Jabra 100-46000000-02 Freeway Bluetooth in-Car Speakerphone (U.S. Retail Packaging)

BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT (BLUF) - Speakers are loud and clarity is 8 out of 10 (room for improvement, but not much considering the overall size of the device). Speaker clarity seems great, as I haven't had any complaints and everyone says they can hear me just fine. Battery life is excellent, and build quality even seems very good. If you want to buy just one and not have to worry if it's going to be good enough or not, try this. I'm willing to be you won't be disappointed. The finer details and small print - I don't have a large basis for comparison, speaking in terms of bluetooth speakerphones, but I can tell you that I haven't had any issues with the Freeway speakerphone. I've only used it intermittently, and I am still operating on the very first charge when I began using this device nearly a month ago. Of course, I do turn mine off when I know I'll be out of the car for a while. I've left it on overnight a few times, but still the battery persists. I leave my bluetooth turned on in my phone, and when I turn on the Jabra in the car it connects within a few seconds after simply flipping the Jabra switch. If you leave it on and roam about your house with your car parked in your garage, sure - it will probably stay connected. I've had that issue a few times but it's a pretty simple workaround - turn one of the devices off (bluetooth on the phone or Jabra). Assuming that the Jabra is left on and it does disconnect when you get out of the car, I've noticed it will automatically reconnect shortly after you get back in the car and generate some vibrations - shutting the door, starting, or backing up. People I talk to seem to have no problems hearing me, less problems in fact than when I use my Apple iPhone supplied wired headset. The speaker is loud enough to where I have the volume at roughly 30-40% and rarely have to turn it up. For voice dialing, I use the iPhone-supplied Siri through the speakerphone, and that handles all of my voice dialing/voice texting needs. As for the FM transmitter, I've used it a few times but...it's an FM transmitter. The sound quality isn't very good and the amount of static heard on my end is significant. Of course, this might be from my factory radio that has a very weak reception capability in the first place (2003 Audi A4). I didn't really care for the FM transmission option because I knew the quality wouldn't be that good anyway. It's FM. It's never going to be a good quality sound, but at least it's there when you really want to hear that one song or there's absolutely no alternative.

REVIEW UPDATE: Have used it for a bit longer and notice some problems. I wouldn't say deal breakers as much as pretty darn annoying. 1. Sometimes when i get in my car...a voice from out of the blue says "connected". I honestly don't know why as I am always connected because if I don't turn off my bluetooth every time I come in the house, I stay connected. But the problem with that voice out of nowhere is ....it has scared the CRAP out of me. Several times. Once I think I actually shouted out as I was alone...at night...getting in my car. So just something to be aware of. I am sure I will get used to her....I hope. 2. When a call comes in.... pretty much saying ANYTHING will cause it to answer. I was not in the position to take a call yesterday and was talking to my daughter who was in the car with me when the call came thru....and it connected the call. Even though I didn't say anything CLOSE to "answer". 3. And on the opposite end....it sometimes disconnects the call even if you don't want it to... if say....you suddenly shout out at a driver that almost cut you off and you are on the phone. But sound quality is still really good...and the fact that I am even connected to it when I am pretty much anywhere in my house isn't too irritating. The call still comes thru my phone I just have to switch it to iphone instead of the speaker....but at least it still rings. I was afraid it would only ring to my car. I think the problems are enough that I am taking my 4 star down to a 3 star. ______________________________________________________________ I have had this item for about a week...and haven't had TOO many opportunities to use it...however every time I have I have been pleased. When I ask the callers about the quality they say they can hear me very clearly. A family member didn't even realize they were on speakerphone. On my side, I can hear very clearly with no static or cutting out. It connects automatically (this is the good news bad news part of it) so you never have to worry about doing anything when you get in the car. The phone app has a feature that finds your car so you'd never have to wander around a parking lot if you forget where you parked...which is a nice little bonus. It "finds" it about 10 times faster then my On Star app does! The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is back to the automatically connecting issue. Although it IS good to not have to turn on anything when you get in the car....it also connects from pretty far away, so I have to take it off the speaker phone when I get a call in my house when I am too close. But "too close" is around 100 ft...not sure why the range would need to be that far. But at least the phone still rings so you do have the opportunity to answer it...you just have to switch it to the phone after you answer. Not too big a deal. Others have stated they turn off their Bluetooth when they leave the car...so that solves the problem also.

