REVIEWS / PMPS / PORTRONICS

Portronics Soundbox review

10 Nov, 2011, 10:33 am IST | by Anand Tuliani | PMPs

PMPs

A simple and neat design

A simple and neat design
Easily accessable buttons
Connectivity options

PRICE IN INDIA

1,799

TECH2 RATING

7.0

AVERAGE USER RATING

10

How we test

CONTACT

Portronics

 ssingh@portronics.com

 +91 9768 661331

 www.portronics.com

Music is a great way to kill boredom while you’re on a long journey or sitting at home doing nothing. Some prefer listening to music while working or in the kitchen. The most convenient source for music listening is the cellphone. Nowadays, even the most basic models have multimedia functions such as FM radio, MP3 player and memory expansion via microSD card. But, you have to compromise on battery life and the quality of the speakers isn’t quite up to the mark. If you don’t mind carrying an extra device that irons out these issues, you might want to consider this portable music player by Portronics called Soundbox. 

 

Features

This device is slightly larger than an average candybar phone, but twice as thick, which still makes it quite compact and portable. For its size, the feature set that it offers is quite impressive. It can play songs in MP3 and WMA audio formats directly from microSD memory card and USB flash drives.

Connectivity options

Connectivity options

 

 

The memory card slot and USB port are located at the bottom along with a mini USB port and a 3.5 mm audio jack. The mini USB port serves only as power input for charging the li-ion battery via the PC’s USB port and not as mass storage interface which would have been useful for transferring songs to the memory card. The li-ion battery is Nokia BL-5C type which is easily available should it need to be replaced. The Soundbox uses two 35 mm neodymium drivers for playback. 

 

Ergonomics and user interface

The Soundbox sports a 3 cm mono LCD display which is divided into two sections. The top portion with yellow backlight is a sort of a status bar which displays the equalizer mode, bit rate, current source and battery level. The lower portion with Blue backlight displays the artist and song title, playback time and visualization. The controls lie on top, which comprises of four buttons. The first two buttons are for previous and next track and when long-pressed they serve as volume control – you cannot fast forward and rewind songs. Next is the Menu buttons, which lists functions for the current mode. For example, repeat mode, EQ settings and lyrics for music playback and FM record and auto-scan for FM radio.

Easily accessable buttons

Easily accessible buttons

 

 

When long-pressed, the Menu button allows selecting from Soundbox’s main functions – Calendar, Music, FM radio and Settings. Menu navigation is easy but the UI is very sluggish requiring the user to be patient especially while navigating the songs when there are hundreds of files and folders. 

 

Build quality

Portronics Soundbox is available in three colours – apart from the Stone Blue piece that we got our hands on, it’s available in Active Orange and Crystal Purple. The build quality is not exceptional, but quite good. The finish is nice and the shell is very sturdy. What we didn’t like is the glossy shell, which gets stained too easily.

 

Performance

The sound quality of the speakers outweighs all the drawbacks of this device. We underestimated the output of the two tiny neodymium drivers, but we were taken back when we started playing songs. The lows and mids are excellent, but the highs could be a lot better. The overall quality is very good and the sound doesn’t distort even at full volume. 

 

Verdict

 A simple and neat design

A simple and neat design



For Rs.1,799 (MRP) the Portronics Soundbox is an excellent option as a portable music player. The sound quality is awesome and so is the list of things it can do. Apart from its niggles, it would have been nice if the Soundbox had the voice recorder function and came bundled with a good pair of earphones and at least a 2 GB memory card. 


Tags:

Portronics Soundbox Review , Portronics Soundbox India Launch , Portronics Soundbox Release Date , Portronics Soundbox India Price , Portronics Soundbox Price in India , Portronics Soundbox Pricing , Portronics Soundbox , Portable Media Player , Portable Music Player

Would you buy it?




 


How We Test

The Tech2 Labs receives many products every single week and each of them is tested with the utmost care and highest level of objectivity. There’s a constant effort to reduce and totally eliminate subjectivity. Each product is tested according to set test processes so the same test scenario is used.

Verdict
The ratings awarded to a product are derived from a number of tests and calculations, keeping certain important factors in mind. These factors consist of features, performance, quality and value for money. In case of software and some other categories, build quality might be replaced with ease of use or ease of installation. Products are compared with other products in a similar price range or product category.


Features
The features component of the score is rated based on the kind of features present on a particular product. Features are a big part of what people look for when they’re buying a new product such as a phone or a camera.

Performance
The performance score is derived from the benchmarks and tests run on the product. In case of the subjective scores, an average of the scores given by the group of reviewers is considered.

Build Quality
The build quality of a product is important so that it doesn’t fall apart after some use. The build quality scores from the way the product is designed and the kind of materials used in the product.

Value
Value for money comes from the fact that a cheap product is able to provide most of the performance of a higher priced product. Once again, value for money is judged by comparing pricing and performance of products in a particular price range or category. 

There are many other aspects of the product that are looked at such as the bundled software and accessories. All of these scores are aggregated together to form the final score.

What do the ratings mean?

Ratings are simple - higher the score, the better the product. A brief listing of the features and what they mean are given below.

1 - 3

The product is bad in almost every aspect. We strongly advise against purchasing this product.

4 - 6

An average product that isn't the best you can buy, but isn't the worst either.

7 - 8

Product with this rating is highly recommended because it's priced sensibly, has a good set of features and performs well.

9 - 10

Exceptionally excellent product with features and performance unlike any we've seen in the past. A must-have for everyone!

What is the Average User Rating?

We at Tech2 take product reviewing very seriously and every product is tested with the utmost care and level of objectivity. The end user who buys a particular product and uses it over an extended period of time has his own take on a product and there might be nuances that he or she can shed light on. The Average User Rating is present to help readers get the complete picture of how good or bad a product is. The Average User Rating is calculated by averaging the ratings by the thousands of readers visiting Tech2.com every single day. To record your own rating of a product, simply click on the user rating bar. If you disagree with our ratings or our community's product rating, please don't hesitate from voicing your opinion in the comments section below the review.

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