Keep your eyes on the road with the Jabra DRIVE Bluetooth speakerphone

"Drive safe and stay connected with the Jabra DRIVE Bluetooth speakerphone"

I’m guilty of it sometimes, and I’m sure I am not the only one. What I’m talking about is driving and using your cellphone -- something that we all know is quite dangerous but many continue to do. Now for me it was because I didn’t have a Bluetooth device to use -- and I know that’s truly just an excuse -- but now I have no excuses. Recently I was able to try out the Jabra DRIVE, an inexpensive yet effective in car Bluetooth device. Continue reading to see if the Jabra DRIVE is worth your cash.

The Review

Features:

• Designed for intuitive use and great sound.
• Easy to access control buttons.
• Easy Voice Guidance (Connected and Low Battery).
• Easy to set up. Pair to your phone and place on your sun visor.
• Transfer your music, audio from a GPS application or any other.
• Type of audio from your Bluetooth device to Jabra DRIVE using A2DP.
• Use the USB cable to connect Jabra DRIVE to the car charge.
• Jabra DRIVE can be connected to two mobile devices at the same time.
• Specification:
• Product type: DRIVE Bluetooth Speakerphone.
• Connectivity: Wireless.
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth version 3.0 + eSC.
• Great microphone with noise cancellation.
• Talk Time: Up to 20 hours.

Design

The Jabra DRIVE is a Bluetooth speakerphone that employs a simple yet effective design. The whole front of the device is your answer button, and by Jabra utilizing this style of design the user won’t have to dig around to find the button needed to answer or end a call.

They’ve placed the on/off switch on the right hand side of the device and while this location works, the button itself can sometimes be a pain to use due to it being quite small. The whole electronic piece is housed in a metal clip. This clip is what keeps the device stuck on your visor. One complaint I had about the way Jabra decided to keep the speakerphone attached in your car is that if you are constantly taking it on and off of your visor it may damage a the fabric (if your visor is fabric of course). So I would recommend keeping the Jabra DRIVE in place unless you must take it off.

Set-up

Setting up your Jabra DRIVE is actually quite straightforward. Turn it on … okay, well it’s not that simple, but it’s close. Once you turn on your Jabra DRIVE it will automatically start the pairing process. After you’ve powered the speakerphone up you’ll want to go into the Bluetooth options on your BlackBerry smartphone and from there hit ‘search for device'. Once you’ve enabled your BlackBerry to search for Bluetooth connections you should then see the Jabra DRIVE. Click on it and your BlackBerry may or may not ask for a passcode. If it does it will be “0000” (four zeros). From this point, your BlackBerry and the speakerphone should be connected and you can now make and receive phone calls hands free!

Sound quality

Now this was one of my complaints with the Jabra DRIVE, and that is sound quality. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t horrible, but it could have been a little bit better. Often the sounds didn’t have much depth to them, but for an entry level Bluetooth speakerphone it’s certainly better than some of the others out there.

Device overview

Front

On the front of the Jabra DRIVE is where all the action is. The main part of the device is your answer, and end call button, and by having such a large button you will be able to focus on driving and not finding where to click to answer a call. The other features on the front are volume up, and volume down.

Right side

On the right of your Jabra DRIVE you will see the power on and off rocker, and the USB charging port. Now, one thing to note is that the charging port is Micro USB, so it is using the same charger as all of the newer BlackBerry smartphones. Because it’s the same charger, you can reduce the clutter in your car and just use one to charge two devices.

Back

The back of the Jabra DRIVE is pretty simple; it’s a metal clip…quite riveting I must say. But this metal clip is an essential part of the whole device; it’s what keeps it in place on your visor.

The Good

• Low cost
• Low profile
• Long lasting battery
• Low cost
• Quality construction

The Bad

• Average sound quality
• No built in voice commands

Conclusion

For those looking for an entry level Bluetooth speakerphone and don't care for the added features like music streaming or built in voice commands, look no further than the Jabra DRIVE. With up to 20 hours of battery life and an easy to use interface, many will find the Jabra DRIVE both easy to use and quite handy as you speed down the highway and take that important phone call.

Jabra DRIVE Bluetooth speakerphone

The Bottom Line

Though the audio quality the Jabra DRIVE produces won’t be fit for an audiophile, it’s perfect for those who are looking for an inexpensive in car solution. With an easy to use interface, and easy pairing option buying the Jabra DRIVE sure beats a ticket from your local police officer.