This is a review for Jabra FREEWAY Bluetooth Speakerphone I'm not one to take my time to write reviews, but after purchasing three of these speakerphones I thought maybe it would be helpful to tell you why this is the best speakerphone I have ever used. We live in California and, by law, have to have our Cell Phones connected by Bluetooth if we use them in the car. I have probably used 4-5 different brands and configurations in the past 5 years - all with mixed results, until I came across the Jabra FREEWAY Bluetooth Speakerphone. I really dislike using in-ear Bluetooth devices (for many reasons, but mainly because they interfere with hearing and make you look like a . . . . ). Speakerphones I have used in the past (including the less expensive Jabra products) seemed to never clearly pick-up my voice and transmit it to the caller. When I purchased my first Jabra FREEWAY Bluetooth Speakerphone (after reading a glowing CNET Review) I started using it as soon as I charged it for a couple of hours. It is the easiest, most user friendly product I have bought in a long time. Getting up and running requires: 1. Charge unit (USB) 2. Turn on Cell Phone and put in pairing mode 3. Turn on Jabra FREEWAY Bluetooth Speakerphone - it will find the phone and announce "Connected" 4. That's it, your done. Now to use it you only have to do one thing and remember 2 words: 1. Attach the Speakerphone to your visor and turn it on. 2. Remember 2 words when it announces by name an incoming call. a) Answer (connects you to an incoming call) or b) Cancel (phone goes straight to you voice answer message). It really is that easy. There is a lot more that the Speakerphone will do, and there is a one year subscription to a second party company that keeps all your contacts + more so you can call one number and transfer to anyone in your contacts, send text, etc. But you really don't need to know or use any of that. Oh, I forgot, the main reason I like the Jabra FREEWAY Bluetooth Speakerphone is that my clients have no clue that I am even on a Bluetooth device when I talk to them in the car. No extraneous noise, no wind noise, just a clear voice. That, plus the ease of use is why I keep buying more of these and giving them to my wife, children, etc. Did I mention that once you turn the Jabra Freeway on you don't have to touch/recharge it for a month or more (my experience, moderate use). It turns itself on when I get in the car, and turns itself off when I exit (motion detector). Pros: All of the above. Plus, iTune music sounds pretty good through the 3 speakers and podcasts are great (you can also transmit the music/podcast to you FM radio) - the Speakerphone "knows" to to stop the music/podcast if a call comes in. Cons: It takes a couple of minutes for the speakerphone to turn-off automatically when you you leave the car. For a short time, if you are fairly close to the car (in you home or office) the unit still picks-up calls. This has happened to me only once, and my iPhone asks if I want to not use the Bluetooth on the screen, so it really is a minor annoyance.

I've had this for one week now and overall I'm pretty happy with it, and I'm still trying to figure out how to use it best. The sound from the 3 speaker system is great, better than expected, and a vast improvement over a $30 bluetooth speaker I had been using in my car. If the FM transmitter feature didn't work, I'd still be happy with the sound quality I get for my music, which is probably the most important feature for me with this device. BUT THE FM TRANSMITTER DOES WORK for me in my 2002 Toyota Corolla, despite the problems other reviewers have complained about and the problems in general with FM transmitter technology. And I live in a dense urban area. It's great to have my tunes on my car stereo, as well as calls and my voice navigation or whatever else I'm doing. For me, I've found a couple stations that work fine for my commute to work and around town that I don't have to change stations for. I don't know how well it will work on a long roadtrip in other areas but we'll see. It does charge in two hours in my car or in any USB port, and the battery life is extremely good so far. The item is small enough to put in my pocket if I want to take it in the house to charge, or I can pop it in my glove box if I don't want it visible when my car is parked in a questionable neighborhood. Also, I've had no problem with the automatic on and off feature, works fine for me; and it's really no big deal to use the manual on/off switch anyway so I don't know why anyone would complain about that. The Jabra website has a more detailed and easier to read User Manual that you can download, which is easier to read and follow than the tiny little booklet that comes with the original packaging. Also, there's a new driver for download on the website which is easy to install (it doesn't tell you this, but just connect your Freeway to your computer USB port and then execute/run the driver download file that you've downloaded to that computer). New driver installs automatically. Other reviewers complained that the voice prompts are too loud, but they don't sound too loud to me, so maybe they did fix this problem with the driver update. The biggest problem I've had is with Voice Assistant. I made a couple calls with it. Not sure how useful it will be for me. Because Freeway does work with my android personal assistant app (Speaktoit Assistant) running on my Galaxy Centura phone (a Siri like app for android). This gives me the ability to make calls directly, and access numerous other apps on my phone (music player, Scout GPS navigation, social networking apps, calendar, etc. And my Assistant will read my incoming text messages, send texts or emails, get news, weather and search for anything. So I'm not really sure that I need Voice Assist anyway. It's also a pain to setup your contacts separately with your Voice Assist account and then I will manually have to keep updating/syncing my contacts with Voice Assist. That's a hassle I don't need. Also, I've now tried having Voice Assist read my emails. This is useful. However, Voice Assist has a really terrible robotic female voice, really primitive by today's standards. I can't believe they use such a terrible robotic speech engine. Very unpleasant. Also, although it pairs automatically with my phone with a very easy setup, for some reason I've had to repair it a few times when it hasn't connected automatically. Not sure why this is happening. The Freeway doesn't always recognize my voice commands--there are only a handful and they're simple like "Play" for play music, or "Battery" to check battery level, but it's frustrating when I have to repeat myself several times, and I'm not sure why this happens sometimes and not other times. I make and receive very few calls in my car, so if this was my most important feature I'd definitely have to lower my rating. Also, while Freeway is working good with my Speaktoit Assistant, I discovered it wouldn't work at all with an alternative top-rated android assistant I was trying out, Nuance's Dragon Mobility Assistant. I'll update my review later after I've had more experience. UPDATE: After two more weeks of usage, I'm downgrading this to 3 stars. The voice/command recognition, with or without Voice Assist, is very poor. It's very frustrating to repeat commands five or six times and still not have them understood. I have a clear loud voice, no accent. Very frustrating.

