Jabra Freeway – hands-free on the highway (review)

Jabra’s Freeway is a clever portable, hands-free, that will support two smartphones at the same time – and more.

If you’re a busy, practical person, always on the go, always doing more than one thing at a time – especially with a separate work and private smartphone (Advanced MultiUse – it will register up to seven smartphones), then the Jabra Freeway is the device for you. Road trips are no longer punctuated by unnecessary and frustrating stops to take phone calls and no more worries about being fined for illegal smartphone use.

Setup

It has a very easy, no fuss, voice-guided set-up and gives a seamless connection every time you get in the car (auto-on and off).

It clips to the car sun visor (either passenger or drivers side) and connects to the power supply through a micro-USB to USB-A cable. A 12V cigarette lighter adapter to USB-A is included.

 

It is attractive and blends well into most car interiors – the internal rechargeable battery lasts about 14 hours, so you only need to attach the cable when you run out of juice. A full charge takes about 2 hours.

Where ever you place it, you must be able to easily reach the Answer button without distraction from driving or you can use voice controls to do the same as well. It is 100 x 120 x 20 mm x 150g.

Sound quality

The sound quality is better than most hands-free car phones courtesy of three forward-firing speakers (one mid and two tweeters) that provide a virtual surround sound that is crisp, focusing on the upper midrange and treble to provide a clear voice sound signature. It has dual noise reduction mics as well. Callers say they can hear me clearly, without any background interference and visa versa.

Alternatively, it has an FM transmitter that can route phone calls or music stored on your A2DP enabled smartphone to your car radio (user selectable frequency). Bluetooth music quality is as good as your cars speaker system. Most users simply use the inbuilt speakers.

What else it will do?

It has voice dialling – it can be a bit hit an miss any you must have the name of the person you want to call in the smartphone contacts/phone book.

Similarly, if your smartphone supports the Bluetooth Phonebook Access Profile (PBAP) and that the name of the caller is stored in your phone book will be announced.

Who buys it?

It is a time-proven product, it is well priced at A$169.99 at Jabra’s online shop but as usual, I recommend that you shop around and online for a bargain but beware of grey market suppliers that may not offer Australian warranty and support.

While it supports up to two smartphones at the same time – its unique selling proposition – it is equally happy with one.

Of all the hand-free I have tested I rate it as among the best sound/voice quality.

Pros and Cons/Ratings

Overall: 4.5 out of 5

Features: 5 out of 5

Value for money: 4 out of 5 – if you shop around you will bag a bargain

Performance: 4.5 out of 5 (voice control is hit and miss – aren’t they all?)

Ease of Use: 5 out of 5

Design: 4 out of 5 (looks great but the dangling charge cord can be a tad annoying)

Manual, firmware and FAQs at

https://www.jabra.com.au/supportpages/jabra-freeway#/#100-46000000-37

Overall
Features
Value for money
Performance
Ease of Use
Design
Reader Rating0 Votes
4.5