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Mobile VersionJabra Cruiser: A Great Bluetooth Car Kit (Updated Review)
Monday, May 31, 2010 at 11:15PM [12/30/2009: Product links corrected - sorry about the error!]
[05/31/2010: Updated with pairing instructions - see end of post]
A while back, I broke my Bluetooth car kit (I knocked it out of the car onto the concrete - doh!). I did without a car kit for a while, but my state (Oregon) will begin to require hands-free devices for all cell phone use in cars beginning January 1, 2010. As I was looking for a new device, I discovered the Jabra Cruiser. This is a compact device that clips on your visor, providing an unobtrusive option for handsfree calling.
This device was very easy to set up, and paired with my iPhone automatically - much easier than with any of my previous Bluetooth devices. The controls are very simple to figure out and it is easy to use without creating lots of dangerous distractions while driving.
Hey Listen - I'm on the radio!
But the fun doesn't stop there. One of the other things I really like about the Jabra Cruiser is that it has a built-in FM transmitter. This means:
- I can either use the Cruiser's built-in speaker for calls, or I can pipe the call audio through my car stereo.
- I can use the Jabra Cruiser as a "relay" to stream music, podcasts, etc. to my stereo without any additional cables, adapters, etc. Note that this requires a phone that supports Bluetooth Stereo (A2DP), such as any iPhone with v3 iPhone OS or higher.
- The added advantage of using this device as a relay for my iPhone's audio is that I can listen to podcasts while driving and, when a call comes in, the audio is automatically paused while I take the call and the podcast resumes when I hang up. Way cool.
Nice quality audio
Easy to hear
I've tried other FM transmitters for my iPhone before, but I returned every one of them because their signals were too weak and I got a lot of hissing and static over my car stereo. In contrast, I am very pleased with the Jabra Cruiser's quality over FM.
The Cruiser will automatically find and announce (with its built-in voice) the frequency to which you should tune your stereo. I have been using the FM capabilities for a while now and, while I've heard static occasionally when I'm near large power lines, I haven't been bothered by static or hissing with this device. I think one of the things that makes a huge difference is that the Jabra Cruiser uses its wire visor clip as an antenna, which seems to greatly improve the effectiveness of its FM transmitter.
You can pause and resume audio using the Jabra's buttons which means you can start music on your phone while it's still in your pocket. If your device supports it (alas, the iPhone does not) you can move to the next or previous track with the Jabra's controls, too.
If you would rather use the built-in speaker, it is loud and clear - easily heard in a moving car.
Easy to be heard
Callers have commented that I am easy to hear on the Jabra Cruiser, and that it does a nice job of filtering out background noise and road noise (and this is true whether I use the built-in speaker or the FM stereo audio output during calls).
In case you're wondering how it sounds, I left a short message on my voice mail using the Jabra Cruiser while driving, and you can have a listen by clicking the following link (now updated in MP3 format for broader device support):
Sample Audio from Jabra Cruiser call (Now in MP3)
Other features
There are a number of other useful features provided by the Jabra Cruiser, as well (all subject to your phone supporting the feature over Bluetooth):
- Voice dialing
- Address book support so that incoming callers can be announced by name
- Support for multiple languages (English, French
- Multipoint device support so you can connect to 2 devices at once
- Great battery life (rated at 14 hours talk-time and 13 days standby time)
In short, I really like the Jabra Cruiser - it's far better than any Bluetooth car kit I've ever used. (And I am happy I'll be quite legal when January 1 rolls around!)
By the way - if you order through Amazon, it's elegible for free 2nd Day Air shipping in the US via the Amazon Prime program, so you can get it in time for Christmas if you want to give it as a gift.
Jabra Pairing Instructions for use with iPhone (similar process for other phones)
Several times a day, someone comes to this page searching for something like "Jabra cruiser pairing mode" so I figured I'd provide the instructions here to make it easier:
- Turn the Jabra Cruiser on.
- Press and hold the answer/end button for approximately 5 seconds until “pairing mode” is announced.
- On the iPhone, go to the Settings icon, then select "General."
- Select "Bluetooth."
- In the Bluetooth screen, make sure Bluetooth is set to "On," and you should see "Jabra CRUISER" appear in the Devices section of the screen.
- Select Jabra Cruiser, and pairing should finish automatically. You shouldn't be prompted for a passphrase but, if you are, use 0000.
I hope you find this helpful!
Reader Comments (25)
Dwayne - good find. I'm about ready for a new handsfree speakerphone in the car, so I'll check out the Jabra. One small problem with your post, though - the link to Amazon for the Jabra Cruiser returns the error "Looking for something? We're sorry. The Web address you entered is not a functioning page on our site"
I was wondering if the iPhone 3G or 3GS are able to use the "Address Book Support" so that the names are announced. I just received one and it states the numbers, but not the names. Thanks.
I just bought one of these and cannot get the Voice dial to work with my 3GS, or the address book support or the back, play and forward buttons.
I feel like I'm doing something wrong or need a firmware update - but if I do - I can't find it.
The call quality is great - but I paid extra for the non-functional features so may have to return it.
Weird. After posting my comments, I thought I'd try connecting my wifes 3GS. Voicedial works fine for her - although I then realized I couldn't tell how to connect both phones - something it's reported to support. The Jabra support site is a little thin on the ground - if anymore has any thoughts that would be awesome.
Having been using the Cruiser for about a week now. Not sure why - but Voice Dialing did eventually start working on my iPhone 3GS - and I was able to pair both phones by setting both up at the same time. The forward and back buttons don't seem to work - but otherwise it seems to work well. My Jabra is also just reading numbers and not names from the address book - perhaps there's a firmware update out there somewhere - but if there is I can't find it.
