It may be a larger in-car bluetooth speakerphone, but in this case, bigger is better. The Jabra Freeway uses its size to boast three speakers and a nice clear microphone. We have used a few speakerphones and plenty of bluetooth devices and this one has the best speaker output of them all. I was blown away at how good things sounded. Everything from phone calls, music and internet radio through the A2DP stream to navigation sounded full and balanced. A nice touch of bass mixes the sound really well. And best of all, this thing gets loud.
Now, the speakers are great, and the two microphones are good too. Great placement on the device makes it nice and clear. A little tinge of distant and hollow sound sometimes, but all in all, another great feature to this product. But noise-reduction mics really work here.
It sounds good, and it is large, but it looks pretty decent too. Black with mesh and silver accents make this a subtle part of your car's interior. There is a dedicated mute button, on/off button and and large/easy to access volume controls. As well as the FM transmit button, which with these speakers, you might never use. Plus the FM transmission was probably the Freeway's biggest downfall. It was full of static and just seemed like the feature was a late addition to the party.
Like many other BT devices nowadays, the Freeway is complete with a full voice-activated slate of features. You can use your voice to make and take calls completely hands-free by saying "answer" or "ignore" and it also will announce the name of the incoming caller and like other upper-tier sets, Voice Guidance gives spoken battery level, paring instructions and connection status. The voice recognition recognized my voice really well and worked in harmony with the MotoSpeak feature on my Droid Bionic.
Another positive is the ability to connect to two BT devices at the same time, perfect for road trips and those families that share cars.
Chalk up another plus to the fact that because it has a USB connection, you can have new firmware downloaded and installed if it ever becomes needed.
Jabra claims up to 14 hours talk time and up to 40 days standby time. I can report that I haven't charged it in two weeks and that is with a 25 minute back and forth (so just under an hour) daily commute. I also listen to internet radio every morning on my way to work. That is a good battery in my eyes.
What's in the box?:
Jabra Freeway Bluetooth Speaker
AC charger
USB charger cable
3.5mm music cable
Carrying pouch
Quick start manual
MSRP:
$115 on Amazon
PROS:
+ Speakers and Mic are great
+ Holds a charger, good battery
+ Voice commands work really well
+ Decent price for the quality
CONS:
- FM Transmitter
- Might be too big for some
GRADE:
A+