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80 of 81 found the following review helpful:
 Intriguing But Not Without Issues Nov 29, 2010
By Philip R. Heath
"Gadgets, Music, & Books"
While I have used a number of Bluetooth headsets over the years for hands free calling, I am just now getting into the world of stereo Bluetooth thanks to my Droid X. After having seen the Jabra Clipper on Verizon's site, I decided to give it a shot. I will focus on the music experience since that is my purpose in getting this unit. I still prefer the speakerphone option for calls. I will use the following criteria for my evaluation: pairing, sound quality, ease of use, and comfort.
Pairing: This keeps getting easier with each device that I try. After charging the Clipper, I turned it on and it went immediately into pairing mode. I was able to pair it with my Droid X simply by scanning for Bluetooth devices and selecting the Clipper - no code required. I never understood the point of entering the generic 0000 code since it was the same for every device, but that is no longer an issue - at least with the Droid X.
Sound Quality: The earbuds that come with the Clipper are in a word dreadful. I switched to the medium sized set of buds in order to get a good seal, but the sound quality of the music was just awful. It was thin, muddy, and sounded cheap. Thankfully you can unplug these duds from the Bluetooth receiver and replace them with any 3.5 mm headphones/earbuds of your liking. The downside is that you will have to spring for these on top of the Clipper if you don't already have a pair available. For testing purposes I switched to my Creative EP-830 earbuds that came with my Creative Zen X-Fi. The change in sound quality is night and day different. If you don't already have an alternative just know that you are going to have to make an additional purchase for the Clipper to be usable. I am no audiophile, but even my untrained ears found the included earbuds beyond unacceptable.
Ease of Use: Usability has long been an issue with Bluetooth devices due to the dreaded multi-function button. The Clipper only has three total buttons when the + and - are added in. These three buttons control powering on and off, volume, play/pause, navigating songs, and call management. Each button does at least two things depending on context or length/type of press. I found this to be manageable but annoying. Others may find this frustrating. If you've had bad experience with multifunction buttons on other Bluetooth devices, you can expect more of the same.
One other are of note on ease of use is the "clip" itself. It will work really well on belts and belt loops as well as on shirts with buttons or your jacket. However the Clipper is very stiff, and I found it impossible to get it on my t-shirt sleeve using one hand. Yet if you get it secured, it should be very good for active use since it passes military standards for rain and shock resistance. While it doesn't free you from wires, it will keep you from pulling your high dollar phone or music player off of the treadmill.
Comfort: This is somewhat of a non-issue based on the poor sound quality, but the included earbuds are also not comfortable. This is just another reason to replace them.
Overall: The Jabra Clipper is an intriguing if imperfect Bluetooth stereo device. You can replace the included earbuds and still come at a decent price. It is promising for active use, but suffers from the same usability issues that are common among Bluetooth devices. I think it depends on what you are looking for. A couple of alternatives to consider are the Lg HBS-700 and Motorola S10-HD. Each of these has a different form factor and target different user types. Feel free to ask questions in the comments below.
35 of 36 found the following review helpful:
 Very good all around with a couple of issues Feb 01, 2011
By MSW1
I have a Droid X, and I bought the Clipper for very specific reasons. I've had very good mono headsets in the past (I liked the Aliph Jawbone the best), but I realized that I was talking on the phone through the headset less and less, and I was becoming very frustrated with wired headphones to listen to music and podcasts on my phone. So, I was looking for the best combo of serviceable phone headset and good music headphones, and the Clipper not only fits the bill, but is by far the lowest cost solution out there (that I could find, anyway).
The pairing and use of the Bluetooth has been very easy and no better or worse than my experience with any other modern Bluetooth device. Once paired, the Clipper has worked very well with my Droid X (both with the phone and for music with mspot or DoubleTwist), as well as my laptop, using different audio programs (Windows Media Player, VLC, etc.). As for the two main criticisms of the Clipper in the reviews (quality of earbuds and use of the clip), I've had a much better experience than many reviewers.
