Sound remedy: Take another Pill

Beats’ Pill 2.0 is a compact Bluetooth speaker that gets awfully loud while packing some nice upgrades from the original Pill.

You have the same basic medicine-pill shape to a body that can be black, red, white, silver, Nicki Pink or blue, and the same array of four speakers combined in a compact 45.72mm height. There’s a lot of noise here for a mere 310 grams.

Among the new features, there’s a USB port for charging your phone or music player and firmware that can be updated to stay compatible with the latest technology. And you can link one Pill 2.0 to another to amplify the playback even more or build a stereo system. This is pretty nice – place the pair far apart for terrific stereo depth.

The Pill 2.0 has only a few buttons. The power button is in the back and two volume buttons are up top. The multi-function “b” button is up front and centre.

A microUSB port at the back is for charging the battery. Beside it is the NFC (near-field communications) antenna for connecting to an NFC-ready phone or for pairing two Pill 2.0 speakers.

Apart from functioning as a Bluetooth speaker, the Pill can handle Bluetooth conferencing and serve as a speakerphone, complete with built-in microphone.

Hooked to your phone, tap the “b” button once to accept or shut out an incoming call. Tap it again to put a caller on hold while you take an incoming call. Another tap and you can switch between calls.

The magic “b” button controls the music playing on your phone, too. When listening to music from a Bluetooth-linked phone, press once to play or pause, twice to jump to the next track and three times to return to the previous track.

The NFC function makes it easy to connect your phone to the Pill 2.0. Just tap the back of your phone, where its NFC antenna is located, against the “NFC” mark on the Pill. The two devices will become instant friends.

If your smartphone doesn’t have NFC, make the match without it by switching the Pill to pairing mode by pressing and holding the “b” button for three seconds.

Once that’s done, you can pair up the two Pill 2.0 speakers. Tap their NFC antenna at the back together. One tap switches on Amplify mode so that both speakers play the same music track. Tap them together a second time and they’ll play in stereo, one taking the left channel and the other the right channel.

During my test I had no problem hooking up the speakers to create a wide stereo music effect. Mind you, just one Pill 2.0 on its own is loud enough to fill a large living room. Put two of them in unison and you’re ready for stadium rock.

You get outstanding middle and high ranges, jammed with fine detail and crisply clear. The bass is a beauty, perfect for music. “The Best of Sting” and classic Eagles tunes sound rich in studio detail.

The package comes with a metre and a half of 3.5mm audio cable for linking the speaker to an MP3 player that lacks a Bluetooth function. A USB 2.0 cable and AC power adapter are also provided, along with a carrying case.

RTB Technology, the official distributor of Beats products in Thailand, has sleeves for the Pill too. The basic sleeves are Bt1,540 and sleeves with a doll character and stand cost Bt2,200. If you want to listen to your Pill while riding, a bicycle mount costs Bt2,200.

Beats’ Pill 2.0 retails for Bt9,900.

 

KEY SPECS

 

Speakers: Four one-inch, full-range driver

Amplifier: Integrated, active

Wireless technology: Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, NFC with aptX

Battery: Seven hours

Dimension: 45.72x190.5mm

Weight: 0.31kg