Essential Upgrade: Android Bluetooth Speakerphone

Our pals over at Salom have announced a brand new version of the Android shaped Bluetooth Speaker, uLinkbot which we reviewed back in 2011. Its been improved a lot but how does it stack up?

Since our review of the android bluetooth speaker way back in 2011, a lot has changed in the mobile handset market. There are also a lot of great new software tools out there like Google Music, Spotify, We7 and even O2 are advertising their new O2 tracks app which gives us access to the latest and greatest music tracks.

Clearly music is big on Android, however the standard speakers that come with most phones are hardly up to the task ( unless you have one of the latest HTC One handsets with stereo speakers). Step in uLinkbot new version, which will hopefully improve things.
The kit
Out of the box, already you can see the new speaker is a vast improvement on the older version. Soft rubbery green skin and rubbery ears give this kit a much more rugged feeling, especially with something that gets carried around a lot and needs to take a kicking here and there. The head of the android turns left and right which allows it to be used as a volume control. At the back it has a micro USB socket for charging directly from your Pc, or in my case using my car charger.

One great addition is the inclusion of a line in cable into

Battery life and Sound
imageBattery life is pretty solid, I managed to get a good 3 hours out of it, from my initial charge. Apparently if I charged it for 1.5 hours, then can last up to 4 hours of playback ( Great for the park in the summer) Range and quality are really impressive on the new version. I was able to stream my copy of Rocky horror Show ( best soundtrack ever!) up one flight of stairs and still manage to get great sound (4 ohms,3 Watts) without any distortion breaking up the time warp.

Connecting up
The speakers use Bluetooth to connect to your phone. The pairing process is really easy. Just press and hold the speakers head for a bit and eventually it makes a tone. It can then be connected using your standard bluetooth menu in Android.

Handsfree speaker phone
Android Speaker being “road tested!”
Android Speaker being “road tested!”

A nifty feature, which I don’t use a lot is that you can also use the Android speaker to answer your calls and act as a desk speakerphone without reaching from your phone. Just press the head when you get a call, and you will be able to speak to your friend Dave straight from the Green Android on top of your desk.

Overall a massive improvement on the previous speaker and even compared to some in the market is a great addition to a quality Android handset. I love my little Android Speaker and I am sure you will too.