Solar panels are very cool. They are super eco friendly but also very convenient at the same time. That's why I was quite excited to see these speakers 'Solar Sound 2' have a huge solar panel on the top which seemed very cool to me and you can also play your music from any bluetooth device through these speakers as well.
It comes with a case, two cables (a USB, and Audio Jack) and a wall charger. You can see everything in the unboxing video below.
First impressions of how the device was packed were goodish. The manufacturer has put some time into thinking how everything will look when the consumer first opens it. But it's nowhere near the quality of what Apple does both inside and out.
The actual unit itself looks a bit plain with a matte finish all over - something that I see has changed from the 'Solar Sound 1' which had a glossy look that I like the look of a lot more. However the kind of people who may use this device in situations outside such as gardening may not like the gloss as they may have mud etc. on their hands making matte to be a better option in those types of situations.
Also, on the top we see a huge solar panel covering the whole surface and at the front there are three touch sensitive buttons which are a nice touch (pun intended). Above these three buttons you'll see an LED light - actually several LED's representing many different things from pairing to playback. On the back you see line in and line out audio jack inputs and a USB for charging the device if the sun isn't out.
The solar panel on the 'Solar Sound 2' is very very good. You can have a completely drained battery and plonk it outside or even in the window in direct sunlight and it will play and charge at the same time no problem. This does seem kind of amazing considering the only real contact I have had with solar panels is on a calculator.
The bluetooth functionality seems to be a bit fragile though. When I first tried pairing an iPhone, iPod Touch and iMac I hit the same problems. It was very frustrating, I basically found if I try to pair the 'Solar Sound 2' three or more times it will eventually work which it did. Once a device is paired it works seamlessly plus Apple have built in lots of great functionality into the music App which carries across many other audio streaming Apps in iOS for bluetooth speakers. The audio in works fine but the line out I have yet to test. The range of the Bluetooth is good but that has a lot to do with the bluetooth chip in the device you're sending the audio from. I found it worked anywhere where both devices were in the same room but move one out of a room and trouble arrives with audio hiccuping constantly.
The actual sound quality I wanted to leave till last. That's a huge point of this device. If you're going to use it as an outdoor speaker while washing the car or gardening it works fine with your iPhone in your pocket. The sound is loud with 4 watts in total but it lacks heavily in bass. The sound quality is better obviously with different genres and tracks which aren't so demanding on bass. When a track appears which demands a nice amount of bass the device really lets itself down. This is something that I hope is addressed in the next revision on the product.
'Devotec' may have decided to cut the bass a lot because it drains battery quickly leaving it not so good when relying on the solar panel to power it. The sound quality is nowhere near as bad as 'transistor radio' but a little more bass would really help this product.
Overall the solar and Bluetooth aspect of the 'Solar Sound 2' is brilliant and if they can just get that bit more bass sound quality into it I would kindly give the device more stars.
For hundreds more Reviews on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad Apps and Peripherals go to http://www.slinkystudio.info
The original Review with an unboxing video and product images http://www.slinkystudio.info/-/Reviews/Entries/2010/9/18_Solar_Sound_2_portable_speaker_for_iPhone_and_iPod_Review.html
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