Jabra BT3010 Review

The Jabra BT3010 is well-suited for people who love to accessorize from head to toe; the headset comes with 33 interchangeable paper faces, held in place by a hard plastic layer, letting you mix and match colors and designs. It's beautiful on the inside, too, offering better call quality than many other budget headsets we've tested.

A Headset With Personality

In addition to nine solid colors, Jabra's selection of patterns ranges from butterfly wings to flames to thumbprints (it's your call if you want to dig into these wackier ones). The three buttons on the front--an Answer/End/power button flanked by twin volume controls--are too tiny for most fingers, and the earpiece felt too hard.

Pairing Issues

We had difficulty pairing the BT3010 with our LG Decoy for the first time. Even after holding the main button for what seemed like an eternity, the headset remained on, but not in pair mode. It's also hard to tell if it's in pair mode since the LED only glows one color: purple (Plantronics' headsets flash blue and red to indicate they're in pair mode). Getting the BT3010 to pair took many tries, but luckily, the phone remembered the headset after the initial pairing.

Performance

We enjoyed exceptional volume with the BT3010, even when calling from a busy street corner. Our caller said we came in loud as well, although the quality was somewhat garbled. Even though the headset stayed put as we walked around, the hard ear piece quickly grew uncomfortable. As we suspected, the tiny buttons were awkward to press, especially while on the go.

Range and Battery Life

The BT3010 has a rated Bluetooth range of 33 feet. Indeed, we were able to walk between 30 and 33 feet away from our phone before the quality became too difficult to understand. The headset has a rated talk time of 8 hours and 12.5 days of standby time.

BT3010 Verdict

Thanks to its decent sound quality, high volume, and cheap price point, we recommend the BT3010 to anyone looking for a basic mono headset. In particular, style junkies with an appreciation for detail will love the colorful, often wildly patterned faceplates. However, the Nokia BH-101 performs better, costs $10 less, and is easier to use.