Jabra introduced a pretty innovative Bluetooth headset a while ago call the Jabra Stone. It had an attractive design in that it was actually like a small river rock, smooth and comfortably fitting in your hand. The “stone” part actually contains a battery that acts as a charger for the headset. It creatively houses the headset when not in use. When you put the headset in to the “stone” part, it charges and turns off the headset. When you remove the headset, it turns the headset on, activating either the pairing mode (if it hasn’t been paired) or in connection mode. The Jabra Stone was quite unique in its design.

Recently, Jabra introduced the next generation of its “stone” series called the Jabra Stone2. There are two versions, one selling at AT&T stores and one at Verizon stores (currently, the Jabra Stone2 isn’t available on Amazon…yet). The Verizon version is called the “Leather”:

The AT&T version is called the “Glossy”:

The “stone” matches the texture of the headset, either Leather or Glossy:

What I really like about the battery/holder is how it not only can add about 8 hours of talk time to your headset, but that it actually fits well in a pocket or purse so that you can carry it with you where ever you go. This is true with both versions of the Jabra Stone. The headset fits easily on your right ear and is very lightweight and is quite comfortable. You can pretty much leave it in your ear all the time without noticing it much at all. After a conversation or two, or if you aren’t going to use your headset for a while, just pop it back into the case and it charges the headset so that the next time you pop the headset out, it is fully charged and ready to go.

The Jabra Stone2 builds upon the original innovative design and adds some technology to the mix. For starters, you really don’t need a manual to figure it out (but if you do, you can download an iPhone app that has the manual built in). Pairing instructions, for example, are basically whispered in your ear in an almost human voice, it didn’t seem mechanical at all. Once you have the headset paired, the headset becomes like a mini companion. Tap on the button (hard to really see on it since it is flush and integrated into the design but basically in the pictures above, it is where the “Jabra” writing is), and the Jabra will speak what the battery level is. If you are on a call and your battery gets low, it will again whisper in your ear that the battery is getting low.

Another nice feature is that when you get a phone call, the caller’s phone number (or name if it is in your address book) is spoken in your ear. I love the fact that I don’t have to actually take my iPhone out of my pocket to see who is calling. And, I don’t even need to touch the button to answer the call. With the Jabra Stone2, all that I have to do is say “Answer” to accept the call or “Ignore” to decline it. And, it actually works, all via voice commands (I tested it out the other day).

The volume control on the Jabra Stone2 is pretty neat as well, you simply slide your finger up or down the side of the headset. You hear beeps as the volume goes up or down. There is no physical button. Pretty impressive actually (note: the original Jabra has this as well). But, the built-in tech will automatically raise the volume of your call if it detects that it is too low. Pretty nice!

The charging base has an indicator to show that the headset is charging as well as another indicator when you are charging the base. Using the included micro-USB charger, you can juice up the Stone2 pretty quickly (just a matter of hours).

Some other innovative features:

• The battery level of your headset is displayed in iPhones
• Fully supports voice dialing
• Listing to music or podcasts via the headset with an A2DP-enabled phone
• Can connect to two Bluetooth devices simultaneously
• 2 microphone to enable better noise reduction (people have told me my voice sounds quite clear)
• There are some 3rd Party Voice Enabled Applications that work with the Stone2 that allow you to send text or emails with your voice, have emails read to you or update some social media sites (I have not tested this functionality yet)

The headset is supposed to handle up to 2 hours of talk time. My first time using the Stone2, I was on an hour long conference call (after only doing a first initial charge without fully draining the headset’s battery prior). At the end of the call, I received the “whisper” lower battery warning, but that was just 1 hour into the battery. I’m assuming that with a full charge, it will last a lot closer to 2 hours. The nice thing is, just pop the headset back into the charger, and it is quickly charged and ready to go for your next call.

The MSRP on the Jabra Stone2 is $129.99. You can currently get the AT&T version for $90.99 after a $39 online discount. The Verizon version is retailing for $129.99 (with free shipping). You might want to see if the original Jabra Stone is available on Amazon if you still want a nicely featured Bluetooth headset that has the great same form factor but at a less expensive price. The original Jabra Stone is currently on Amazon for $46.99.

HighTechDad Rating

I have been using the Jabra Stone2 as my primary headset for the past week now. I like the fact that the headset is comfortable and that I don’t have to search for the charger all of the time. The charging battery (e.g., the stone part) is a great design for pockets or purses. And I like how simple and easy the Stone2 is to use, yet how technologically advanced it is with A2DP and Bluetooth 2.1. The voice prompts are natural and the voice recognition seems to work quite well. While I wouldn’t give this headset to a small child because of choking hazards and the fact that they will just want to try to suck the stone itself, it’s a pretty good headset for teens and adults. The price is what I would expect a new headset to debut at, however, I would wait until it comes down a bit in price potentially to around the $75-80 dollar range which I’m sure it will do in the coming months. (Look at the original Jabra Stone if you need a good value on a headset now!)

EASY TO GEEK FACTOR – is the device easy to get up and running

FAMILY FRIENDLY – does the device fit well into family environments

RECOMMENDABILITY– would I recommend it to others (more means “yes”)

PRICE POINT – does the price reflect the product function

OVERALL – my general rating

Disclosure Text : I have a material connection because I received a gift or sample of a product for consideration in preparing to write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item or gift after my review period. More information can be found in my About page as well as here.

HTD says: The Jabra Stone2 is elegantly designed, technologically competent, and really comfortable and easy to use.

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