Nowadays, it seems like Bluetooth speakers are a dime a dozen. This is actually a very good thing as now you can pick up a feature rich Bluetooth speaker for an affordable price. iClever has a few different offerings in this arena, but in this review, we’ll be looking at the IC-BTS03 waterproof Bluetooth speaker.
iClever IC-BTS03 Waterproof Bluetooth speaker overview
The first thing I noticed about the iClever speaker was its diminutive size. It’s only about three and a half inches tall, 2 inches thick, and four inches wide. Despite it being small, it still manages to pack two audio drivers into the speaker. The front driver is dedicated to the mid to high range sounds while the rear driver cranks out the bass.
There are only four buttons. The power button is the only non-multifunction button. The volume buttons also change the song being listened to when they are long pressed and the pause button will answer and hang up incoming calls as well as redial the last called number when long pressed.
The speaker is housed mostly in plastic and rubber but the speaker grills are metal. It also features a very sturdy leather strap and a mounting screw hole. There are only two ports on the entire speaker, a charging port, and an auxiliary port. Both ports are covered by a waterproof rubber flap. In fact, the speaker is rated with an IP65 waterproof rating. This means that it can be splashed and sprayed by water but not submerged.
iClever IC-BTS03 Waterproof Bluetooth speaker setup
Because the iClever IC-BTS03 automatically enters pairing mode whenever it’s turned on, it’s extremely easy to setup. All you need to do is search for Bluetooth devices from your phone and connect.
iClever IC-BTS03 Waterproof Bluetooth speaker usage
There are several things that I really like about this speaker. The first is its size. It is very portable, but with its front and back audio driver design, it also packs some decent sound. Of course, it doesn’t compare with high-end speakers like Bose, but for $29.99 it doesn’t have to. I was surprised at how good the sound actually was.
The overall feel of the speaker is a little plasticky but I was surprised at was how durable it was. Not only did it survive a tumble down my stairs, but it came away unscathed. As I have three children, this is not an uncommon occurrence.
The battery life is rated at 10 hours of playtime, but I still haven’t used it continuously for that length of time. I’m still running on the same charge a week and a half later.
Of course, with it being waterproof I had to try it out in the shower. It worked wonderfully and it may just end up finding a permanent home in there since that would be the only area where I would actually need a waterproof speaker. One thing I noticed was that if the speaker had too much water in the speaker grill it interfered with the sound quality. A couple of good taps was enough to fix that problem. You probably won’t even have to worry about it unless the speaker grill is directly sprayed with water.
One thing that I would like to have seen included with the device is voice dialing. Instead of redialing the last called number, long pressing the play button could initiate Google Now. That feature would end up making it my go to speaker. But alas, for $29.99 what can I really expect. I’m already getting a lot for the price.
3.9 out of 5 stars
Overall you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better speaker in this price range. In the very least, its small size and many features make it a great option worth considering when purchasing your next Bluetooth speaker. The speaker is currently on sale for $29.99 at Amazon.com.
Comments are closed.