The speaker as a 'Solemate'
Get ready for a tiny speaker with a massive sound
A compact portable Bluetooth speaker system, the Jabra Solemate is powerful loud that it could easily serve as the sound system for a party.
Be warned: its size, a mere 172mm x 64mm x 70mm, and weight (610 grammes) are deceptive. I tested it my large living room and nearly blew myself out of the door. The bass sounds are surprisingly good too, ideal for playing some heavy rock.
Solemate also comes with NFC or Near Field Communications technology that assists the Bluetooth connection between your NFC-enabled smartphone and Solemate. You simply tap the back of your smartphone to the Solemate’s top – look for the NFC logo – and connection is immediate.
If your phone doesn’t have an NFC connection, you can manually link to Solemate with a Bluetooth connection by just holding the On/Off switch in the Up position for three seconds.
Solemate can also be connected to a portable MP3 player by using 3.5mm jack connector and a provided audio cable. When its 3.5mm jack connector is occupied, Solemate’s Bluetooth function is disabled automatically. Its microphone is also disabled.
The microphone is used for the speaker phone system and for PC-based video chat applications, such as Skype calls.
When connected to your PC with a USB cable, Solemate turns into a good quality USB sound system without any driver installation hassle. It has an omni directional and nose filter microphone that you can talk to when you use it as a USB sound system for your PC.
When the Solemate is Bluetooth connected to your smartphone, calls made or answered will automatically be transferred to Solemate, which also functions as a speakerphone.
You press the multi-function call button on top of Solemate to answer an incoming call and the music automatically stops. When the call is in progress, you can tap it to end. Or you can double tap the call button to reject a call or redial the last number. I tested it and found that speakerphone system was loud and clear.
Solemate has no display so it uses voice guidance to tell you its current status. For example, when Solemate is in pairing mode, it will say “Go ahead and connect me. Use the Bluetooth setting in your phone”. It also indicates battery levels.
Solemate is built on Dolby Digital Plus technology to enhance music quality. It uses one 4-inch mid/woofer and two ¾-inch soft dome tweeters with wideband frequency responses. And it also uses a passive bass radiator to reproduce deep bass sounds.
I enjoyed the music streamed through Solemate from my Motorola RAZR MAXX using Extreme Bass setting. The music was clear and the bass satisfyingly deep.
Solemate apparently got its name because the plastic base resembles the sole of a shoe. The base can be replaced with optional soles in different colours.
Jabra Solemate complete with a carrying bag retails for Bt4,990 and it is available in white, black, grey, blue, yellow and red.
Key specs
_ Microphone: Omni-directional MEMS microphone
_ Speakers: 1 x 4 inch mid/woofer, 2 x 3/4 inch soft dome tweeters
_ Operating range: up to 10 metres (33 feet)
_ Bluetooth version: 3.0
_ Paired devices: Up to 8 paired devices; One active device connected at a time
_ Supported Bluetooth profiles: Hands free profile (v .1 .5), headset profile (v .1 .2), A2Dp (v .1 .2)
_ Digital signal processing (DSP): Noise reduction on transmit and receive audio, noise dependent volume control, automatic volume adjustment on receive audio, acoustic shock protection
_ Talk time: up to 8 hours
_ Standby time: up to 60 days
_ Music playing time: up to 8 hours depending on volume and music type
_ Charging time: approximately 2 .5 hours
_ Weight: 610 grams
_ Dimensions: l172 mm x W 64 mm x h70 mm
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