[General Accessories] BillTheCat:
Havit 'ME' Bluetooth Speaker

I've never bothered with too many phone peripherals. When I travel, my philosophy has always been 'less is more' where lugging stuff around is concerned. However there are times when having a more robust external sound source comes in handy and more than once I have really wanted an accessory speaker because the sound that comes from the microscopic phone speakers just doesn't cut it.

The Havit 'ME' Bluetooth speaker is a very nice balance between performance and size for ease of portability. Having been provided one of the units for evaluation, the best word I can use to describe my experience is 'surprising'.

Amazon link to product here: CLICKY

The packaging is what one might expect. No big deal, there's a 'clam shell' style cardboard box that encloses the speaker inside a clear plastic shell. Two connectors are included - one USB, the other a stereo micro-jack for those who for whatever reason can't connect to the unit with Bluetooth. Also included are a warranty card and instruction manual, which I'll comment on later in this review.

Reflecting on my earlier comment, I have to say the construction quality was surprisingly good. Crafted from a textured aluminum casing with soft-touch rubberized controls and coating, the unit just feels nice. Many low-end products are made of plastic, or some fancy word for plastic like "polycarbonate" that sounds important but still means plastic. Not with this little guy. You know you're holding something in your hand - it has some 'heft' to it.

Size comparison:

Once you get to the unit, there are four rubberized controls: Power, Reverse/Vol-, Play/Pause, Forward/Vol+, the secondary functions being triggered by a press-hold on the corresponding button. For example, to skip to the next song, press the > button once, to turn the volume up, press and hold that button. That's when the magic starts.

Upon powering up, the unit emits a power on tone, and my initial reaction was "Whoa!" when I heard it the first time. That a device so small could make a rich, robust sound was quite surprising. I'm not saying you can ditch your home stereo just yet, but the unit has a surprisingly good dynamic response, especially in the lower frequencies, which is uncharacteristic of many small speakers of this sort. Maybe I haven't been keeping up on developments in electronics, but it seems the driver used is fairly high quality, and by mounting it with the proper case, it's almost like a micro-subwoofer. Audio quality is very good, though there are some sacrifices that one must make when demanding full-range audio from a single driver.

Additionally, the unit also has a built-in microphone, and the controls serve to operate the unit as a remote Bluetooth hands-free speakerphone, enabling you to make and receive calls, a nice additional feature not seen in many other products in this category. The outgoing call quality was not what one would expect from a dedicated hands-free device, but the fact that this was included in their design specs shows some nice forward thinking, and is a helpful feature to have in a pinch.

In use:

Charging:

There's just one complaint I have, and it's addressed to all of our overseas trading partners who develop products for our market. I wish you manufacturers would PLEASE contact an American-speaking consultant who has a grasp on our language before putting your instruction manuals to print. First, the typeface in the manual was so microscopic, I could barely read it, even with my glasses:

The bigger problem is that the translation was not well done. We completely understand English isn't your language, but please - before printing this stuff - contact someone with a full grasp of the localized language. I'm available for a reasonable fee to help.

CONCLUSION:

Overall, if you're looking for a small, portable, simple speaker that delivers a high quality audio experience for something like audiobooks or even hands-free calling, you can't beat this little unit for price and performance.