The 'Beat' goes on

There’s nothing new about listening to music on your smartphone but now you can share it with your friends thanks to a new compact Bluetooth speaker system from Beats Electronics, the Beats Pill.

The Pill, as its name applies, looks just like a dose of medication and measures a mere 45.72 x 190.5 mm. The speaker system weighs in at 325 grammes and comes with a carrying case making it easy to tout around.

The Pill features four one-inch full-range driver speakers providing stereo sounds for one channel and these really pack a punch despite its small size. It reproduces high and mid-range sounds well and with clarity and the bass sound is okay though not very deep.

Beats Pill comes with NFC (near field communication) technology making Bluetooth connection with an NFC-capable smart phone a piece of cake. You simply tap the NFC-read smartphone on the Pill’s NFC logo, and the Bluetooth connection is made automatically.

I tested it with the Sony Xperia V and had no problem making a connection. Once connected, Xperia V started its Walkman app to stream music to the Pill.

A smart phone without NFC can also be linked to the Pill by using manual Bluetooth connection. This is achieved by simply pressing the red-lit b button on the front part of the Pill for three seconds until the Bluetooth light on its back starts blinking. Then, you can perform a Bluetooth device search on your smart phone to find the Beats Pill. Once the connection is achieved, the Bluetooth on the Pill will turn to solid light. The Pill uses a rechargeable battery with a microUSB port, meaning you can charge it both with your computer or a with the provided AC adapter. A USB cable is also provided with the package.

It can also amplify music from an MP3 player or a smartphone without A Bluetooth connection by using a 1.5-metre audio cable with 3.5mm stereo jack on both ends. The cable is also provided with the package.

Easy to use, the Pill boasts merely a power button, the b button and volume buttons.

Apart from functioning as a stereo speaker system, Beats Pill has a built-in microphone and can also function as your speakerphone system. You can use the Pill to make and receive phone calls when it is connected to your phone through Bluetooth. The audio playback function will be paused during calls and you just press the b button to answer or end a call. If you want to ignore it, press it hard and for longer. A short press will also you to switch between calls.

I found that Beats Pill’s sounds were loud enough to fill my large living room. There was however quite a lot of distortion when I upped the volume of both the Pill and my Motorola RAZR MAXX. The distortion ceased when I lowered the volume on my phone.

I enjoyed listening to my regular test sounds –“Sax for Sex – Beautiful Night” album and “Best Audiophile Voices V album”. The saxophone was clear and sweet on the first and the voices of the female singers sounded great on the second.

Beats Pill is available in black, white, red and pink for Bt9,900. It is distributed by RBT Technology at Jaymart, iStudio, .Life, PowerMall, PowerBuy, Munking Gadget and selected other stores.

 

Key specs

_ Speakers: 4 x one-inch full-range driver speakers

_ Battery Life: 7.0 hours (average at 80dB) 

_ Wireless technology: Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, NFC

_ AC Adapter: 5V, 2.1A

_ Power Adapter Input Rating: 100-240V-50/60Hz, 0.5A

_ Battery runtime: up to 7 hours

_ Size: Height: 45.72 mm, Length: 190.50mm

_ Weight: 325g