In the past I could never justify buying a jawbone the price was just out of my ballpark, so I tried a few cheaper ones. None of those I liked everyone would say, "what What did you say" I had to yell almost. I gave it to my wife she had been yelling into it for the last 3 years until it died, so I told her lets see if we can find a Jawbone cheaper on the internet maybe last years modal. Sure enough we did $40.00 with a online coupon. It sounds like your not using a bluetooth I can't tell the difference between holding the phone up and using it. I plan on getting one for my self as well next month.