I think we're past setting up our hybrid or work from home offices now aren't we? We're either back to being office-bound or we've embraced the evolution of modern business conversation, allowing for easier collaboration, education and information, regardless of physical location.
Over the last year or two, I've had greater access to more experts than ever before, simply because we no longer have to be in the same neighbourhood, city or country to have a constructive interaction.
So now we've definitely moved into the "upgrade phase" of our mobile office setup. Yes, it's easy enough to join an online meeting from your laptop, tablet or even your phone - but not so much if you're not the only one joining... perhaps you've met other collaborators at a shared workspace, or cafe, or... their family room.
Making sure everyone gets their say in this situation requires something extra; can we get the kind of online conferencing tech we've become used to in our office meeting rooms out and about as well?
Jabra thinks so.
The Jabra website describes the Speak2 75 as "your personal pocketable device for the coffee-table-conferencing, dining-room-dialing, hotel-hot-desking meeting rooms of a hybrid world." This is a great way to put it - other than the "pocketable" part - yes the Speak2 75 is small and portable but I don't have any pockets big enough for it to fit into. In fact, at 132mm across, it's definitely a size larger than the Speak2 55 I reviewed earlier in the year - but that's a bonus, not a drawback.
This is because the larger model packs a lot more punch; the latest Bluetooth 5.2 codec, bigger full-range 65mm speaker, Super-wideband audio and much more impressive battery life - up to 32 hours of talk-time as opposed to the already generous 12 hours on the 55 version.
Like the 55, the Speak2 75 uses a 4-mic array to hear anyone in the room - although the 75 offers an even greater pick-up range of up to 2.5 metres. What's more, not only does Jabra's state-of-the-art noise reduction come into play, eliminating most background distractions but there's built-in reverberation reduction too - to combat the echo of hard surfaces in meeting rooms that are surrounded by glass or have wooden or exposed concrete floors.
As we saw (or more accurately, heard) with the Speak2 55, the full duplex audio abilities of the 75 also set it apart from other online audio solutions. This is the technology that lets your conversations flow more naturally - without the main speaker completely cutting out the side-comments and interjections that are part of everyday same-room meetings. All too often these can be reduced to a frustrating series of, "What was thats?" "Can I just interrupts?" and "Going back to what you were saying earliers." Many video meeting solutions now automatically change focus to whoever is speaking. However, that often means nobody else really gets a say until they've finished - or at least paused. Jabra's full duplex audio is the answer to this.
Again, like the 55 model, the Speak2 75 is a pretty decent standalone bluetooth speaker - an excellent option to pair with your phone, tablet or laptop when streaming video, gaming or listening to music. Obviously the single driver isn't going produce any stereo effects or bone-shaking bass boom but it's definitely significantly less tinny than your typical phone speaker array and stays distortion free, even at full volume.
It's this combination of versatility, portability, outstanding battery life and enhanced audio features that make the Speak2 75 such an essential tool for anyone who needs to join or host meetings from a variety of locations. No, it won't fit in your pocket (not quite, anyway) but it will go wherever you do.
Click here for more information and pricing on the Jabra Speak2 75.
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