The Jabra BT3030 in all its US Marine ID-tag style glory. Perhaps this should be standard
issue equipment for all military personnel.

Jabra probably went to the US Army for design inspiration for the BT 3030. Decked out in aluminum and encased by a rubber guard, the Bluetooth stereo headset looks just like every American soldier’s dog tag- nifty and inconspicuous.

An electronic dog tag? I’m in!

However, a simple and intuitive design means nothing if operating the device is a hassle. Upon testing, UrbanWire was pleased to discover that you don’t need to be a tech geek to use the Jabra BT3030.

Buttons on it have been reduced for greater ease of use.


There’s the standard set of Play/Pause, Next, Previous, Vol +/- and call buttons. However, that’s all you get. In fact, for the sake of minimalism, Jabra even omitted the traditional On/Off button.


Instead, you hold the Call button for 2 seconds to power the BT 3030 on or off.


ID-tag style design + bright keylighting = one classy ID tag with playback capabilities.

Syncing the device was a definite no-brainer: all we needed to do was activate the bluetooth on our mobile phone and the Jabra BT3030 was instantly present in the list of bluetooth devices presented. To finalise the pairing, enter a PIN and you’ll be listening to your mobile phone/MP3 player.


Our phone, all paired up and ready to help you dance along to some MP3s.

Verdict:

Jabra is a clear winner in design: the ID tag design, while simple and a little dull, definitely does the job of making sure that it remains inconspicuous and out-of-the-way while you’re walking down the streets. In fact, we suspect that you might just be able to sneak this little toy to camp with you during NS since it looks just like a real ID tag (just don’t say we fed you this idea).

The large buttons also ensures that people with large fingers can easily navigate their playlists without accidentally making any unwanted button inputs. Although the minimal button layout can cause some confusion, simply reading the instructions can fix this problem easily enough.


Sound quality was only so-so: while Jabra had gone to the expense to provide a set of in-ear earbuds for maximum sound clarity, the music quality didn’t bowl us over, although it was definitely well within acceptable range.


All in all, the Jabra BT 3030 is a good little toy for helping anyone who wants to make the most out of his or mobile phone by turning it into an impromptu MP3 player.


*The Jabra BT3030 retails for $118 at Spider88.com: reseller prices currently unavailable.