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P**S
Almost Perfect
For my purposes, this is a good implementation of a good design. Two flaws kept me from giving it five stars.Pro’s (no particular order): - Solar! - Feel of silicone case - Price - Ease of pairing - Sound for size - 360 degree stand stays in any position - Weather proof - Responsive customer service - Use for calls (mic is included) - Nice packaging for gift givingCons (no particular order): - Track selection next to useless on two units - No way to replace battery or otherwise service - disposable - Meager manualI wanted a Bluetooth speaker for our outdoor shower and hot tub. We don’t need anything booming, just several steps up from an iPhone speaker. This fits the bill very well.The sound quality was better than I expected and seems to be perfect for voice, which is great for me. Tom Waits lyrics were more forward than ever. It’s nothing to rock out to and higher volumes will get distortion, but only at levels I don’t want to be listening to anyway. Not much in the way of bass but I didn’t expect much.Pairing with my iPhone was easy.There are two LED’s: A blue one which blinks when the speaker is on and a red one which comes on when the speaker is low on power or when being charged via the USB cable. Both LEDs are behind the grill and very subtle, not dominating when it’s dark like some can be.The silicone cover has a nice feel and limits slippage on slanted surfaces. The stainless steel stand swings a full 360 degrees and will hold any position on a surface or hanging. Well done. Very useful to adjust listening angle or to the sun.The product is rated IPX4. Which means it is rated to handle “splashing from any direction." So I have a weather proof speaker I can just keep outside. If it’s raining or snowing (among my favorite times to shower and/or tub) my phone can stay safely out of the weather. For more information about the International Protection Marking see: [...]My favorite part? I don’t have to bring it inside. Not even to charge. It’s solar! It’s weather proof! It stays charged on it’s own. No fading out during a compelling NPR piece or intimate hot tub moment because I forgot to charge it. It just sits near the tub, panel to the sky, patiently waiting to amplify my phone. Perfect!It comes with a USB cable for charging (you supply the wall wart) and an 3.5 AUX cable. There is also a TF card slot I haven’t tried out. I believe the idea is to load a TF card up with tunes or whatever so you don’t even need an external source. Manual is meager. For example, LED’s are not explained nor are there instructions on how to maximize battery life (e.g. Should I let discharge completely now and then or keep a full charge? Should I charge fully before using?)Controls are decent, in theory. The volume buttons double as track select. A quick press behaves like track select. Depress longer adjusts the volume. It takes a little practice getting the timing down but fewer buttons are better. That being said, the track select buttons do not function as expected. When I quickly press the + button the track was advance from track 1 to track 7. Pressing again track 16 comes up. Pressing the - button reversed this. Odd. Pretty much useless. Because of this I’ll have to keep my phone close, which is a bummer for outdoors and when my hands are wet. I doubt this is a manufacturing issue as it was the same with two units. At first I thought this quirk wouldn’t bother me that much but it means that 1) I have to keep my phone close and exposed to the elements (my favorite time to tub is when it’s raining or snowing) and 2) in order to select a track using my iPhone I have to dry my hands off. I like to jump around when I listen to music. I took a star off because of this and because the product is essentially disposable (unable to replace battery once it fails to hold a charge).How big of a negative not being able to replace the battery is will depend on how long the installed battery will hold a charge. It will essentially determine the life of the product’s life. It sill can be used as a wired speaker but this defeats both the solar and to some degree BlueTooth features. Please make the battery replaceable.As I was hanging out in the tub listening to it I got a call. A bit flustered I hit the phone button and sure enough, I was able to have conversation through the speaker. There is a mic in it as well.Some features it does not appear to have and you shouldn’t expect: - The ability to replace the rechargeable battery once it is unable to hold a charge. - The ability to play through two units at same time at all (yes, I have two). - The ability to play through the USB connection. Appears to be just for charging.The first unit I ordered was defective. The volume / track select buttons did not behave consistently . They did some random stuff even beyond jumping around. That being said, the company, YOUMOON, issued a promo code for me to order another one *the same day I notified them*. Twice! (I think I screwed up the first one) It showed up two days later (I’m a Prime member). No waiting for a slow boat from you know where. While I’m not impressed with YOUMOON’s quality assurance, their customer service and pricing more than made up for it. Mind you, this is the first review so YMMV.Despite the problem with selecting tracts and the whole disposability issue I’m happy to have purchased am enjoying.
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