In Maryland, we recently had our laws change so that mobile phone use and seat belt violations are prima facie offenses. Being a traveler to Washington, D.C. for business, I've managed to NOT be pulled over there, but now that my entire state does the same thing, I needed to come up with a solution for long stints in my car while still handling client phone calls and text messages. (I'm not one who likes Bluetooth ear pieces, etc.) On a few of my business trips, I rented Ford vehicles with "Microsoft Sync" included in the onboard packages. I absolutely LOVED the way my phone interacted with that system and responded to my voice. It made trips safer, IMHO, and also kept me from being dinged with fines and points on my license. Plus, using the AT&T Navigator application on my phone (provided by TomTom) through the system eliminated the need for a separate GPS device stuck to the windshield. So... my goal was to find a device that let me have as much of this functionality as I could get. The nice thing about Windows Phone is that you "pretty much" have all of the Sync voice functionality already built-in at SETTINGS | SPEECH. Once enabled, your phone will sound and behave just like the familiar Microsoft Sync system in those newer Fords. NOT being an Apple device fan, it's pretty apparent to me that there is a lack in the marketplace for anything specifically designed for Windows Phone. So, I went to the official Windows Phone website and looked over the devices they recommended and offered. This led me to the Jabra Freeway. First, the Jabra Freeway is by no means a large and clunky device. Rather, it has a sleek design and the button areas for the functions are intelligently placed and blue LED lit. I wondered how much tension the visor clip had because I was concerned that it might drop off of my visor and make me nuts while driving... No worries there! They, also intelligently, made it a VERY stiff clip so there's virtually no chance of that happening. The speakers are very loud and clear and the built-in microphone is sensitive enough to discriminate your voice over ambient sounds. When using the Windows Phone speech features, you are prompted when to answer, etc... so, you are stepped through what to do and have little room for mistake. (Plus, the voice recognition algorithm is scary-accurate.) At first, I thought maybe I didn't need to mess with the VoiceAssist system used by Jabra, but since you get one year of it free included with the purchase, I gave it a whirl. It works by calling their system via your phone... then answers in a very "Microsoft Sync" fashion. There's a bit of an annoyance with setting that feature up through their website and then exporting your contacts to the system... but, if you can dump your data to a CSV file, you'll be fine. The reason I have stuck with VoiceAssist thus far is that unlike the Microsoft Sync systems in those Ford vehicles, I haven't figured out how to "trigger" my phone to listen for a command. The Sync equipped Fords have a steering wheel or dash-mounted button to do this. The Jabra doesn't (at least not as I've discovered yet) do that. This is where VoiceAssist comes into play and works very well. So, if I specifically want to call someone in my contact list, I tap the VoiceAssist button and it dials out, answers, and then I simply tell it to call whoever or send a message, etc. For incoming calls and texts, Microsoft's Speech Services does everything, using the Jabra as a Bluetooth speakerphone, responding extremely quickly by answering a call, reading back a text, letting me reply, ignore or whatever. There is virtually no discernible lag or anything like that and signal quality is perfect. All-in-all, Jabra does Bluetooth the right way and they've done some serious thinking to make this device seemingly flawless. For that alone, Windows Phone users should get this thing if they need this kind of solution because of changing laws or for just some added safety and convenience. You won't find that you bought a device targeting Apple or Android and you just "deal with not having everything" function-wise. Your Windows Phone does everything with this Jabra Freeway.

