For those who have seen the term “hybrid works” and are not familiar with what it is. We must explain that it is a marketing term designed to help seniors cope with the changes in work practices that accelerated the global pandemic.
Historically, only the most senior executives have been given the opportunity to work from home, and now companies are forced to come up with alternative methods to make them feel special.
While it offers the potential of a better work-life balance for many, working from home is not without some technical caveats. The Danish audio specialist Jabra has specially designed equipment for this.
The limited-edition Hybrid Working in a Box looks like an easy-to-ship and deploy kit that allows someone working from a home office to properly connect with their colleagues and clients.
Is this just a marketing exercise, or is there more to this box than meets the eye?
Price and availability
As a limited edition, Jabra’s Hybrid Working in a Box combines two of its most popular devices in one package. These are the Jabra PanaCast 20, an intelligent AI-enabled webcam and the equally impressive Jabra Speak 750 speakerphone.
It is possible to purchase these items separately, and they cost £306 ($329) for the PanaCast 20 and £337 ($362) for the Speak 750. That works out to a total of £643 inc. VAT in the UK and $691 in the US.
Jabra also offers a number of accessories for these items, including additional Bluetooth adapters, a secure mount for the Speak 750 and a Kensington lock adapter. These are very cheap compared to the camera and speakerphone.
If you’re wondering what the deal is with the ‘Hybrid Working in a Box’ limited edition, welcome to the same confusion we’ve been experiencing. Oddly enough, this is not a product that customers can get from what we understand. And there is no discount to be had by buying them together.
That’s why Jabra Marketing gets a B+ for creative thinking and a solid F for turning those thoughts into a commercial advantage.
Jabra PanaCast 20
At the height of the pandemic, webcam prices soared as the brands driving it failed to meet demand. Thankfully those days are behind us, but there’s still a strong demand for good cameras that don’t make the user look weird or overly blurry.
Fashioned from a solid piece of aluminum, the PanaCast 20 feels like a remarkably substantial device that can probably take a few knocks.
The diamond shape has a folding base at the bottom, allowing it to either be placed on a desktop or hooked over the top of a monitor. The bottom of this base also has a threaded hole (3/8-16 UNC spec) so it can be placed on a tripod even when it’s in the box.
On the back is a USB-C port to connect it to a computer, and a USB-A to USB-C cable is included. Our only problem with this part of the PanaCast 20 is that the port on the camera is on the bottom and the included cable doesn’t have enough room to bend when used on a desk. Therefore, if you plan to use it on a desktop, you should buy a small tripod to provide the cable clearance.
A more thoughtful feature is a privacy cover that slides easily from the left to completely cover the lens. It is easy to operate and the cover is thick enough that no light can pass through.
To avoid forgetting to enable this feature, a small but bright LED appears above the lens when the device is active.
The camera uses a 13MP, 1/3.2-inch sensor mated to an f/2.25 lens that provides a 117-degree field of view. That’s enough sensor pixels for 4K, although depending on the conferencing software you’re using, you might get less than what you’re using.
Jabra has a utility, Jabra Direct, that allows the owner to upgrade the device to the latest firmware and software, in addition to pairing Bluetooth devices.
This software is worth downloading, because on this camera you can adjust brightness, contrast, field of view, saturation, sharpness and use HDR just like it does. And you can also switch the AI mode.
That last feature is either a godsend or an annoyance depending on what you’re trying to do, so being able to disable it can be critical.
It uses image and sound analysis to focus on the person speaking and then smoothly moves to another shot if the speaker changes or physically moves.
The only downsides to this are that it can be a bit like watching a tennis match with the two people speaking sitting at opposite ends of the table, and when it zooms in on a person, the 4K image is selectively cropped. Depending on how many people are in the photo, this may result in a lower resolution.
Jabra’s implementation is better than most, but even the best AI can get confused by people and the unpredictable things they do, and the movement between shots isn’t always smooth.
The weakness of this device is undoubtedly its microphone which tends to blur the audio and pick up background noise.
Fortunately, if you have the second item in the box (the one you can’t buy), you don’t have to worry about that, as it handles the healthy side of this equation.
Jabra Speak 750
The Robin of the Batman of this dynamic duo is the Jabra Speak 750, a conference speaker.
At approximately 13cm in diameter, the Speak 750 is designed to sit in the center of a conference table or, using a kickstand at the bottom, on the user’s desk.
Wrapped around the speaker like a snake is a USB cable for connection and charging, and Jabra has also included a Jabra Link 370 Bluetooth dongle which is stored in a recess under the speaker.
Cover both the cable and the dongle using either technology or both. The USB connection also doubles to charge the device as it can run for up to 11 hours on the internal battery.
Our only caveat is how the cabling is done. As the USB cable is permanently attached to the Speak 750 and should it become damaged, it cannot be replaced.
While it has the advantage of not misplacing the cable, it seems remarkably foolish to clutter such an expensive item because a $0.50 portion will break. And it doesn’t account for a future where USB-A will fall into disrepair and USB-C will be the new norm.
A nice design choice is the ring of LEDs around the perimeter of the speaker that have multiple uses. If you touch the battery symbol they will show you the level but these are cleverly reused for the volume level.
The only problem with these control buttons and feedback LEDs is that they are only fully visible when looking directly down at the speaker and are harder to see from the side.
Where this unit thinks cleaner is with the clarity of the microphones and how the speaker output is protected from crosstalk. The Speak 750 picks up voices with good range and delivers them effectively at the other end of the conference call.
Like the Jabra PanaCast 20, the Speak 750 complies with the UC compatibility model, making it usable worldwide with all Unified Communications platforms. It is also possible to pre-program the custom button on the speaker to use Google Assistant, Siri or even mobile phone speed dialing.
The softphone functionality allows the device to be configured using Microsoft Teams or Zoom as the preferred method.
This functionality, like so much here, is designed to make the Speak 750 quick to set up and ready to use in the shortest possible time. That pairs well with the battery-powered options, making it perfect for salespeople on a road trip or working in remote locations.
final verdict
It’s not often we review a product that you can’t buy no matter how much money you have, but Jabra’s Hybrid Working in a Box seems to fall into that category.
The weirdest thing about the box is that when opened, the video plays through a small tablet computer mounted in the lid of the box, giving an annoying blipvert every time you access the content.
I’m not sure who comes up with this sort of thing, but there seems to be considerable confusion in the message it conveys.
As for the two components that make up the fantasy combo, we’re more optimistic about those, bought alone or together, because they’re both decent solutions.
Neither is cheap and there are more affordable options available, but they are both very well made and built for their purpose.
If you have the budget to support working from home and daily video conferencing is part of that arrangement, then this is exactly the level of equipment to consider.
Just don’t ask Jabra for its Hybrid Working in a Box option, as it seems to only exist for reviewers.