Like several others have commented, I also can't get names announced from my iPhone 3GS.
I tried Jabra's website support (twice!) with a long list of questions, but they never responded. After calling their support number, they mentioned that the website's form doesn't do well with special characters, so it's likely my support ticket never got created. My main issue was with the support of multiple iPhones being paired simultaneously. It would occasionally (about 10% of the time) connect both, then drop both when they began fighting for the connection. It may be Apple's fault, but supposedly the BlueAnt S1 can support multipoint with 2 iPhones, so it may be the Cruiser's problem. I eventually received an email response from my phone call (about a week after they promised), and they suggested resetting the unit before re-pairing, but that didn't seem to help. I haven't tried emailing them back yet.
AdamRLeggett, I'd be curious to hear the steps you took to get both iPhones connected-- if you have them connected simultaneously (with you both within range of the Cruiser).
I have been able to get Voice Dial working with the iPhone 3GS. The trick seems to be in how long you hold the button, and it's a bit temperamental. If you hold it too long or too short, and it doesn't trigger voice dial. About 2 seconds seems to work for me.
I also haven't figured out how to get the name announce to work - let me know if you figure it out. When I voice dial, it will say the name, but when a call comes in it just rings.
I recently bought the Jabra Cruiser and trying to get it to announce caller's name. I have an iPhone 3g. Does anyone know how this works?
Also using a Cruiser with an iPhone 3GS and I've argued with Jabra tech support re caller name announcements - according to them it's an iPhone issue - but as Jabra says it's using Bluetooth PBAP (Phone Book Access Protocol) it *should* work as the iPhone supports that protocol (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3647).
Also I have a Pioneer BT710 deck in my other car and it can access the iPhone address book via PBAP fine - so it ain't the iPhone's fault.
Anyway I'd be curious if anyone got this supposed feature to work on ANY phone (I've tried 5 fairly new smart phones and NONE of them worked) - I'm starting to suspect Jabra just put that feature on box but didn't actually ship with it activated. Firmware update anyone? Jabra, are you listening? End Rant.
ps. the skip previous and forward buttons don't work for me either, however the 'play/pause' button *does* work (using iPhone OS 3.1.3) - obviously only if something is already queued or playing.
Hey,
love mine too, but I don't even get the phone numbers announced on my iPhone 3Gs, any ideas?
Thanks,
Phil
Jabra Cruiser and Motorola Entice W766.
Like others here, address book names are NOT being announced for me either. Phone numbers - yep... name - nope. :-(
Gi, As far as I know the skip functionality has been removed from the Bluetooth profile support in iPhone, which might explain why it doesn't work for you. Should work with other BT devices - not a great comfort i know :-(
The limited support for the buttons (i.e. no next track / previous track) with an iPhone, and not announcing caller names are my main gripes with this, for sure. I still like it a lot overall, after about 6 months of use. The battery life, sound quality, and ability to use it to play podcasts through my stereo are all solid - and now my wife has one of these, as well.
I'm hoping the iPhone OS v4 update will take care of the unsupported features, but I have no hard data on whether it will. Fortunately, that update is coming soon.
Jabra this week released a firmware upgrade (1.3.0 - not sure what the original factory firmware was) which unfortunately still doesn't bring iPhone caller id voice announcements or next/previous track support.
I'm now running iOS4 on my 3GS and the only changes are that it now rings with the assigned iPhone ring tone (as opposed to the plain Jabra default ring) and you can now control the volume via the iPhone.
The play/pause button still works.
I called Jabra asking what the 1.3.0 upgrade includes and they said just phone compatibility updates (no more details available anywhere)
Dwayne - Buy.com has these on sale for $39.50 shipped. I'll let you know how mine works out.
Great news for iPhone users - apparently the new iOS4.1 beta finally supports full AVRCP, meaning you will finally be able to use the Jabra prev/next buttons!!! Yay!!!
Jabra: please fix iPhone PBAP support so the best smartphone in the world will finally support all features of the Jabra Cruiser. Thx.
You are awesome. Thanks, very helpful & to the point!
I was so stupid, I tried everything and then I realized the black part of the Jabra devide is a big play button, so above the "play" button press the black surface and it clicks like a button....anyways maybe it helps one person....silly but was my isssue for 2 hours...
Thanks, very helpful & to the point.I lost my instruction book and just picked up a new phone !!
Any way to pair Iphone 3GS calls and music seperately? I have AUX inputs in the car for music, but can't seem to use it when I am connected to the Jabra.
Any thoughts are suggestions
Thanks
I have the HTC Inspire that also has the PBAP. I have te same problem everybody else is having. I love the Jabra Cruiser, it works great, but will
not read out the names in phone book only the phone number. Please when somone finds a solution to this please let us know. Thank you.
I have iPhone with 2 g ,firmware 3.1.2. Can you put music on car radio via iPhone zhabra Cruiser
Great news for iPhone owners - with iOS 5 (released today, Oct 12th 2011) the Jabra is finally fully supported!!!
That's right, now voice caller id is working too! So as long as your iPhone supports iOS 5 (3GS or later) you can use all the features on the Jabra Cruiser (Play/Pause/Next/Previous/voice caller id announcement/Voice command or Siri via one second hold on Jabra answer button etc.)
It's been a long time coming but it finally works!!!
iPhone 4 with Jabra Cruiser 1.
Name announcement was not working when I bought Nov 2010.
Last week it started working !!! :)
I have not done anything to Cruiser, however it may be due to iOS 5.0 update.
Best of luck.
I lost my Jabra Cruiser manual and found your website. Thanks for your help!