To give some perspective, I was planning to use this in Central NY which has spotty connection when it comes to radio stations. I should've heeded everyone's warnings about not counting on the FM transmitter but I really wanted to believe that it could work for me. Following the initial full charge, I paired the Jabra Freeway with my Motorola Droid Razr and it connected instantly. Every time I turn the speakerphone on and off, it connects without any issues. This is where the Pros for this product ends. In the quiet of my bedroom, I tested the voice commands out and started to get confused about my options. Luckily, you can ask the "Genie" what commands there are are and she will list them out. Unfortunately, I just found that the commands weren't intuitive and I would've had to be reminded often. The "Genie" actually understanding my commands was a hit or miss and one time, "Next track" made her redial. I was already starting to feel unsure about the product but wanted to test it in my car. In my car is where it became disastrous and I found myself wanting to chuck the product out my window. I tested the FM transmitter and was immediately worried when all I heard was static. It connected for a second and then when I started driving, it lost the connection and pressing the "FM" button just made the "Genie" announce the same radio station that disconnected 2 seconds prior. This could be because of my location so I tried not to fault the Freeway for this. Next, I tested out the music and realized that the sound coming out of this little device barely filled the interior of my Nissan Rogue. I was annoyed as the highest volume only made the music more distorted. I thought to myself, "Okay, I will just listen to music through the AUX input", disappointed because I bought the Freeway to eliminate some wires. Finally, I wanted to make a phone call. This was the Achilles heel for the Freeway. First of all, if you have music playing through the Freeway, it will be impossible for the "Genie" to understand anything you're saying. How pointless because if the product is "hands-free", I shouldn't have to reach around to lower/turn off my music in order to give a command. I said "Phone commands" and then to "Call ______" which ended up calling the wrong person multiple times. I don't know if it's because the Freeway thinks all of my friends have similar sounding names but it was only able to call the right person after 20 minutes of me shouting in the complete silence of my car. I was thoroughly frustrated at this point because it couldn't handle it's main purpose of making a hands-free phone call. The only way I could be successful in one attempt was to recite the actual phone number and even then, sometimes it's wrong. Also, when I was on the call, at the highest volume I couldn't hear parts of the conversation and my friends couldn't hear me clearly as well. I really wanted to believe that this product could be exactly what I was hoping for but it ended up being an expensive paperweight. I tested it out for 4 more days just in case it was just something I had to get used to but thinking about what a hassle it was, I found myself going back to my in-ear Bluetooth because even if I couldn't command it to make phone calls, I was at least able to answer a call without having to shut off my music. Unfortunately, this device will be going back and I will have to hunt some more for a safe way to make hands-free phone calls while going through my car's stereo.

Jabra I stand up and give you a standing ovation for the Jabra Freeway Speakerphone. I previously was using the Jabra CRUISER2 Bluetooth In-Car Speakerphone but sadly had to give it up to my dear husband who refused to use a headset. I did not mind because this way I was able to acquire the newer model. The Jabra Freeway is the newest model since the Cruiser 2. It is a tad bit larger, but offers a few more features such as automatic turn on and off with the built-in motion sensor, and acoustically optimized HD quality microphones and surround sound speakers. You pretty much give all the commands by your voice. For example when you call comes in, you can just say "answer" or "ignore". If you want to make a call, just hit the "Voice" button once and say "phone commands", then say "call <John Doe> mobile". It is that easy. That is one big difference between the Cruiser 2 and the Freeway. With the Cruiser 2 you had to hold and count the seconds on the action button to make it do certain commands such as last redial or voice dial. With the Freeway everything is done with the touch of one button and I don't have to hold it for 1, 2 or 3 seconds! I got so excited about talking about the actual usage of the speakerphone that I almost forgot to mention the setup. I am using it with the Verizon iPhone 4G and setup with so simple it took less than one minute. The automated programmed voice is very clear to hear and understand. This is the first time I have had to actually turn the volume down on a speakerphone because it was too loud! The sound is crystal clear. I really do not know how anyone can give this item a bad review unless it does not work with their particular brand of phone. in regards to the FM transmitter functions, it works as well as other types of transmitters I have tried. There is NO wireless FM transmitter out there that is not going to be static free. Think about, the only way is be able to be static free is to be directly plugged into your radio and not be "wirelessly". This speakerphone will be primarily used for phone calls and not for my the FM transmitter. I can hear perfectly loud and clear by the units speakers and have no need to be using it to play my iTunes music through it. the speakers alone will be sufficient for me to hear my calls loud and clearly. Now lets get to the Voice Assist. Forget about it. Not worth it. I did sign up for it since it is a free trial offer for one-year but I don't see any use for it. I asked myself do I really need to urgently send someone a text message or post a status on Facebook? Is it that important that I can't wait till I am out of the car and on my computer, iPad or iPhone. I can wait - I am not that important to be posting about my life's every moment for all to know. Also, what most might not realize is that you have to call a landline phone number that uses airtime off your cellular plan in order to use the Voice Assist. Signing up was not as much of a hassle as some made it sound. Just make sure to read the instructions on the Voice Assist website and you should have no problems. You have to download the firmware upload and apply it, THEN enter your UPC code after the firmware update is applied. This is for units purchased from Amazon ONLY. YOU WILL LOVE THIS SPEAKERPHONE. I am curious to see what is next for Jabra since I can not imagine how something so perfect could be improved. Well now that I think about it, maybe they will come up with "Park Assist" on their next units. :-) EDIT: I almost forgot to add one more thing. This comes with a really nice long micro USB cord. Not one of those "bungee" ones either. It is straight and long enough to fit plugged into a 12V that is inside my center console glovebox while charging the speakerphone still clipped to my sunvisor (while parked of course).

