Our smartphones aren’t just communication devices, are they? They are also our portable computers, schedulers, organizers, book readers, news vendors, social networks and of course, entertainment centers. However, when it comes to listening to songs or watching videos, the smartphones have one drawback. And that’s their volume output. Not even the sound of the loudest of mobile phones can manage to make much of an impression if the surrounding happens to be a noisy one. And of course, it might be ok to dance to music from a mobile phone while alone. But the sound produced by a mobile phone can never be loud enough to have a rocking dance party. The sound volume and quality can be enhanced by adding speakers. But using big and cumbersome speakers with such portable devices as mobile phones doesn’t make any sense. And that’s why, the wireless and portable speakers are becoming increasingly popular. These speakers are small and light-weight and can be easily carried about if needed.
Very recently, I too got a new portable speaker as a gift. I got LG’s NP1540W. It measures approximately 83mm x 95mm x 83 mm (W x H x D) and weighs only about 370 grams. I can easily connect it to my phone as well as my laptop by establishing a bluetooth connection or connecting the two devices using a port.in cable.
Pairing the speaker with my smartphone was easy and quick. As soon as I switched on the speaker, it started scanning for nearby bluetooth devices. It showed up quickly in my smartphone’s list of nearby bluetooth devices. I selected it and the two devices were paired. The bluetooth connection stops when I attach my smartphone and the speaker with the port-in cable. It resumes again when I remove the cable. The bluetooth connection between my smartphone and the speaker remains good across the distance of about 20 feet.
What matters most in a speaker is its sound quality. Well, I can’t boast of having very musically trained ears so I can’t really give you details about its treble or bass or whatever. All I know is that I love the sound! Ok, my parents might be complaining about the loud music echoing from my room at all hours. But even they agree that the songs sound much better through this speaker than directly from the mobile phone.
The speaker has a chargeable battery. The user manual says that it can last for about five hours of music playing at moderate volume. But as I have not yet allowed the speaker battery to completely drain out, I can’t surely say how long it lasts.
The controls of the speaker are easy enough. There are only four buttons in the front. The round button is the Power button. Above it is the slender Pause/Play switch and on both sides of this Pause/Play button are similarly shaped volume Up and Down buttons. At the back we have the USB port for charging the speaker and next to it is a 3.5mm mini jack for the port.in cable.
The speaker can also be set up to pair with another speaker to produce stereo sound. For this, I would need another NP1540W speaker. And then, using the switch given at the back of the speakers, I can decide which is to be used as left speaker and which is to be used as the right speaker. The method of pairing two speakers has been clearly mentioned in the user manual provided in the box.
Besides the speaker and the manual, the box also contains a USB cable for charging the speaker. The USB cable can be used to charge the speaker from a laptop. However, that will take a longer time in charging. What i didn’t like is that no AC Adaptor is supplied with the speaker that can be attached to the USB cable for charging the speaker. I have to use the adaptor of my smartphone. Also, no port.in cable is there in the box. At least the port.in cable should have been provided. The MRP of the speaker is Rs 3,590. I do think a port.in cable could have been supplied with the speaker without necessitating any significant rise in the price.
But on the whole, I’m very pleased with my new bluetooth portable speaker. I’d rather not mention here what my parents have to say about it though.
Important specifications of the speaker:
