Jawbone PRIME: Poster child for Einstein's epigram, 'Make things as simple as possible, but not simpler'*

Mine arrived last week, my second Jawbone Bluetooth wireless earpiece to date.

I have the original (below)

but skipped Version 2.0 (below)

after reading a number of reviews comparing it quite unfavorably to the original.

What's good about the new one (top):

1. It syncs up to your phone the first time, without a lot of failed attempts and frustration that oftimes accompany Bluetooth device pairing

2. It's got a supercool MagSafe-like charger connector

3. It's very small, light and comfortable

4. The sound is very good

5. It stays put in your ear

6. It's sharp looking

So it's a no-brainer, right, joe?

A must-have?

Well, no.

Why not?

What's wrong with the device?

1. The on/off switch is so hypersensitive and hard to avoid touching that when I put the device into my ear and move it into position for the NoiseAssassin feature to work properly, about half the time I disconnect the call

2. It's so small and light and comfortable that should it fall out of your ear when you're not talking, you'll never notice until it's too late

I think you're better off with the original at $58.95 than the new new thing (below)

at $129.99 unless you can accept the drawbacks noted above.

* The epigram itself is a compressed paraphrase of the following sentence from Einstein's June 10, 1933 Herbert Spencer Lecture delivered at Oxford University: "It can scarcely be denied that the supreme goal of all theory is to make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as possible without having to surrender the adequate representation of a single datum of experience."