In my state you can no longer use a cell phone while driving unless using a Bluetooth device. My Samsung G3 works fine (no special setting changes) with the built-in Bluetooth on our 2006 Toyota Prius and with my Plantronics Bluetooth headset. I needed a visor Bluetooth unit for my other car (I don't like wearing a headset while driving). My choice came down to this Jabra Freeway unit or Motorola Roadster 2. Everything else being equal I picked the Freeway solely on its cheaper price. When it arrived I immediately charged it overnight before using. The next morning it paired with the G3 without a hitch. I put it in the car and made my first test call. I pressed the VOICE button and it immediately dialed the 3rd party Voice Assist (888#) which asked for the name or # I wanted them to dial. It tried several times giving it the name or # but in all cases it did nothing except say command canceled. I turned off Voice but in doing so I couldn't use the Freeway unit to dial. I had to dial using the phone (against the law). Once connected I could use the Freeway to hear and talk. Small negative is the cloth grill covering which in a car will get dusty and torn over time. I contacted Jabra support, they suggested I update the firmware but after trying on 2 PC"s neither would recognized the Freeway and install the update. Jabra said to return the unit which I did. I'm ordering the Motorola Roadster 2 unit now. I don't like having to use a 3rd party Voice Assist that costs $59/year to dial, not to mention the delay it takes making 2 calls to complete a call assuming the unit worked. I'm giving this 2 stars because; 1) it paired easily, 2) sound was very strong and clear & 3) Jabra tech support was fairly prompt getting back within 2 days on both my emails. I hope the rest of your have better luck because this unit has potential.

I've been a Jabra user in the past, so I was expecting another good product when I bought the Freeway. What I hadn't expected was how fantastic the product is!? The crystal clarity of sound whether when connected to the phone or when streaming through to the car's stereo over FM; the ease of connectivity & the fact that it seamlessly connects to 2 devices (genius!), the slick looks, voice commands, battery life between charges ... I could go on! All in all, a winning product from Jabra!

Muy útil para no distraerse con el celular al manejar

I bought this to replace a Parrot model that I had been using in my car that no longer held its charge (after about a year or so of use) and was too quiet on motorways to hear. The Jabra was easy to set up, pair with my iPhone 7 Plus and works perfectly. It clips neatly to the sun visor. I'd recommend slipping it onto the right hand driver's side as I noticed that when I put it on the left hand side of the visor, towards the centre of the car thinking it would be better there, the listener could not hear me so well. I think it might be because the microphones appear to be on the left hand side of the unit (there are some holes there) so they would be away from me if placed on the left hand side in the car's centre. The sound quality is excellent. I often listen to audible books on it and everything is crystal clear. It can even transmit the sound to the car's speakers via the FM radio. It turns my old pre-blue tooth car into something capable of working seamlessly with a modern smart phone. The battery lasts a reasonable time and can be charged quickly in the car in the usual way. The range of the bluetooth connection is a long way so be careful when you park up and get out of the car mid-call and transfer to the phone. As the unit will often grab back the call if you are within 30-40 feet of the car! It does mean that the moment you unlock the car, whether the door or the boot, the unit wakes up quickly and pairs with the phone. Of all the various after-market ways of connecting my iPhone to my car (including a quality Garmin navigation unit) this is by far the best and reasonably priced product I have come across.

The sound clarity of this product is amazing, even though the FM connectivity is not the best , it can easily keep up with some of the best FM transmitters in the market.

Perfect. Works well