Bluetooth – Tech Raman

1MORE Stylish Dual-Dynamic Driver Bluetooth Earphone Review

Lakshmi Rajan — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 14:32:29 +0000

1MORE Stylish Box Contents Once you open the box, you are treated to a cool sketch on the inside cover that elevates the brand premium quotient. Everything is perfectly packed inside with utmost care.

1MORE Stylish in-ear headphone
A carry case
3 pair extra ear-tips
microUSB cable
documents

1MORE Stylish in-ear headphone design

Personally, I don’t like neckband designs. I find them either thick, stiff, heavy or weighing on the neck like a leash. But they also happen to be good design for running and workouts. But it came as a pleasant surprise that the 1MORE stylish had a thin design that doesn’t feel heavy. At 23 grams its barely there around your neck. Even the band is thin and is flexible. It comes in two colors – a midnight black and Rose pink color that I have here. There are two modules at either side, with the left housing all the controls. There is a power button that is also used for first time pairing with your phone. The button also combines as play/pause and to attend calls. Next to that is the volume controls but there is no track change option. 1MORE has used ABS material. The earbuds are slightly angled and are comfortable. You could choose your own fitting ear-tips for perfect comfort. The wires connecting both the earbuts are not braided but looks like it would last longer.

1MORE Stylish in-ear headphone performance

They have used dual-dynamic drivers in the headphone. The audio is clear. The instrument separation is fairly good and the vocals are very clear. The mids are above average and does a good job, the highs are good too. The bass is not overpowering but well balanced. So this is not for the bass heads but for those who love a well rounded audio. Call quality is good too. The bluetooth range is good.

1MORE Stylish battery life

One of the highlight of the headphone is the quick charge feature. It takes 50 minutes for full charge but gives 6 hours battery life but if you are in a hurry a mere 10 minutes gives you 3 hours of playback time, which is a life saver in our face paced life. I did get close to 6 hours in my tests.

Verdict

1MORE Stylish dual-driver BT in-ear headphone is available at a pre-order price of Rs 4,500. If you are looking at a balanced audio, a light weight, thin and flexible neckband design this should satisfy you. The quick charge feature is a big bonus. ]]>

Mivi Collar Neckband Bluetooth Earphone Review

Lakshmi Rajan — Mon, 19 Mar 2018 23:24:21 +0000

You hate that long wire hooking up to your Smartphone while listening to music, else you won’t be here reading this. And probably you also want to listen music while doing an workout? If answer is yes to both, then you should keep reading this Mivi Collar bluetooth earphone review till the end. Mivi is an Indian company with a portfolio containing headphones and other accessories like cables, chargers for Smartphones. They recently launched this Mivi Collar bluetooth earphone targeted at both music buffs and health freaks and is available for Rs 2,699 in Amazon India while the MRP is stated at Rs 4,999.

Box contents:

Mivi Collar
Eartips (two pairs)
microUSB cable
User manual

Design and build

The neckband design is unique with an around the neck wearing style, while it might not be appealing to all, it is a niche product with a specific use case and targeted at certain user groups. The build quality of Mivi is quiet good and the band is flexible. While the band itself is made of plastic, the earbuds has metal construction. The mix of plastic and metal also helps to maintain the weight overall. While it weighs 30 grams, it does not weigh down on your neck. The earbuds have magnetic base and they clasp together (like in the pic below) and also snugs inside their respective placements within the neckband. When you are not listening to music, the magnetic earbuds secures themselves in its place. The right part of the neckband has the power button which is also a multi function button and a microUSB port. The left side has the volume buttons which also doubles up as track change buttons. Overall the Mivi Collar has an interesting if not a curious design. Bluetooth earphones unlike the bigger over-the-ear headphones are easy to loose or tend to fall while using them. The usual Bluetooth earphone type includes a thin wire connecting both the earbuds which are prone to fall easily, the neckband is much more secured piece of earphone. It wraps around your neck neatly and stands a less chance of loosing it even when you are not listening and just hanging around your neck, one reason why people like the neckband design.

