BlueAnt Wireless BlueSonic Bluetooth Portable Speakers

INTRODUCTION

WHAT'S HOT

Playing Time: 10 hours@60db   5 hours@95dB
Standby Time: 48 hours
Bluetooth Specification: Bluetooth v1.2  Class2
Paired Devices: 8 paired devices can be stored
Connections: Two at a time… switch between voice and stereo
Bluetooth Profiles: Headset, Handsfree, A2DP, AVRCP
Audio Inputs: Line in, Microphone in
Working Distance: 30 feet (10 meters)
Frequency Band: 2.4GHz~2.4835GHz ISM Band
Battery: 3.7V Li-Polymer rechargeable battery

SETUP

(all images link to higher resolution)

There are basically two separate types of setups that can be done depending upon the device with which the Speakers will be paired.

For a Bluetooth enabled mobile phone or A2DP streaming PDA, setup is as follows:

• On the rear of the BlueSonic Speakers, turn the switch to ON

Press and hold the Play / Pau se button on the front for approximately six seconds, until you hear a melody play

Turn Bluetooth ON in your phone, then perform a device discovery to search for the Sonic Speakers.

When devices are displayed, select the Sonic Speakers, entering passkey "1234", then set the Sonic Speakers as a trusted/authorized device, if it is an optional setting in your phone

Finally, finish and exit, and if required, select the Sonic Speakers in the Bluetooth devices list and hit Connect

To pair a Windows PC or Laptop, setup is as follows:

• Run the  Setup.exe on the included driver CD, follow the prompts and reboot PC
• Insert the USB Bluetooth dongle, name the computer and select the type PC being used

On the rear of the BlueSonic Speakers, turn the switch to ON. Then press and hold the Play / Pause button on the front for approximately six seconds, until you hear a melody play. Next, click the orange sun on the computer screen to activate a "search for devices"

Then right click on the BlueSonic icon and select Pair, enter the passkey "1234". Following that, right click on the BlueSonic icon and select Refresh Service. Lastly, again right click on the BlueSonic icon and select Default Audio Device so it is ticked.

    Up to eight devices may be paired at the same time, including mobile phones, PDAs, computers or other A2DP streamers. You can read more about Bluetooth and pairing devices here.

PRODUCT FEATURES

    Measuring about 7.75" long x 3" tall x 1.5" deep and weighing 11.5 ounces, the box is composed of black plastic with a black metal grill over each side's speaker. The speaker box is a sturdy piece of equipment; it feels quite solid in hand and will not flex when torquing is attempted.

    A 1.7" tall x 1.2" wide brushed aluminum button panel rests in the middle of the box and breaks up all of the black. The matching silver toggle-style buttons are printed with icons of the functions they perform, which are from left to right and from top to bottom: volume down and volume up; phone and play / pause; music select reverse and music select forward. In between the three sets of buttons are two LED bars. As I previously mentioned, the bottom bar is an indicator of the speaker's charging status. When the speakers are turned on, the top LED will glow orange and quickly flicker blue as it searches for paired devices. The blue light will also blink at varying levels when music is playing or during communication.

    The back of the speaker box has a few plugs and switches that should be discussed, as well as a secret talent. From top to bottom are the on/off switch, the DC jack, microphone-in jack, and line-in jack.

    The two silver disks in the center of the box are magnets so that the speakers can be affixed to anything with a metal surface, such as a refrigerator or a file cabinet. This is pretty clever!

    Let's talk about the actual operation of the speakers. I'll admit right here that I hate reading user manuals; I generally figure that the quick start guide should be all the instruction that I need. So how did things go with the BlueAnt?

Well...!

    I had no problem completing the initial pairing between my laptop and the Sonic Speakers because I followed the quick start guide to the letter: I ran the software, plugged the Bluetooth dongle into a USB port on my laptop...

...enabled the pairing between the speakers and my laptop, started Windows Media Player, and I was listening to streaming music over the speaker box within moments. Next I paired a MoGo Mouse with the BlueSoleil software, and the last thing I did was pair my mobile phone with the speakers; now I was not only listening to music, I had a desktop speaker-phone...and the MoGo was working with my previously non-Bluetooth equipped laptop.

    Switching back and forth between phone and music was quick and easy. Clicking the play/pause button would start the music;  a short click of the phone button would activate my paired mobile phone, effectively turning the BlueSonic Speaker into a desktop speakerphone. If I had been using a VoIP program such as Skype, I could have also make calls over the speaker box while using it as a phone.  Since I was using a mobile phone, initiating calls through the speaker box was done by pressing the phone button on the front panel. This would activate my phone's voice command, which would then respond with a peppy, "Say a command!" Replying with the name of a contact as it is stored in the phone results in the confirmation question, "Did you say 'Call ___?" requiring a yes or no response. Answering "Yes" would get the reply "Connecting", and then the number would be dialed. Terminating a call was done by once again pressing the phone button. I was stylin'!

    Music played thorough the BlueAnt BlueSonic Speakers sounds pretty good for a small speaker box. The sound produced was definitely better than the built-in speakers on my Toshiba laptop, and certainly much louder. While the bass wasn't exactly thumping, it wasn't bottomed out and distorted either. Voice calls were surprisingly clear on my end, however people I spoke with said that I sounded like I was speaking through a tunnel until I raised my voice AND SPOKE A BIT MORE CLEARLY...while talking directly towards the microphone on top of the speaker box.

    One last thing I would like to comment upon is the inclusion of a Bluetooth Dongle. It wasn't long ago that I had to buy one of these to use with my MoGo Mouse, and that dongle cost at least $20 by itself. I can't find anything that the $20 dongle did that this one won't, and I like the included software better with this BlueAnt one, too.