Some Jawbone History: Around two years ago, Aliph released the original Jawbone, a bulky device that supported "Noise Shield", a high-tech noise cancelling feature. Personally I haven't used the old one, but heard it was great, except for it's large size.

In 2007, the headset was awarded an International CES Innovations Design and Engineering Award, was named “Wearable Gadget of the Year” by Engadget and received CNET’s highest-ever rating for a Bluetooth headset.

New Jawbone:

May 2008 - "Aliph, the established market leader in noise eliminating Bluetooth headsets,  introduced the new Jawbone® Bluetooth headset. The new Jawbone design is 50% smaller than the original award-winning Jawbone, and features breakthrough noise elimination technology to provide even better voice quality than the original in a smaller and more ergonomic package."

Features: The Jawbone has a incredible feature, called NoiseAssasin. This military-grade patent filters out background noise from your conversation while amplifying your voice, through jaw vibrations. So what does that mean for us? No more "I can't hear you! Turn the radio down!" - the other side of our conversation will hear us crystal-clear, as if indoors. See the Jawbone in action within our Jawbone preview post.

Packaging: The headset comes in a beautiful package design. Behind a clear-plastic case, the incredible Jawbone floats in the middle, as if knowing it's that good - I would be lying if I said I wasn't impressed.

For me, the packaging shows how high the company places their products. Like Apple, Aliph has dedicated a lot to the packaging and design of the Jawbone, which says a lot. If they put all this thought into the package, I wonder how much was put into their actual product? So far, looks great for a hoping-to-be great product.

Slowly opening the package, careful not to tear anything, the accessories of the Jawbone are revealed: First box, a very cool charger that doubles as a USB / AC charger, which is very smartly designed. In the smaller box, many sets of earbuds / earloops for customizing your Jawbone for your face.

My Jawbone came with a pamphlet strongly advising to make sure the Jawbone fits your face perfectly, the headline: "If it doesn't fit, it doesn't eliminate" which says the Voice Activity Sensor of the Jawbone must touch your face to ensure superior performance. So make sure you try all the different fits [earbuds/earloops] for the perfect setup.

You can continue reading this review by clicking the "Next" link below. I've also included a few unboxing pictures for you guys to envy over:

Since the July 1st cellphone ban in Caliofnira, hands-free devices are becoming more stylish & trendy. Would like to greatly thank Forest Taylor at Motorola for hooking us up with some gadgets to play with.

Today we'll be talking about the Motorola H680 unit - this device is a Bluetooth 2.0 enabled, stylish earpiece.

Released in late 2007, this product is advertised for it's stylish good looks: "Fashionable, small and comfortable. About half the size of a lipstick tube, the H680 is petite and lightweight."

SUMMARY OF FEATURES:
• Vacuum metal sides and high gloss finish make a striking statement; while a fashionable charging case completes the look
• Compact, small design at only 41 x 18 x 12 millimeters
• Shape and materials of ear hook and ear bud optimized for wearing comfort
• Up to approximately 8 hours talk time or 8 days standby time
• Weight: 12 grams
• EasyPair technology simplifies connecting to compatible Bluetooth enabled devices

Design: I'm trying, but can't find anything negative about the design of the Motorola H680. The device is tiny, much smaller than most ear-pieces I've used - pretty sure that's a good thing. For comparison, I noticed the earpiece was about half the size of my pinky finger.

Pairing: No problems on this front. Turned the unit on, gave it a few seconds to flash blue, searched for new devices on my cellphone, found it and paired. It asked to input the regular "0000" password. For future uses, the headset connected to my cell in around 3 seconds, from the time I turned it on, sweet!

Usability: Earpiece fits snugly, with a small loop securing it behind my ear. The unit has an on/off switch, a main call button, and volume buttons. I found the buttons to be perfect size, easy to find & press, unlike other models *cough* Motorola S9 *cough*

Sound Quality (incoming): Wasn't as loud as I would of wanted, still enough to hear (indoors). Outdoors was a bit tricky, but still nothing to cause serious problems. The only problem I found was the sound, which got a little staticy from time to time, when high tones were spoken.

Sound Quality (outgoing): Talked for around an hour with multiple people, when asked how they heard, didn't get any negative answers, so we're all clear on this front.

Battery Life: I found it was consistent with the reported values of approximately 8 hours talk time or up to approximately 8 days standby time. Charging here is very easy and fun. The H680 connects to a little charger box, which is connected to the power supply. The headpiece magnetically connects to the box, which also protects it when not in use.

Price: The Motorola H680 retails at $80, but can be bought at Amazon for $50. This is mainly because this model is "old" compared to newer models [released late 2007], but still up to standards.

Summary: The only fault the Motorola H680 seems to possess is a slight crackly sound when talking, nothing big. Looks good, comfortable to wear, easy to use and connect to. Very small at half a finger, battery lasting 8 hours and best of all, nicely priced [at $50 USD]

Where to buy: I found the Moto H680 on Amazon for the best price.