Aliph Jawbone ICON Bluetooth Headset review

A Bluetooth headset with a personality is a fresh idea, and when you think about it is not too far fetched. If you wear a mono headset at work or while driving you spend a lot of hours together with your ear bound companion. I have spent a couple of weeks with the Hero, and we have gotten along perfectly. From the initial “hello there, let’s get started” I considered myself a bit more heroic, and a whole lot more cool wearing it. “Show me your friends, and I will tell you who you are” is a saying ringing true in this case. My friend is the Hero, and so am I.

The Aliph Jawbone ICON comes in six different styles each with their own “personality”. The look is matched to these personalities. The Hero looks like something Sam Fisher would wear. The Bombshell would sit well with Beyonce, and the Rogue is what any Bond-villain would wear. You aren’t stuck with the voices if you don’t like the sharp Ace or snarling Rogue. All are interchangeable along with a neutral voice in English/Spanish/German or French on the MyTalk update page for the Icon. The update program is easy to install both for Mac and PC users, and the registration process is quick and completely free.

While you are at it make sure to update the firmware to allow music playback in the earpiece using A2DP. This is a perfect way of making the mono headset usable for podcasts, movies, music and games. The sound is not comparable in bass or clarity to any stereo headset, but still good enough for listening to movies, games and spoken podcasts and audio books. Listening to music is a letdown as the sound becomes fuzzy. Even after the earpiece trying to correct this after 10-20 seconds the sound is thin. I still find that being able to use a mono headset for podcasts when waiting for a call is perfect.

Making calls with the Icon is simple as it supports Voice Command on the 3GS and 4. The sound is usually above average during the first seconds of a call. That is until the NoiseAssassin 2.5 kicks in, and sorts out both noises around you as well as normalizing the volume. This works well in almost all environments I have tried it in, and even when out running or skating I hear the incoming call perfectly. In those situations the sound still suffers from wind noises, and the Icon has a hard time getting rid of it. The classic cupped hand around the headset is needed when going at higher speeds, or out on a windy day. This is the only circumstance I found the Icon to be lacking in. When used on a playground full of screaming children or in a crowd the NoiseAssassin circuitry works perfectly.

Buttons, I hate buttons. Thankfully the designers over at Aliph agree with me, and have kept the buttons to a minimum: one. Sure there is a sliding button to power the Icon up, but beyond that we are left with one. This buttons answers calls, hangs up, initiates Voice Command by holding it, controls volume by holding it during playback and turns the NoiseAssassin off for demonstration purposes if held during a call. There is still one function that I find it misses, and because of that I would actually have liked to have another button. Ah such sacrilege even considering adding a button, but I would really have liked to be able to pause the playback of podcasts or music. I have to say that I am impressed with the amount of functions crammed into one button.
Taking a call is a joy in itself as your Icon tells you that you have an incoming call, and tells you the phone number if available. This is perfect, as you don’t have to look at the phone to see if it is your nagging mother in law calling when you are in the middle of something important. It also helps as you get a notion of who it is, and can be prepared to engage the caller right away instead of going through extra pleasantries such as greeting and the like. The Icon voice also reminds you how much talk time you have left, and becomes really persistent when there is risk of the headset disconnecting due to lack of power. The power of the Icon can be seen in the status bar of the iPhone, which is a really neat feature.

Pairing up the Icon to any Bluetooth device has been really easy. I have paired it to both my iPad and my iMac, but why I should have any of those without calling abilities is beyond me. The light found on the Icon gives some information about battery charge and syncing status, but other than that it is off. The range from the paired device is about 10 meters, and that is usually enough. I had my iPhone indoors while out painting a fence some 7-8 meters away without any problems.

The Icon is really comfortable to wear for long sessions at only 8 grams, and I found several different combinations that worked for me. It comes with three fit earbuds with loops integrated that presses against the inside of the outer ear. By simply twisting these in I got them to sit still for hours at a time. There are also four ordinary round earbuds for usage with an earloop. The earloop can also be used with the fit earbuds. I found the ability to mix and match according to what I find most comfortable to be a good feature.

Finally I have to bring up something that I find is lacking with the Icon: the lack of dock. Instead of a proper dock for charging a microUSB cable is included. It is ridiculously short, and I have to use an extension USB hub to be able to charge it with my iMac. With the great luxurious packaging, and great design of the headset I really think that a neat dock should be part of the package. An AC wall adapter is also included.
The Aliph Jawbone Icon is the best Bluetooth headset I have tried so far. Build quality, looks, excellent standby time, quick charging time, comfort ability and finally the cool personality idea all cater for a great experience. Four hours of talk time is ok, but the lack of proper charging station is a bit of a let down. Still with the excellent AD2P, and easy to use page for firmware updates it becomes a must for anyone looking for a great companion. And finally before you make the choice you have to ask yourself, who do you want to be? The Ace, the Rogue, the Hero, the Bombshell, the Thinker or the Catch. I am, as you know by now the Hero.