TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Willington Ngwepe to step down as Icasa CEO

      10 August 2022

      Samsung unveils its latest foldable smartphones

      10 August 2022

      Cape Town’s DataProphet expands funding to R165-million

      10 August 2022

      The tech proves it: South African women are better drivers than men

      10 August 2022

      BT, Seacom sign ‘strategic alliance’ for enterprise services

      10 August 2022
    • World

      Jumia says it’s past peak losses, shares jump

      10 August 2022

      Elon Musk sells $6.9-billion of Tesla to avoid Twitter fire sale

      10 August 2022

      Nvidia issues profit warning on slump in demand for graphics cards

      8 August 2022

      Buterin: Mining on Ethereum Classic won’t affect Merge

      8 August 2022

      Musk challenges Twitter CEO to a public debate

      7 August 2022
    • In-depth

      The length of Earth’s days has been increasing – and no one knows why

      7 August 2022

      As Facebook fades, the Mad Men of advertising stage a comeback

      2 August 2022

      Crypto breaks the rules. That’s the point

      27 July 2022

      E-mail scams are getting chillingly personal

      17 July 2022

      Webb telescope’s stunning images of the cosmos

      12 July 2022
    • Podcasts

      e4’s Adri Führi on encouraging more women into tech careers

      10 August 2022

      How South Africa can woo more women into tech

      4 August 2022

      Book and check-in via WhatsApp? FlySafair is on it

      28 July 2022

      Interview: Why Dell’s next-gen PowerEdge servers change the game

      28 July 2022

      Demystifying the complexity of AI – fact vs fiction

      6 July 2022
    • Opinion

      SIU seeks to set aside R215-million IT tender

      19 July 2022

      No reason South Africa should have a shortage of electricity: Ramaphosa

      11 July 2022

      Ntshavheni’s bias against the private sector

      8 July 2022

      South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

      4 July 2022

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»Gadgets & Reviews»Review: Sony’s 21st century boombox

    Review: Sony’s 21st century boombox

    Gadgets & Reviews By Craig Wilson19 June 2013
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email

    Sony-speaker-front-640

    Japanese electronics company Sony didn’t quite lose (but certainly misplaced) the plot for a number of years when it came to consumer electronics. Thankfully, if its new handsets, tablets, and portable speakers are anything to go by, it appears to have found it again.

    The Sony SRS-BTM8 wireless speaker system has a dreadful name. It sounds more like a military aircraft than a speaker. Fortunately, the sound it produces is far easier on the ear.

    Positioned as affordable, compact and portable, the SRS-BTM8 doesn’t have the built-in battery many similar offerings do, but there is the option to power the device using four AA batteries if you want to use it somewhere a mains outlet isn’t an option. Considering the built-in handle, that seems likely.

    Sony claims up to 20 hours of use from AA batteries, but the “optimal conditions” no doubt include using a low volume setting and the audio-in jack rather than Bluetooth. In real world use, you can expect about five hours from battery power alone.

    Frankly, we rather like the decision to use batteries. Unlike built-in rechargeables, removable batteries can be swapped out at a moment’s notice. Not only do they offer greater flexibility, but they increases the life of the product. Invariably, replacing a dedicated rechargeable cell years after purchasing a device is costly, if not impossible.

    There are two ways to connect audio devices to the speaker: Bluetooth and 3,5mm audio cable. Bluetooth pairing is a cinch and makes it possible to play sound from any application on your device — phone, tablet, PC, and so on.

    Sony has included a near-field communications (NFC) chip, too, to make pairing even easier, at least in principle. So proud is Sony of the included NFC that the logo — the lovechild of capital letters N and Z — is splashed across the speaker’s packaging and manual.

    Actually using NFC, meanwhile, isn’t as effortless as the “one-touch connection” claimed. You need to download and open an application called “NFC Easy Connect” from your device’s app store. However, as the connection uses Bluetooth anyway to stream music, it’s actually faster to connect using Bluetooth from the outset.

    Arguably, the NFC functionality could prove useful if you’re frequently switching between phones, but even then there’s no discernable time saved by using an app rather than simply turning on Bluetooth.

    Sony-speaker-top-640

    As a personal speaker, the Sony performs admirably. You’re never going to get chest-thumping bass from a speaker this size, but the sound is rich and well balanced. This isn’t a speaker to provide sound for a party, but it’s perfect for a kitchen, study or bedroom.

    Sony’s speaker seems ideally suited to a desk or a bookshelf and, if you’re using it on either, it can also serve as the biggest Bluetooth headset you’ve ever seen. Next to the volume controls on the right-hand side of the handle is a call button and a microphone.

    Connect an iPhone to the speaker and pressing the call button on it wakes Siri, Apple’s voice-driven personal assistant software. Calls can be answered or ended using the button, too. If your phone is likely to be your primary audio source, this support for hands-free calling may prove more useful than expected.

    Given that Sony’s speaker is competing with the likes of Jawbone’s Jambox, the iHome range and countless other compact Bluetooth speakers, what really sets it apart is its price. At R895, Sony’s wireless speaker offers a superb balance between price and performance. It looks good, weighs little and sounds great.  — (c) 2013 NewsCentral Media

    Sony SRS-BTM8 Sony SRS-BTM8 review SRS-BTM8 SRS-BTM8 review
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleHow New Zealand became tech hotbed
    Next Article Intel picks Kenya for new investment

    Related Posts

    US allies urged to shun Huawei equipment: report

    23 November 2018

    Podcast | Digital terrestrial television: the state of play in SA

    18 October 2017

    Interview: Roger McCleery on the future of motoring

    18 October 2017
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    How secure is your cloud?

    10 August 2022

    5 ways to make attack-path management more manageable

    10 August 2022

    Smart homes need even smarter Wi-Fi

    10 August 2022
    Opinion

    SIU seeks to set aside R215-million IT tender

    19 July 2022

    No reason South Africa should have a shortage of electricity: Ramaphosa

    11 July 2022

    Ntshavheni’s bias against the private sector

    8 July 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.