Nokia J

Why it could be the world’s most
sophisticated headset

April 12, 2011

(9 votes, average: 4.89 out of 5)

Photo by hansvanrijnberk

Bluetooth may be named after a 10th-century Danish king with a passion for tooth-staining blueberries, but it’s now very much a 21^st century technology. Just look at headsets. When they were first launched in 2002, they made you look like a Trekkie and gave you little more than fifteen minutes of talk time. But a decade is a lifetime in the evolution of a product. To see how much things have changed, all you need do is take a closer look at one of the most sophisticated wireless headsets ever developed, the Nokia J.

The beauty of design

Nokia believes in the philosophy of beautiful design, combining aesthetics, function and emotion. The Nokia J follows this ideal. Unlike on most headsets, there are no clips or hooks. Its unique form, one flowing shape, makes it look almost organic, and combined with six different ear buds you’re guaranteed a perfect fit. The ergonomics are further enhanced by its weight, a mere eight grams; so light it’s easy to forget it’s there. Made partly of stylish stainless steel, the Nokia J also has a plastic curve to allow the Bluetooth antenna’s radio frequency to pass through it.

Performance, pure and simple

Of course, pure elegance alone isn’t enough. The Nokia J may be incredibly light, comfortable and secure, but thanks to a concept created by Nokia, Always Ready, it’s also very simple to use.

For a start, you only wear it in your ear when you make or take a call. The rest of the time it sits in a holder that clips, much like a pen, onto your clothes. When you need to use it, you just take it out and the headset takes care of the rest: powering up, connecting and call answering. Once it’s put back in the holder, the call is disconnected.

It’s this feature that makes the Nokia J breathtakingly energy efficient. From a single charge, you’re guaranteed 5 hours of talk time and an astounding 3 months of standby. When the battery is low, the headset tells you. Yeah, you heard right. It speaks.

The Nokia J also uses a Micro USB charger, this new charger is set to become industry standard, meaning you can use the same charger for the Nokia J as you use for virtually every other gadget, including smartphones and cameras.

Photo by stevendepolo

Voice quality that speaks for itself

From an audio point of view, there’s no doubt the Nokia J’s minimalist design presented a challenge to Nokia’s audio engineers. Outbound voice quality is very dependent upon the distance from your mouth to the microphone, which is why headsets need to stick out from your ear. However, the Nokia J is one of the smallest headsets in the world, making the distance that much greater.

To overcome this, Nokia sound engineers used Digital Signal Processing, the technology that quite literally finds your speech and purifies it by getting rid of any ambient static noise. Audio is further enhanced by automated volume control, allowing the Nokia J to adapt to the environment and adjust the volume accordingly. The result is a call quality that often sounds better than your smartphone.

Nokia isn’t renowned for boasting; quite the opposite. Yet, after a few days of using the Nokia J, it’s clear why the product team is so proud of their achievement. And they’re not the only ones singing its praises. The Nokia J has already picked up a couple of prestigious design awards from IF and Red Dot. Don’t be surprised if these are the first of many.

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Showing all 10 comments

What is the Nokia J? | Technomoblion June 07 , 2011 @ 15:43

[...] Source: Nokia J – Loud and Gear [...]

Ahmed Abdul basit June 15 , 2011 @ 07:16

If i’m gonna have to pick it from its holder to answer a call, i might as well same myself some bucks and use my phone.

Ahmed Abdul basit June 15 , 2011 @ 07:19

Pass this up, we need a nokia branded stereo headset without that rubbery stuff that goes at the back of the head.

Something of this nature.

http://img03.taobaocdn.com/bao/uploaded/i7/T1m8FLXXJdXXaprCQT_012810.jpg_160x160.jpg

Loud and Gear June 17 , 2011 @ 12:24

Interesting idea. We’ll be sure to pass it along to our Gear gurus. Thanks for sharing.

Loud and Gear June 17 , 2011 @ 12:23

The Nokia J is perfect for people who don’t want to have to walk around constantly wearing a Bluetooth headset Ahmed. By clipping it on your shirt it’s super simple to pick up, has an amazing 3 months battery life from one charge and still keeps yours hands free.

jedibeeftrix June 22 , 2011 @ 15:50

NFC version?

Loud and Gear June 28 , 2011 @ 13:30

Not currently Jedibeeftrix, but as you may know we’re working hard to make the most of NFC, so who knows what the future holds.

Gaurav Sahi August 31 , 2011 @ 12:36

When is the launch date for this really good looking headset in India and what will be price range?
Thanks.

Loud and Gear September 05 , 2011 @ 11:28

Glad you like the look of it Gaurav. Should be available in India now. Price range around approximately 7140 R. Hope that helps.

Why you could soon be wearing your smartphone | Nokia Connects | emKay´s BLOG February 08 , 2012 @ 13:03

[...] few? Research has shown that many people think they look silly. But with funkier designs like the Nokia J and Nokia Luna making headsets look less Terminator and more Bond (or Bond girl), that’s all set [...]

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