On the earbuds, I will acknowledge that these aren't anywhere near what you'd call high quality headphones. However, I think some of the reviews have exaggerated this. Maybe those people had fit issues, or maybe they've improved the earbuds slightly in a revision of the product (although I'm not sure why you'd "upgrade" your product from "horrible" to "mediocre"). In any event, my take on these earbuds is that they're far from the best, but they are OK, and definitely serviceable if you've lost your favorite earbuds or until you can buy a better pair.
I will say that fit is everything with the earbuds. They come with three sizes of tips, and I had to try various combinations to find the right fit (medium left ear, small right ear). If you don't get a good seal in the ear, you definitely would find these earbuds "dreadful" or "crappy," as some reviewers have. However, if/when you do get a good fit, you'll find that they are your typical, cheap earbuds. Muddy base and lacking in defined highs. But, as I said above, they'll get you through an afternoon if you don't happen to have your regular pair with you. Mids are fine, and voice calls on the phone are good with the included earbuds. Again, though, it's all in the fit.
As for the clip, I can see how some people might have issues with it. I've had no problem fitting it to any part of my clothing by holding the closed end between my right thumb and forefinger, prying the open end apart slightly (and CAREFULLY!) with my left forefinger, and using my right thumb and forefinger to hold the clip open as I slip it onto a collar or pocket (belt, strap, whatever). If you don't have strong fingers, though, this might be a deal killer for you. It does take some strength to hold the clip apart. And, as someone above said, if you just try to push it onto a shirt collar or pocket, it can be difficult get it onto stretchy material.
Because I haven't found the same problems with the earbud and clip as others have, I would say that I'm very pleased with the Clipper. The sound with my Sennheiser CX 300 earbuds is great. The call quality is very good, and the mic picks up my voice well when the clip is attached and I'm speaking normally. And, in my opinion, the best feature of all is that the part of every Bluetooth headset that frustrates most and fails first (the earpiece) is entirely interchangeable, so this solution should last much longer than any Bluetooth headset I've had in the past.
16 of 16 found the following review helpful:
A Qualified Recommendation. Jabra's CLIPPER Bluetooth Stereo Headset: A Critical Review. Oct 28, 2010
By Andre Lawrence
Revised review-- April 21, 2011
Several weeks ago Mr. John C. Kendall wrote to tell me of a use of the Clipper. He suggested that it be hung on a lanyard! I immediately thought, that's interesting. I don't think that even Jabra considered that. Well, last week the jack on my Blackberry developed a shortage and it's going to be too much to repair without buying a new one. (Besides I'm switching to Sprint for their EVO 3D! No more Blackberry's!)
The lanyard suggestion worked flawlessly in an unexpected assignment today. So, I'm upgrading the review to 4 stars, thanks to Mr. Kendall.
Original review follows below with a minor adjustment.
****** ******** **********
* What this is and what this isn't
** Inspection and Testing
*** Conclusion
* I think it's important to point out that the description of this product is somewhat misleading. This is NOT a headphone/ earphone, per se. The CLIPPER set is a 3-piece set that is made up of the CLIPPER (a clothing-clip style receiver), a Danish-designed "Around The Neck" earphones and a charger for the unit.
The main piece, The CLIPPER --what the company calls "the headphone" -- is nothing but a Bluetooth receiver and transmitter. By itself, it is unable to allow you to hear music or speak to an incoming caller. It picks up the radio waves from a Bluetooth-enabled Smartphone, mp3/4 player such as an iPod Touch. (Although it doesn't work with the Mac's OSX operating system, Jabra supplies instruction for it to connect to Apple's iOS operating system for the iPhone 4, iPod Touch and presumably, the iPad.) It has two slots, one for a micro USB wall mount and a 3.5mm audio jack for the headphone/earphone connection.
About the included earphone: This is not to be considered an essential part of the product. Since in the quickstart guides and at Jabra's website there's only brief mention of it being packaged after a lengthy discussion on how the main piece works. It is my suspicion that it is merely a placeholder for your "better" earphone or earphone/speaker set. It is wiry thin and most likely will not stand up against normal use for more than a few days AND it doesn't have a speaker-line to receive any calls, which is the main selling point of the Clipper.