Mivi Collar Specifications:

Impedance –16 ohms
Sensitivity – 104 db+/-3
Frequency range – 20Hz~20KHz
Battery Life – 10 Hours (at 70% Volume)
Battery – 150 mAh
Bluetooth VER4.1
Bluetooth range – 30 feet
Aptx Support – Yes
Bluetooth ICCSR 8645

Performance

Mivi Collar deliver and sound pretty decent audio but if you are keen on thumbing bass, this produces only reasonable amount of bass and it distorts at higher volume. The vocals are clear but the mid tones are bit cloudy. Suffice to say this neckband like most in this price segment is not for those avid listeners but works well for casual listening and it works decently as a headset. No one reported any call quality issues the time I took calls on this headset. Bluetooth connectivity was good and stable, I had no drops or hiccups while walking around my home with phone in the pocket. Even at times when I placed the phone in the table, the range was pretty good. The buttons are easy to reach and use while changing tracks, controlling volume or to play/pause or answer incoming calls. Battery life is decent; it’s rated for 10 hours of music playback and you get vibrating prompts telling you that the headphone is on and in pairing mode. The ends of the neckband also vibrates, alerting you to incoming calls, an interesting take.

Conclusion

Mivi Collar definitely sounds better than the Samsung Level U in case you are comparing both. The design might not be very refined or solid like the Level U but the Collar is functional and practical to use. At the price you could pick on Amazon, it sounds a good deal.]]>

Astrum ST 150 SoundBox Bluetooth Speaker Review

Lakshmi Rajan — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 14:00:58 +0000

While Bluetooth speakers offer mobility and wireless advantages, a big reason I love checking out various Bluetooth speaker models are for the sheer quirky designs the manufacturers come out with. The speakers are available in various colors, shapes and designs and that attracts me a lot. Astrum is a Hongkong based company that manufacturers a range of computer accessories and speakers, what I got here is a pocket sized speaker and let’s see in this Astrum ST150 Soundbox Bluetooth speaker review how it fares in terms of design and performance.

Specifications:

Dimension: 124 x 47 x 20mm (L x W x H)
Weight: 115 gms
Bluetooth 4.0
Range upto 10m
Output: 5W x 2
Frequency response: 180Hz – 18kHz
Speakers: 32mm diaphragm (2 speaker)
Battery: 700mAh Li-Ion
Charging time: upto 2.5 hours
Play time: up to 4 hours

Box contents:

Speaker
Manual
microUSB cable
Lanyard cable

Design

Mouth organ musical instrument. That’s the first thought that came in mind when I opened the box and took a look at the device. The Astrum ST 150 is very compact and can be slid into trouser pocket. The build quality is top notch, the side has a metallic finish with chamfered edges giving it a neat, clean look. The oxidised color of the side panel makes it visually appealing. Even the power button on the right side has a quality build and sports a concentric patterned design, adding more marks to the design. Next to the power button is the microUSB port. To make carrying easier, there is an lanyard eye and the box includes a cable in case you want to use it. Sitting behind the front speaker grille are two 5 watts speakers.

Performance

Astrum ST 150 is a pint sized speaker and understandably I kept my expectations compact too. The speaker output is loud enough for the small size. The bass is weak though, if you are fond of it. The trebles are Ok but there is distortion if you crank up the volume to max. It should be noted the frequency response starts at 180Hz , so low frequency notes suffers but being a small speaker, it is ideally not for audiophile indulgence rather for better portability and sneaking it on your small bag or pocket and music on the go. There is a mic, so you can use it as a handsfree speaker phone to attend calls. The call quality is average. The Astrum ST 150 does not offer extra features like FM or SD card support. There is no aux input too.

