- First headset to receive Microsoft Skype for Business’ Open Office and Outdoor certification
- First Evolve headset to feature both active noise cancellation and Bluetooth capability
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| Source: Jabra. The Evolve 75 in action in an open office. |
Jabra has extended their Evolve range of headsets for modern office workers with the release of the wireless Evolve 75. For the first time in the Evolve line, Jabra has combined wireless capability and active noise cancellation (ANC)* into a portable, compact package.
Taking its cues from the popular Evolve 65 and Evolve 80, Jabra listened to feedback to fill the gap between the two - a wireless model without ANC, and a wired model with ANC. The Evolve 75 has integrated the best features of these two industry mainstays, and also improves on them by offering unparalleled sound quality, portability and noise isolation.
Jabra says the headset is ideal for concentration and collaboration by remote workers, desktop workers, corridor warriors - the ones who need to make calls in the corridors to avoid distracting others - and flexible hub (coworking space, hot desking) workers. Patrick Khor, Jabra Country Manager, noted that workplace trends are towards open offices, hot desking, and workers who are out in the field most of the time but who still require a private space at the office when they return. At the same time, companies are doing away with expensive physical phones, adopting voice over IP (VoIP) solutions like Skype for Business or 'soft phones' that work via software instead - but laptop audio can fall short compared to physical phones, Khor said.
He shared research conducted by Jabra** which showed that 78% of office workers believe their productivity is negatively impacted by on-site noise, while as much as 24 minutes is lost each day due to workplace interruptions. "Concentration and collaboration are not suited for today's open office work spaces. The least productive workplace is the open office," Khor said. "People are struggling to be as productive as they used to be."
Jabra has designed the Evolve 75 to tackle the problems of today’s open offices, by giving users their own virtual private space at the flip of a switch, while still maintaining the collaborative potential that open offices offer. In demonstrations of the Evolve 75 at the media briefing, using the headset as opposed to using the phone alone showed a clear difference in sound quality - vehicle noise in the background could not be heard when the headset was in use. This writer personally tried the headset and with ANC on it sounds like there is a bubble of silence around you.
"The mobile call comes to the headset, the laptop call comes to the headset. (It's) crystal clear sound," Khor explained. "We're blocking noise around you in the office."
Wayne Lee, APAC Lead for Product Management and Alliance, Jabra, introduced the headset as "the best wireless headset for concentration in the open office". The headset shuts out ambient noise, offers a better sound experience for both callers and the called, and can be connected to two devices at the same time. "We think design is one of the things that makes our product unique," said Lee.
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| Khor gives the big picture on Jabra and why Jabra headsets. |
The Evolve 75 is the only wireless ANC headset to boast Open Office and Outdoor certifications from Microsoft’s Skype for Business Certification Program. Due to the vast number of products endorsed for Skype for Business, the quality of these products ends up varying wildly. This has led Microsoft to introduce a new Skype for Business Certification Program, which brings with it more stringent requirements for certification.
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| The Evolve line - launched only in Q414 - has been very popular, Khor says, and grew 100% by volume from 2015 to 2016 with this year showing similar numbers to date. The Evolve 75 fits in between the Evolve 60, which is wireless but does not have ANC, and the high end Evolve 80, which has ANC but is wired. |
Products seeking to get certified for Skype for Business must now pass two tests in the Open Office and Outdoor categories. To pass the Open Office test, a microphone must not pick up chatter from adjacent users, making it usable in crowded offices like call centres, where multiple people are speaking. Meanwhile, the Outdoor test pits products against several different noise profiles, ranging from a cafeteria to the inside of a car to a railway station. A certified headset should be able to effectively cancel out ambient noise and maintain audio clarity in all of the above situations. The
To achieve this, engineers at Jabra spent over four years developing a software solution that integrates both the boom microphone and ANC microphones to create a noise-free zone around the user, with the boom microphone as the centre point. All noise picked up by the ANC microphones in a 60-centimetre radius is recognised as background noise, and will be appropriately filtered out by the Evolve 75. The software can also recognise and transmit only when the user is speaking, ensuring optimal call quality.
Aside from offering superior noise cancellation, the Evolve 75’s 30m range for laptops (10 for smartphones) also allows for unmatched freedom of movement in the office. Offering dual Bluetooth connectivity, the Evolve 75 can connect to up to two devices simultaneously, letting users have one integrated communication solution for both their laptop and smartphone.
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| Open offices are unproductive. According to Jabra, 78% of open office worker respondents in a survey said that they are impacted by noise and disturbances, impacting productivity. |
“The premise behind the open plan office is to foster collaboration and improve communication among employees. But despite their many benefits, they have become breeding grounds for unsatisfactory labour output,” commented Holger Reisinger, SVP, Jabra Business Solutions. “Interruptions from colleagues and the noise generated in these environments are negatively impacting workers and contributing to lacklustre performance. Increasingly, knowledge workers are being forced into isolation to do their jobs. The Jabra Evolve 75 provides businesses with an alternative solution to support an open office philosophy that’s conducive to better performance.”
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| Lee does a deep dive into the Evolve 75 headset. |
- High-definition (HD) voice for crystal clear calls and music
- Superior active noise cancellation (ANC)
- Integrated "busylight" clearly shows when the user is busy
- Wireless range of up to 30m away from the laptop and 10m from the smartphone
- Flexibility to connect two Bluetooth devices at the same time for calls and music – for example, to both a computer and a smartphone
- Integration with leading unified communications (UC) platforms including Skype for Business and Cisco certification
- Up to 15 hours of battery life
- All-day comfort leather feel ear cushions and an on-the-ear wearing style for all day comfort
- Discreet boom-arm: Boom-arm can be clipped into the headband when not on calls
- Listen-in: Easy to reach button on the ear cup allows users to hear announcements without removing the headset
- Optional charging stand
Interested?
The Jabra Evolve 75 is available at a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of S$512.53 (inclusive of charging stand), or S$434.42 excluding the stand.
*ANC refers to the ability to switch noise cancellation on and off, as opposed to passive noise cancellation, which is cannot be switched off.
**Jabra knowledge worker survey 2015.