I just got back from a week-long visit to India with my MotoQ in tow. As we all (unfortunately) know, this great US-based phone doesn’t allow phone calls while abroad. You *might* make the jump and assume that it’s worthless to take with you when you leave the country. I disagree!

For my trip to India, I paired up the MotoQ with Jabra’s recently released noise-cancelling headphones. The Jabra C 820s model headphones come ready to travel in a nice zip-up case, with just enough space to fit your MotoQ within the travel container too! It took over 24 hours to get there with the jetstream, and even longer to get back (headwind slows things down <sigh!>). Combine that with two 3+ hours in-country flights and I definately got a flavor of how these two devices pair up.

First, a disclaimer. This is my first pair of noise-cancelling headphones. I wasn’t going to fork over the big bucks for a pair of Bose units, no matter how much better they might be. I didn’t want to skimp either. Jabra, long known for earpieces and bluetooth accessories for mobile phones, just released these headphones in September. Buy yours here from Amazon.

The Jabra C820S headphones come with all the adapters you’d need to attach to the MotoQ. No need to buy a 2.5 to 3.5 adapter as I’ve mentioned before. Everything fits in the velcro-backed pouch shown in the picture above. Don’t forget to pack your MotoQ charger, though you’ll need to ensure you’ve got an adapter for the country to which you’ll travel. I found that the better hotels had a 110V plug in the bathroom for my shaver that allowed me to recharge my MotoQ while my laptop charged using the convertor I brought with me. Of course, having the extended life battery helps too!

Using the headphones on a plane is a blast. Before the flight leaves, of course, make sure you put the phone in “flight mode” as described in an earlier post here on MotoQuser. US-based airlines won’t let you use the noise-cancelling feature during takeoff and landings, but the international carriers I used didn’t complain about its use. Plug everything together and fire up your Windows Media player to play your music as if it were an iPod. Be careful not to detach the jack from the phone itself or else the music will start to play out the built-in stereo speakers. Set the volume and enjoy!!

My only complaint about the Jabra C-820s headphones comes after about 50-60 hours of constant use… I’m getting a periodic, yet annoying, static sound in the left ear. I haven’t yet called Jabra to determine if it’s a flaw – I do know it’s not my imagination. The headphone’s AAA battery lasts virtually forever… the spec from Jabra says it has a 50 hour life expectancy and I have to agree with this estimate.

One other important use for the MotoQ while traveling is the cameraphone. It’s not always feasible to carry a digital camera everywhere you go… in fact, some places you visit might not even allow a camera. You might be able to discreetly take a snapshot with your MotoQ, but YMMV. The picture shown here is a good example of where a camera was not an option… I barely could fit in the cockpit of the race car at the Dubai Autodrome race & driving school, but the MotoQ fit nicely in my jumpsuit pocket. Unfortunately, there was NO way I could drive the car at 75Mph or so and take pictures at the same time <smile>.

Let me know how you’ve used YOUR MotoQ internationally!