Verdict

Astrum ST 150 retails around Rs 2700 in India which is quiet a hefty price undoubtedly. If you are looking for a pocket fitting Bluetooth speaker, Astrum ST 150 works well. Its handy and has a good build quality and you can listen on the go and is compact to drop in your pocket and move around.]]>

Ambrane BT-2000 Portable Bluetooth Speaker Review

Lakshmi Rajan — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 16:16:42 +0000

Speaker

User manual

Warranty card and

USB to micro USB data cable.

Design:

The Ambrane BT 2000 is a tiny cube measuring 5cm x 5cm x 5cm and has a plastic construction. It weighs around 95 grams. There is no controls on the speaker itself except for the power on/off toggle. Alongside the power button, you also have a microUSB port and an aux port. One side has the Ambrane branding and a mic. The top side has the speaker grille with a metallic chrome frame around it.

Performance:

5W speaker
Bluetooth 4.2 HD DAC
400mAh battery

Inside the tiny speaker is a single 5W acoustic driver. It pairs with a bluetooth 4.2 and has a 10 meter range. I faced no issue pairing the speaker with my phone and the range was satisfactory. The sound output is satisfactory considering the tiny size. While the bass is not heavy as expected of the small dimension, the audio is clear. Surprisingly, it is also loud enough for a small room. You can also use the BT-2000 as a hands-free speaker and the mic quality is decent enough. The battery life is around 6 hours on a full charge.

Verdict:

The Ambrane BT-2000 is a no-frills simple compact speaker. I didn’t had much expectation when I started with the review but the audio quality is decent for an entry-level budget wireless speaker. At 999, it might be a tad little pricier but if you are looking at a really small bluetooth speaker with a fairly loud and clear audio, the BT-2000 could be one of the choice. ]]>

‘LG Tone Infinim’, a smart bluetooth stereo headset, now available in India

Lakshmi Rajan — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 19:01:41 +0000

‘LG Tone Infinim’, a smart bluetooth stereo headset, now available in India

Lakshmi Rajan — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 19:01:41 +0000

Turn your wired speaker into wireless with this Logitech Bluetooth Adapter

Lakshmi Rajan — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 11:37:02 +0000

So you have this awesome speaker but you have your favourite playlist on your smartphone or tablet. Streaming the songs to your speaker wireless would be cool thing right? Now you don’t need to buy a good expensive Bluetooth speaker but easily convert your existing wired speaker system by hooking on to this Logitech bluetooth adapter. The set up includes a small matchbox sized adaptor that you can connect to your home theater system or computer speakers with a standard analog RCA or 3.5 mm cable that comes out of the box. Then you can pair your smartphone or tablet to the adapter and play music. The Logitech Bluetooth adapter comes at a retail price of Rs. 1,995. [gallery link="file" ids="7719,7720,7721"]]]>

Turn your wired speaker into wireless with this Logitech Bluetooth Adapter

Lakshmi Rajan — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 11:37:02 +0000

Motorola Moto Stream turns any speaker into a wireless peripheral

Lakshmi Rajan — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 18:18:10 +0000

You got all your favourite songs and you want to stream the music to a speaker. Did I hear you say, no you are not going to spend on an expensive Bluetooth speaker? No worries, Motorola heard you. Moto Stream from Motorola is a quirky small accessory that can be connected to any speaker and then it turns them into a wireless audio system ready to connect with your bluetooth devices. Additionally, you can connect up to five phones, tablets or computers to it simultaneously using Bluetooth. Sounds cool isn’t it? And it doesn’t even cost you a bomb but just $49.99. The tiny device is pocketable and can be carried anywhere and gives the speaker up to 300 feet of wireless range. It also comes with NFC support so instead of going all the round pairing the bluetooth device, you can just tap your smartphone to the Moto Stream and start firing the music. Talking about music, if you don’t like what you friend’s choice of music, there is a ‘heist mode’ to hijack the stream. Quiet fun eh?

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