A while ago, I was on the look for a decent stereo bluetooth headset that would offer me playback controls and wouldn’t cost a lot. I ended up getting the Jabra BT3030, which normally retails for 49EUR but was on a 50% offer with my new operator contract. 4 months have passed now and the Jabra has become a part of my daily life and my daily routine of commutes through Paris.
Design
The BT3030 features a “dog tag” design with a black rubberized plastic on the edges and a silver metallic body. It comes with a lanyard that allows it to be worn around the neck like a dog tag, as well as a clothing clip that allows you to attach it to your clothes or bag or pocket. Personally, I prefer the 2nd style as it’s more feminine and offers less wires to be tangled with. This main unit features a 3.5mm headset plug so you can add your own headset and enjoy the music, or use the included pair of in-ear earphones which come in 3 sizes. It also has a mini-USB plug for charging, which can be done through a computer’s USB port or through a wall charger (both included).
The buttons on the control unit are Play/Pause, FF, RW, Increase volume, Decrease volume, and Call. They have little feedback when pressed, but enough to let you know that you did press them. All the keys light up in blue when you turn the headset on, and the Jabra sign has a great set of colors that give different battery level notifications.
Pairing and Functioning
To turn on the BT3030, you simply keep the Call button pressed for a few seconds, a few more and you’re in pairing mode. Pairing is very easy as it’s simply done by turning Bluetooth on your phone and looking for the BT3030. Queue in 0000 and you’re good to go. The Call button also allows you to activate the voice dialing feature of your phone with one long press, with a double press it will re-dial the last number. As for the other keys, they work as advertised with a one press, for skipping tracks, controlling music playback and volume.
Performance
When it goes for calls, the BT3030 offered me a very nice experience. The in-ear earphones provided with it create an almost sound-isolating environment so I could hear the other person crystal clear. The microphone built in the main unit picked up my voice, and as far as people on the other end of the line, they never complained about a drop of quality.
As for music, the listening experience was pretty nice. As I mentioned, the provided earphones offer 3 different sizes so you can choose the one that fits your ear best. With the best fit, you could still hear what’s going around you, but it seems very distant and faded. Personally I like this approach, as I don’t want to be completely detached from my environment when I’m on commutes. Plus, if I really need an isolating environment, all I have to do is pump up the volume and then I wouldn’t hear a thing. Call handling when music is playing is pretty standard: the music fades out before, and fades in after. The battery lasts 6 to 7 hours with music.
The 2 major annoyances with the BT3030 are related to the volume. First, you can’t keep your hand on the volume up or down buttons as it will only take it as one command, so you have to repeatedly press the key in order to rise the volume a bit or lower it a bit. Second and most annoyingly, is that sometimes when you receive an SMS, after the SMS notification sound, the volume pumps up even if you had set it to be low. It irritates me.
In conclusion, the BT3030 is a decently priced stereo bluetooth headset, that offers a very nice performance, and handles calls and music in a fashionate way. Despite the two volume glitches mentioned above, I personally like it a lot as it integrates well into my everyday life, and can be used with my E71 and N82, or any other S60 device, without the need to look for 3.5 or 2.5 mm plug earphones for each one.
