Technika SPB112 Bluetooth Speaker

As I mentioned last month, my GPS broke, and although I have received a replacement, I haven’t cracked the shrink on it yet. Although it was an immensely expensive item, it never quite lived up to the promise; in fact, in some respects it was inferior to the old GPS that I had reluctantly retired.

While I decided whether to re-sell my in-shrink replacement, and shop more carefully for a new GPS, I have been using Google Navigation on my phone to get me around. It actually isn’t that bad, but the volume on the phone is not made for this kind of use, and can barely be heard above the engine.

So when I saw this Bluetooth Speaker in Tesco, reduced from 40 quid to 20, I thought I would take a look. It is fairly compact – about the size of the box my phone came in, and either runs off USB power or its own internal battery. It can be used as both a media speaker (for playing music, and navigation voices) or as a speakerphone. Despite being a small device, it does have two speakers, and claims to be stereo, although the separation is minimal.

But boy, it is loud! And the sound isn’t bad at all – it is currently playing a Concrete Blonde album, and not doing a bad job, bass and all.

2013-04-05 16.29.44It is all black, with a brushed chrome control panel on top. From there you have a standard set of media controls – Play/Pause, Volume and Skip Forward and Back. The Play button also doubles up to accept incoming calls.

I reckoned 20 quid wasn’t bad as a stopgap measure, so I could take my time over assessing the GPSs on the market. But I am actually quite glad I bought it. It is small enough to slip into an overnight bag, and turns my phone into a fully functioned clock radio and media centre.

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