Mobility Digest Review: Android Bluetooth Sound Box with Hands-Free

Yes I’m an Android fan, but I also use WP7 as well. As an Android fan I’ve always wanted one of those little Android mascot robots, but just never got one and now I have! Today for review I’ve got the Android Bluetooth Sound Box with Hands-Free from our friends at Mobile Fun. It’s a speaker and it’s also a speakerphone, and I like it.

Author:  Kristofer Brozio

Vendor:  Mobile Fun

Price: £19.95 / $31.50

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

 

Android Bluetooth Sound Box with Hands-Free

Wirelessly stream your tunes through this funky Android, who will also let control your phone and handle your calls with the built-in handsfree.

Stream your music wirelessly via Bluetooth 3.0 for crystal clarity
With the Android Sound Box, you can keep your phone in your pocket while you chill out to your favorite tunes. Utilizing Bluetooth 3.0 for maximum compatibility and the best quality signal, this speaker sounds as good as, if not better than, similar quality wired alternatives.

Small but powerful 2W speaker provides a room-filling sound
Utilizing the latest in mobile speaker technology, the Android Sound Box packs a powerful 2W speaker into it’s small frame. This lets you enjoy your music wherever you are, and if you’re using the hands-free capabilities you’ll be able to hear whoever’s calling perfectly. The speaker comes with a desk stand to elevate it and thus help expand the sound even more.

Robot’s head acts as a control for your phone, letting you change tracks with a twist or pause with a push
The top of the robot can be moved to let you control your tracks, play/pause music, or activate voice-dialing with a simple motion. The head rotates left and right for track changes, while it acts as a button for the other features.

Integrated microphone lets you handle your calls completely hands-free
Built-in to the top of the unit is also a handy microphone. This is perfect for hands-free calls so you don’t have to reach for your phone when a call comes in, and can also be used for voice dialing or voice commands.

Built-in battery for use on the go
Don’t worry about having to be tethered to a power source – with the Android Sound Box you can pick up and play wherever you want. The integrated battery will keep pumping out your tunes for up to 10 hours. The speaker comes with a mini USB cable for charging via a PC or USB mains adapter.

mobile phone speakers

 

What’s in the Box?

The Android Bluetooth Sound Box with Hands-Free comes in a nice looking box.

In the box you’ll find the speaker, user manual, USB cable and a small metal stand.

The speaker looks like the Android mascot, and I like it.  It’s plastic of course, most things are these days but it’s lightweight and feels well made with nice attention to detail. One of the eyes is a microphone and there’s a translucent part beneath the head that holds an LED.

The arms can be positioned as well to pose him how you want.

The head is actually a button to push down, and it turns left and right to control volume.

On the back you’ll find the USB port for charging and the on/off switch.

On the bottom you’ll find rubber feet and you’ll see the main speaker.

Here’s the little stand included to elevate the speaker to help produce better sound.

 

Impressions / Review:

When charging the Android will light up red.

I tested it with two Android devices, my Samsung Galaxy S Captivate and my Le Pan TC 970 tablet. In the second picture below you can see the robot lighting up blue, it blinks while it’s on every once in a while.

I found that it did work, at least for streaming music anyway. The controls didn’t work on either device sadly. On the tablet the controls didn’t do anything. The same thing with the Captivate, the controls don’t do anything either.

I also tried it with my HTC Surround, WP7 phone and streaming music did work.

Here the controls didn’t work either except for when I pushed down on the head, it activated voice commands.

I’m not sure why the controls don’t work on any of my devices, it says it’s Bluetooth 3.0, and my devices aren’t so I could guess that might be the problem, but somehow I don’t think so.

Regarding the stand, I found that it really does work to expand the sound coming from the speaker.  The little stand makes it louder and more clear it seems.

The sound from the speaker is decent, but at loud levels it can get distorted. It is only a single speaker so don’t expect stereo sound, but still it works well.

 

Conclusion:

The Android Bluetooth Sound Box with Hands-Free from Mobile Fun is a neat little gadget for sure. I like it and it sounds very good. If you want  your own little Android that does much more than sit there and look cute, then you might want to think about getting one of these.

It is the holiday shopping season after all, and I think any Android fan would appreciate one of these in their stocking or under the tree!

The problems I encountered  were odd, I’ve not come across any Bluetooth devices that don’t work the way they should. As I speculated earlier, it might be because of the fact that it runs on Bluetooth 3.0, or not. It still works though as a speaker.

 

 

Pros:
+Long battery life
+Can get very loud
+Decent sound overall
+Can be used as speakerphone
+Nicely made
+It’s a cool little accessory

 

Cons:
-Controls don’t work with many devices
-Sound can get distorted at high levels