I have always been a fan of Jabra Products, ever since i tried one of their headsets a few years ago. Just recently i got in touch with them about testing some of their products, and i was pleasantly surprised that the people at Jabra and Namu-PR are a very nice bunch. I laid my eyes on the Jabra Cruiser 2, a hands-free solution for every mobile phone that supports Bluetooth. A big thank you to Namu-PR for that!
The Cruiser 2 is a clip-on style hands-free speaker set, coming in a very nice black. On the front you have one giant call button, which serves to answer calls, as well as having multiple options like connect your new phone or switch between incoming calls. Left and right, are the volume keys. Underneath the Vol.+ key are illuminated indicators, which give you information about call, battery, connectivity and radio. Dominating the front is the big speaker, which is loud enough even if you drive faster!
On the back sits a nice metal clip for the sun visor. I have tried and tested it numerous times and the clip never felt like it would come off at any time. Very good build quality right there. The right side of the Cruiser 2 is home of the microUSB charging port, On/Off-Button and a button for the built-in FM transmitter! A fitting microUSB car charger comes within the box, so you won’t run out of power on the road.
Setting the Cruiser 2 up is just as easy as connecting any Bluetooth headset to your device. Long-press the call key to get the C2 into pairing mode, let your phone find it, connect and done. When connected, the C2 will fetch all your contacts (including voice dial tags) over, so in case of an incoming call, C2 will check the downloaded contacts and announce the name in a horrible computer voice, or if not stored, announce the number.
Additionally, the Jabra Cruiser 2 benefits from MultiUse™, enabling you to have two phones connected at the same time. Both phones can be operated simultaneously, with the ability to switch between calls on both phones. perfect solution for any travellers who f.e. have a business and private phone.
Another very cool feature of the Jabra Cruiser 2 is the built-in FM transmitter. In case you don’t know, an FM transmitter enables you to stream music from your phone to your car stereo via A2DP bluetooth technology. All you have to do is adjust your car radio to a preset FM station, and start the music on your phone. I’ve tested this and it works very nicely – and best thing of all, even with calls!
According to the people i called so far, the call quality was fine. Of course things change if you drive around with 130km/h on the autobahn with strong winds, but in your normal driving situation, the voice comes across loud and clear. The Cruiser 2 uses a dual microphone set-up for noise cancellation, which also helps the call quality.
Battery life is stated with up to 14 hrs of talk time and 20 days standby time. This is possible due to a good battery management, f.e. sleep mode, which puts your Cruiser 2 into standby after 10 minutes of no activity.
To be honest, i have never been a fan of such speaker-based hands free solutions. But Jabra has really excelled with the Cruiser 2, combining a very good call quality with a big speaker and on top of that, a FM Transmitter to stream all your music onto your car stereo! A definitive recommendation from me!
For more information on Jabra and the Cruiser 2, click on the picture:
