[General Accessories] vectron:
This is a review of CODE Donut portable wireless bluetooth speaker. www.amazon.com/Donut-Portable-Bluetooth-Orange-Speakerphone/dp/B00JQTNVL6/

I tested a lot of wireless speakers in every shape, form, and color, but I have NEVER seen anything with such a delicious shape!!! This wireless speaker from CODE, exclusively distributed by Tao Tronics, has a very unique shape of a regular donut, and it's not just a shape but other details that make it stand out from a crowd already saturated with so many wireless speakers. Let's take a closer bite, I mean a look at what I have found! :)

Starting with a packaging, at first it's hard to believe you are dealing with a real product and not a toy. It's very colorful and definitely eye catching - place one of these on the shelf in the store, and it will definitely going to catch everyone's attention. But once you start reading it's spec, you will realize that you are dealing with a serious electronic gadget and not a toy. Once you get it out of the box, you quickly realize how much it resembles a real donut. About 5" in diameter and 153g in weight, it has a soft rubber finish and clever integration of controls, ports, and speaker grills with elements resembling a real donut. The speaker comes in 6 different color combinations, where I found the orange one to have the boldest look for review! In addition to the speaker itself, other accessories include usb to micro-usb charging cable, a detailed manual and warranty card, and a very unique NFC tag accessory.

Taking a closer look at the donut, you will find a cleverly integrated rubber ring at the bottom to make sure the speaker will not slip when placed on a smooth surface. On a side, you have micro-usb charging port tightly covered with a rubber flap, and AUX Input 3.5mm port to drive this speaker from any source which doesn't support wireless transmission. There is also a pinhole opening on the side for a microphone since "donut" can also be used as a speakerphone. On the top, you have a separate cluster with a rubbery finish covering status led, Volume up/down buttons, and multi-function power/call button. Buttons have a nice tactile response when pressed, and also sealed to prevent any moisture or dirt to get underneath. LED works as a charging indicator as well as a status light when paired up. And speaking of charging, donut has quite an impressive spec with internal 1000 mAh battery to drive 8hrs of sweet music playback!

The sound comes from cleverly integrated grills covering a pair of 1.25" speakers with a decent spec of 2W RMS each. I actually found the sound to be not bad at all! Of course, this is not audiophile quality speakers, but they delivered a loud and clear sound that filled up a relatively large room. You are not going to get as much bass, and it's on par with every other speaker of the same size I've tested. I was actually pleasantly surprised where raising the volume up to almost a max didn't produce too much crackling or distortion. As a matter of fact, I was so impressed with a sound and the looks of this speakers, I didn't want to put it down throughout entire test period.

Of course, this is a wireless speaker, so I would like to talk more about the pair up. Supporting BT 3.0, I had no issues pairing it up with my Note 2 and it got connected to both phone and media audio. I was also able to maintain connection easily from 30-40ft away from the phone. But that's not all. Included with a donut is a very cleverly designed NFC tag which enables pair up with Donut just by placing it next to you NFC enabled phone. I was actually very impressed they put as much thought into a design of this tag as they did with a speaker itself. Once paired up, you can stream music wirelessly from your phone and adjust volume on the donut. You can't control the playback of songs; that has to be done from a phone itself. Also, if you receive a call, you can pick it up and use donut as a speakerphone.

Overall, I have to say this is the most fun wireless speaker I have tested so far!!! It's one of those products where you will be looking for any excuse to take it outside and to show to other people. It's not exactly waterproof since speaker grills are open, but it's still rugged enough to be taken outdoors. Between it's unique design/look, a robust wireless performance including NFC pair up option, and surprisingly good portable sound - I will definitely add CODE Donut to a list of my recommended products! Just make sure to register it with Tao Tronics to extend the warranty to 18-months!

Here are the pictures.