So there are a couple of big complaints about Aliph's otherwise-lauded Jawbone noise canceling Bluetooth headset: one, it's rather porky, and two, the charge connector is about as reliable as a Comcast installation appointment. Hang tight, though, because help is on the way -- help in the form of the Jawbone 2. The new model just broke through the FCC's surly bonds in full visual glory, showing a headset that maintains the distinctive industrial design of the original while getting just a bit smaller and adopting a new connector that looks moderately less sketchy. The last thing we all want to do is blow another hundred on the next best headset, but if this means we can run a teleconference standing next to a freight train traveling 40 miles per hour and do it in style, count us in.

Quite frankly, the traditional Jawbone headset is pretty stylish as is. Nevertheless, Yves Behar has somehow managed to make it even sexier with the creation of the Love To Talk family. This trio, which will reportedly be made available "in a very limited quantity," consists of a gold Sweet Talk version, black Dirty Talk edition and white Trash Talk model. No word on a price nor where to actually find one outside of the totally shady black market, but feel free to take a closer look at each in the read link below.

Jawbone's giving away free headsets to anyone willing to trade in their old one here at CES -- which means they've accumulated an impressive collection of busted old headgear from nerds around the world. Check a few more pics of dudes waiting around for free stuff at the read link.

What makes a Bluetooth headset great? Does it need to be so small as to be virtually invisible? Does it need to be a brilliantly-designed fashion accessory? Perhaps easy to use, easy to hear, and easy to be understood? Ultimately, of course, no model is perfect; every headset on the market is a compromise, a reflection of the manufacturer's (and the buyer's) priorities. So we basically went into the review of the Bluetooth variant of Aliph's lauded Jawbone with that same mentality, hoping that it'd prevent us from getting distracted by any miscellaneous shortfalls in the product -- the Jawbone's draw, after all, is its noise reduction circuitry, and that's what we really wanted to report on here. Instead, we came away with a shockingly positive impression of the Jawbone not just as a technological overachiever, but as a legit headset that we could see ourselves using day in and day out. Read on to find out why.

The elusive Jawbone Bluetooth headset has been on just about every headset owner's radar since this month last year, but after time took its course and the well-spec'd (and mighty stylish) earpiece got official, we knew it wouldn't be long before these suckas hit the market. Sure enough, the dashing headset is now available for the world to indulge in, and you'll even get to make the painstaking decision between red, black, or silver motifs. So if you've been holding out on every other headset that tempted your wallet in order to grab this very piece of noise-cancelling kit, all that's required now is $119.99 and little patience.

[Thanks, Mike C.]

Those design nuts over at PSFK recently talked with Hosain Rahman of Jawbone fame. The new headset is turning heads with its design chops and technical noise-canceling merit, so it's interesting to hear the impetus behind the upcoming product: "The market was crap and the offering sub-standard." Hosain's Jawbone headset, designed by Yves Behar (who also designed the original Slingbox), was built to be an alternative to the cheap Asian imports. The Jawbone includes frills like medical grade plastic, since a headset touches the skin for so many hours a day, and of course that vibration sensor (to activate the noise cancellation) and dual microphones are a nice step up from the average headset. Hosain views himself in the "audio gateway" biz, which sounds like a good place to be, with consumers increasingly tethered to iPods, cellphones and VoIP sessions, and Bluetooth convergence of all three imminent. Peep a Jawbone shakycam unboxing vid after the break, or hit up the read link for the full interview.

It's hard not to love the concept of bone-conduction headsets: government-funded technology (much like the iPod), fairly positive reviews on sound quality in noisy environments, and most importantly, they represent the closest most of us will ever get to bionic implants. The tech is still fairly young, though, and previous entries from Nextlink and Aliph have come up short in the size and, uh, wire departments. Nextlink's at it again with their latest entry, the Invisio Q7, and both issues appear to be solved. The Q7 takes the shape of Nextlink's well-liked Bluespoon line, adding Bluetooth and a send/end button for good measure. At $200, the headset is a bit steep when it looks to drop toward the end of the year, but if it means we can hold a phone convo in the middle of a raucus Engadget reader meetup, we're all for it.

[Via phoneArena]