** Here is where the buying recommendation thing becomes very tricky.
Pro's
1. (A2DP) The receiver/ transmitter works well with all of the earphones that I tested it out on from the cheap Blackberry supplied speaker earphones up to the Ultimate Ears: a total of 5 including the around-the-neck earphones that came with it. It reproduced the sound that I recognized were the strengths of the different earphones and the device alerted me with a nice chime and silenced the music after about 2 rings.
2. The wireless distance to receive a signal was precise at around 30 feet.
3. About the size of an iPod Shuffle.
4. Although the device is extremely difficult to pry open to attach to a garment, if you'd consider it to be hung on a lanyard, it may be a lifesaver!
Con's
1. You'll need to supply your own headphone/ earphone for this device. (The supplied is largely for testing out the product and nothing more.)
*** I own the Jabra EXTREME Bluetooth headset I received last year and I still love it. Jabra makes fine products: stylish and well built. However, I think they made an engineering mistake with THE CLIPPER. The device although a bit bulky to wear if you're wearing thinner clothing, works as promised. But my main gripe is the product's [in]ability to clip on to clothing. This, for me, is a really, really big deal. For all that it promises technologically (and delivers) the principle design makes it a toss up as far as my recommendation is concerned. If you have a breast pocket that buttons down, then the Clipper is a good deal. If you want to put the Clipper in a pant pocket, it works well. But...To clip or not to clip...THAT is the question.
So... 5 minus 1 equals 4 stars.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
I like it, but not perfect. Mar 30, 2011
By Palm Trees
"Palm Trees"
As a person who works frequently on the road, often with long drives involved, I was looking for something exactly like this. Here are my experiences with the Jabra CLIPPER bluetooth Headset.
Pros:
No issue linking with my laptop, my desktop for music listening, no dropouts, using a high end set of ear buds, this is perfect for keeping the volume down in the house so as not to annoy others yet giving me the freedom to get up and down from my office chair, move about the office for printing, faxing and scanning, all while listening to anything and everything available through my home technology.
No issue connecting to my first gen Motorola Droid, and with the high end ear buds and a free Android application, I'm able to listen to high quality MP3 music between calls/conversations. This is great for me as I drive a convertable and it can be annoying to listen to the sound system at the higher volume required when highway driving.
The fact that everything is contained in the small clip unit, it is very nice to be able to have the freedom it provides.
The mic is pretty good and most people say I sound fine on their end. Note that I do keep it at collar height when wearing it.
The size makes it extremely portable, I keep mine in an earbud case in my glove box.
It uses a standard micro-USB input for charging which is now very common on modern cell phones. In my case, it takes the same charger as my Droid so I only require one cord in my vehicle.
Cons:
I do experience occasional sound drop outs with the Droid. Not present on the PC or laptop so it may be related to the power output of the Motorola phone's bluetooth signal more than an issue with this unit.
As everyone seems to mention, the clip is both too tight, and doesn't open far enough for thicker clothing. I resolved this quite easily by keeping a lanyard handy. The one I use is leather with an adjustable lenght once on so I can pull the unit closer to my mouth for calls. I keep it under my shirt for general use since the mic isn't needed.
The earbuds that come with this unit are like most OEM-included sets. If you're only going to use this for calls, the quality is fine, for music and video however, the first thing to do is use a high quality set of buds or headphones.
Some have complained that the smooth satin black finish mars easily. Since the finish is flat, it's usually a smudge or smear and easily wipes off with a damp cloth. Mine has held up well after a month or so of continual use.
In closing, there aren't a lot of options out there that combine the small size, quality sound (overall) and a standard charging jack. It's not perfect but I'm more than satisfied with it and a number of my friends and associates like it enough to go out and get their own. If you're on the fence and looking for perfection, you may not find it in this or comparable units. If you don't mind the few negatives I and others have mentioned, this may be perfect for you.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Good bluetooth, so-so headphones Oct 28, 2010
By Taylor Corbet
"Taylor Corbet"
I really like the blue tooth clipper and use it with my Nokia N900. However I'm not such a big fan of these ear buds as they constantly keep falling out. It's not too big of a deal since I just use the clipper with my old ones now, but for this price they could have made more of an effort to use more universal ear buds.
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