra is the brand of GN Netcom, a subsidiary of GN Store Nord A/S (GN) - listed on NASDAQ OMX. Jabra employs approximately 850 people worldwide and in 2011 produced an annual revenue which amounted to DKK 2,106 million. Jabra is a world leader in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of a broad range of hands-free communications solutions. With a reputation for innovation, reliability, and ease of use that goes back more than two decades, Jabra’s consumer and business divisions produce corded and wireless headsets, plus mobile and in-office speakerphones that empower individuals and businesses through increased freedom of movement, comfort, and functionality.

   The latest ECLIPSE wireless headset may not be the very first model to feature Bluetooth v4.1 connectivity (up to 30 meters range) with near field communications (NFC), multiuse (up to two simultaneously connected devices) headset profile v1.2 (HSP), hands free profile v1.6 (HFP), advanced audio distribution profile v1.3 (A2DP) and phone book access profile v1.0 (PBAP) but it's certainly the smallest one weighing just 5.5g. The Eclipse also offers 128bit encryption and supports several modes such as enhanced data rate (2/3Mb EDR), synchronous connection-oriented (SCO), enhanced synchronous connection-oriented (eSCO) and a power saving (sniff). Unfortunately by using such a small enclosure Jabra had to use a rather tiny 6mm 5mW dynamic driver that features a frequency range of 20Hz-20KHz with 94dB sensitivity and 16 Ohm impedance. Luckily we still see dual Omni-directional noise-cancelling microphones featuring a frequency response of 100Hz-8kHz and 14dB (+/-3dB) sensitivity. Also just like the STONE models the new ECLIPSE comes with a compact charging base/dock which you can take along with you to give the headset up to 7 extra hours of battery life (10 hours including the headset charge). So let's test and see what the latest offering by Jabra is all about.