Product Review: Jabra Cruiser Bluetooth Car Kit

A few weeks ago, my Motorola T505 died on me. While it did serve me well, it was a bit of a frustrating device for a few reasons, the main one being I couldn’t choose which FM channel I wanted to transmit too. Because of that I knew it was time to find a new Bluetooth FM transmitter, one that looked nicer, but also had better functionality. I found that in the Jabra Cruiser Bluetooth Car Kit.

After using it for about 10 days or so, I’ve got to say that the Jabra Cruiser is considerably better than the Motorola Bluetooth FM transmitter I was using. Not only was it priced better, it’s sleeker, the clip for my visor is much better, and the charger is not a coiled one that pulls or stretches, which is what inevitably killed my Motorola T505. Here are a few things about the device that I love.

1. You can choose the FM station: Bar none, this is my favorite feature. With the T505, you’d press a button and it would scan for you. It scanned very poorly, usually picking a station where I’d get interference. This would be less of a problem if I drove around the same area all the time, but I travel a lot: to Scranton for work, to NYC, to upstate NY, and I live in Middletown. Plus, I have some presets for stations I want the FM transmitter to go to. Changing them is annoying, especially while driving. With the Jabra Cruiser, I get to pick using the buttons on the side. That means I get to stay in the 88-89 range, which is where I get the best reception.
2. An On/Off Switch: This seems like a strange thing to list, but the T505 did not have one. I’d have to press a power button on the back for a second or 2 to turn it on/off. A switch is a big time saver.
3. Front Facing Buttons: The design of the Jabra Cruiser is very good. With side buttons like on the T505, moving the device means I’d change the song, or even worse, it the find a station button. With front facing buttons for play/pause, next, previous, and answer/make call, I can see what I’m pressing.
4. Announce Callers by Name: Big time awesome. Instead of a number (which I only know a few of off the top of my head), it will tell me the name of the person calling, assuming they are in my phone book.

Those, on top of the fact that it’s not nearly as clunky, the sound is clear even from the speaker, and you can connect 2 devices (I’ll test that soon) makes this a great buy. And right now it’s less than $50 on Amazon. It should work with any bluetooth enabled phone (droid, droid 2, iPhone, Blackberrys)

*note: this is not a sponsored post. I just like the device. If you’d like to sponsor a review on this site, get in touch.