The first I knew of the Stone was receiving one (a stone that is) in the mail. From then on was the countdown until I finally saw the Stone itself. Like many things you’ve been anticipating for a while, you kind of expect to be let down in the end. Not this time. The Jabra Halo which Alex reviewed had great sound. The Stone is just as good, only smaller, much cooler and with much better background sound reduction.

The Stone is actually made up of two parts, the bulk being the tiny, impossibly light cradle into which the headset fits. Once together, they are small enough to fit into the pocket and weightless enough to be carried everywhere you go. It is from the charge unit and headset together that the Jabra Stone gets its name – it looks like a lucky stone some people carry with them.

When it’s time to separate them, the headset is easily removed by just a thumb push. You even get an eerie “close encounter” effect as a green light emanates from under the rising headset.
Being black in colour the headset is very narrow and hooks around the ear, causing the Stone to become invisible once you let down your hair. It wouldn’t matter if anyone could see the headset anyway, as the Stone is very discreet. With no protruding parts over the cheek (no boom mic), no hanging wires, no obvious controls and no beaming lights, it wouldn’t be surprising if people missed the fact that it was a headset at all.

There are controls of course. If you press very lightly on the base of the Headset, you can just hear the ‘click’ of the Stone’s on/off control. To adjust volume is even more ingenious as it merely involves stroking the touch sensitive headset with a finger. The talk time of the headset is good, being two hours before needing a charge. Your talk time if you include the cradle is even better, giving you another 6 hours to chat before needing to plug anything in. Another advantage of the Stone is that the headset will disconnect from your phone, or other device, as soon as it’s placed into its cradle. This prevents those embarrassing moments when your phone is ringing, yet you can’t answer as your headset is indisposed.

(Note from Ed’ – a distinct advantage as all too often I’ve called PI and heard her running around in the background shouting “I’m just looking for my headset”, with numerous crashing sounds accompanying the moment...)

The Stone can be paired to more than one device at a time. Good news if you have two phones, or one mobile and regularly use SKYPE/MP3 player etc. The Stone also comes with a very sturdy clip allowing you to attach the headset to your belt if you don’t have any room in your pockets. The most important thing however, the sound quality, is brilliant – from both ends.

The first time I tested the Stone was outside on a very busy street. Fair enough I had to stick a finger in my left ear (with the Stone being in my right) but I was listening to music which was pretty well uninterrupted by the sound around me. When Alex rang me I could hear her every word clearly, even when she moved her mobile away from her mouth to speak to someone beside her. (A sneaky way to eavesdrop maybe?). To her I was just as clear, in fact she didn’t realise I was outside at first.

The Stone is a brilliant little device and one you’d definitely not be leaving home on its own. My only criticism is its size, as I have little ears the Stone doesn’t seem to fit as securely as I’d like. If you’re a busy exec, wanting to move wirelessly between your phone, MP3 player, Skype (or computer chat system), like to carry minimal kit and be discreet in your geekiness, this is absolutely the gadget for you. As you wear it, feel smug – this technology wasn’t even around a year ago but now that it is, Jabra are making best use of it.

For more information see www.jabrastone.com

The Jabra STONE will be available in the UK from 9th November, exclusively at Carphone Warehouse RRP: £99