Posts Tagged cell phone speakerphone

Even though I’m very much a nerdy, tech kind of gal, I’m old enough (yeah, I’m a geezer) to still be blown away by the magic of technology. I don’t take it for granted. Soundmatter’s extremely portable Foxl speaker unit left me amazed by both the functional coolness and the quality of sound they produce. All that great sound coming from that little block of hardware? And look, no wires! Wow.

The first thing I noticed when I unpacked the Foxl speaker unit was how heavy it was for such a small gadget. My nerdy mate said something about magnets and wires and good speaker quality; I just though, huh, it’s heftier than you’d expect such a tiny block of hardware to be. This isn’t to say it’s too much to carry around, rather that I noticed right away that the unit is kind of dense. It’s 9.5 ounces, to be exact, a little over half a pound.

In the box, there’s a stuff bag, a little square of sticky mat (to keep your unit from dancing away), and a bunch of plug adapters. There’s also a USB charger cable and a headphone jack — you can plug the speakers directly into any standard mini-jack. I plugged the unit in, waited for it to charge, and collected some iThings to test out the Bluetooth connectivity — once the battery is fully charged, you can use the speaker unit with no wires at all.

My iPhone found the speakers right away. In case you’re not clear how these things work, you set the connection from your playback device, not from the speaker unit. On my Apple gadgets, this is in Settings>General>Bluetooth. On my Windows netbook, the Bluetooth menu is in the sys-tray (the little box in the lower right corner). In the Bluetooth menu, you’ll see the Foxl — selecting it “pairs” the speakers with your playback device. You’ll know the speaker unit and (for example) your phone are connected because the light on the front of the speaker unit flashes green. Every device pairs differently — you may need to check the documentation that came with your phone, netbook, whatever, to get the connection set properly.

Once the pairing is complete, you’re good to go. Find an audio file and play it back. You’ll be amazed. I was stunned at how bright, clear, and full the sound was. I tried a few things — playing podcasts (my phone is stuffed with them), listening to ripped CDs from my music library, streaming my local NPR affiliate… I especially enjoyed the combination of the Pandora app on my phone with the Foxl speakers, and again, I was truly surprised by the sound quality. I also used the speakers while watching a movie on my Mac… wow. Don’t take my word for it, though, check the reviews page on the Soundmatters site.

The Foxl unit does work as a speaker/mic for your phone, too. The Bluetooth button on the front of the speaker unit can be used to answer and hang up calls — or you can use the phone itself. The device automatically overrides any other playback and gives priority to your phone call.

You’ll need to be aware of distance — if you move the speaker unit too far away from the transmitting device, the signal degrades or the connection drops. It’s no problem to restore it, just know that proximity matters. You also need to keep a clear line between the speaker and the transmitter, the signal dropped when I walked around a corner into the next room. If you switch devices — I went from my phone to my iPad, you may need to “unpair” the first device, or simply turn the Bluetooth off on the the device you’re no longer using.

There are travelers who simply must have their music with them wherever they go. This isn’t a substitute for headphones (manners, people, manners) but if you’re in place where it’s cool to have music playing, the Foxl speaker unit is freaking fantastic. I love the idea of listening to radio theater (a personal favorite) in the tent at night when we’re camping. It’s great for music at BBqs and picnics. It’s way better than 90% of those hotel clock radios where you dock your phone at night. And it’s small — it fits in your hand. (Dimensions from the specs: 143 x 55 x 35 mm or 5.6 x 2.2 x 1.4 inches.) Audiophile travelers will love it, as will anyone who just wants bigger brighter sound from their devices without giving up much space.

There are two Foxl units available, only one has Bluetooth connectivity. I’d go for that one and avoid the wires. You can get them directly from Soundmatters or, check Amazon for the latest prices.