A Hint and A Pinch

Just this past Christmas season, I bought my dad a portable bluetooth speaker as a gift. Thinking that the brand I was really opting for was out of my budget, I tried to look for alternatives through the internet and also walked in to a few stores in the mall a week before .

I had a day left to buy some presents and I finally decided to buy the Creative MUVO mini at Power MAC in Trinoma. Even if I already decided on buying it, I still tested it out and was still amazed by how loud it is!

Now I'm not gonna throw techno-mumbo-jumbo in here. Rather, I want this to be an HONEST and HELPFUL review. Upon opening the box, I just skimmed the user's manual and immediately used the speaker. Simple as that.

Right from the box, you could tell that the speaker is portable just by looking at it and is more noticeable when you lift it. The box itself was properly designed and it obviously looked like there wasn't any extra cushioning for the speaker itself. That being said, I think the cushioning wasn't necessary since the speaker itself wasn't that heavy.

I was really going for black, but they ran out of stock. Still, the red-orange color definitely is a good choice since it stands out from their range of colors.

Information about what's in the box and the speaker's dimensions. No power adapter/charger included, which really isn't a big deal unless you're the type of person that's specific with chargers.

Yes, it does say it is weatherproof. I did get it a little bit wet (just for the sake of trying... I didn't dip it in a bucket, okay? Hahaha!) while it was playing. No issues so far.

User Manual, Quick Start Guide, Warranty Information, and the included USB cable.

A closer look at the USB cable. There's really no branding on it, it's pretty generic. I told dad to keep it instead of using it since we already have a bunch of these type of USB cables around the house.

(from left to right) Power button, bluetooth pairing button*, volume down, volume up, and NFC receptor. Above it are: battery indicator LED (only lights up when battery is low, glows red), microphone, status indicator LED (lights up green upon powered on, white when wirelessly connected to a device).

*Key button features - the bluetooth button is where you mostly do actions when in a call or playing music:

If you press the bluetooth button twice, it'll say how much battery you have left! Yes, you will audibly hear its status. No annoying blinky lights here.
If you receive a call, press the button once to answer. If you want to reject a call, press down and hold it for three seconds.
When playing music, press once to play or pause music.

Behind the speaker, only then could you see the branding which I consider discreet. Below it is the protective rubber flap to cover two ports. Under the speaker are two rubber feet which look like they're glued to the whole enclosure. These feet provide enough grip to prevent it from sliding around most surfaces.

Micro USB port for charging and 3.5mm jack for aux-in. Also, this speaker has no powerbank capability.

So lets go on and see why I consider this thing to be a good purchase:

It delivers exceptional sound quality. Bass gives that necessary bump. Sound doesn't cut-off when a sudden change in volume is detected.
Voice (when in call) is clear and crisp and doesn't feedback, even when it's on its highest volume setting.
Built-in mic is clear. I talked to Hazel for half an hour and she didn't even notice that I was talking to her through the speaker until I told her.
It's lightweight and easily fits in a small-medium sized bag.
Design is simple, not too rugged and gives off a sense of sophistication. It's a classy looking bar that produces good quality sound. No BS.
For it's size, it doesn't compromise low frequency levels of sound - the bass. Frequency range, as printed in the Quick Start Guide: 2402 (Hz?) - 2480 MHz
The overall texture of its housing is 'grippy', which gives off a reassuring weatherproof and slightly rugged feel. It's as if it's thinly coated with a clear rubber film.
Long battery life - on the box it says that it could last 10 hours of continuous playback, which I assume is only an approximation since I got a good 9 hours out of it. Battery specifications: 3.6V 2200mAH (7.92Wh)
It has a battery saving feature which powers down when no audio input is detected.
PRICE: Php 2,999.00 at POWER MAC. For what it's capable of compared to others in the same market, this is a very good deal.

What's not so good about it?

No available pouches or sleeves (yet) to prevent it from scratches, dents, generally all physical damage. I consider this to be a disadvantage because I'm the type of person that makes sure that whenever I buy anything tech related, I make sure it'll last for as long as it can. I don't mean to brag but, with all modesty I even have my iPod Nano from 2005 that still has NO SCRATCHES. Hahaha!
When an audio player is plugged in the Aux-in jack while a bluetooth device is connected, it will play both sources at the same time. I would admit that some people would find this as a nice feature, especially those who want to mix two audio sources from two different devices together real-time... But really? Through the speaker? There's software for that.
Center of gravity is right in the middle, which makes it easy to topple over - yet how it's shaped slightly prevents this from happening. I used this while driving and placed the speaker at the back seat and it kept toppling over face up whenever I speed up or go through a slight bump on the road.
'Plasticky' feel which makes it feel a little bit cheap, but its contours make up for it. I tried knocking on all its surfaces and I found a hollow point which is located at where the branding is printed. I wouldn't want to drop this.

OVERALL: Could be cheaper, but who am I kidding... I bought it in the Mac store because I didn't have enough time to look around! There may be some other stores that offer this at a lower price, especially online stores. I guess chopping off 500-1000 pesos from its tag wouldn't hurt and even make it stand out better from its competitors (at sadyang kuripot lang talaga ako, LOL). Still, I have no regrets of buying it. Creative is known for making good quality audio devices. I believe that this is one of their best.

Link to official website: http://us.creative.com/p/speakers/creative-muvo-mini

Btw, the speaker itself was in plastic wrap from the box. I think dad might have thrown it away when he opened it!

I tried recording its output audio using a portable mic hooked up to my phone. Check it out below:

So what are your thoughts about it? Do you have some unanswered questions? Let me and Hazel know by commenting below or on our blog's social media pages (Facebook and IG)! Your feedback would be greatly appreciated :)

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