For my birthday I asked for an inexpensive small speaker that was rechargeable and would work with my iPhone. I wanted something that I could carry from one room to another to listen to Internet radio and music around the house. The iHome iHM61 Glow Tunes color changing mini speaker has worked out perfectly. I have used this with my iPhone only.
What’s in the Package
The speaker comes in a tall round plastic tube and contains the speaker, and an all in one cord for charging and connecting the speaker to your device. You also get a black drawstring carrying case which is big enough to carry the speaker, cords, and probably even your iPhone. The iHome Mini Speaker comes with instructions, a warranty card and some advertising for other iHome products.
Description
This little speaker cost about $25, so do not expect that you are going to spread sound around for a party. This is a personal speaker for use in quiet settings for listening to music or the radio through your iPhone or really any device that has a mini headphone jack. It could be used with your laptop or PC, MP3 player or CD player. As long as the device as the little plug in for headphones you are good to go.
The speaker is round and only about 2.25″ wide. The speaker can be compressed down to less than 2″ tall or opened up to 2.5″ high. There are little rubber feet at the bottom. It is not heavy but does not feel super light either. It has a substantial feel for what it is and does not appear to be cheaply made.
Opened or Closed: To open, turn the top slightly counter clockwise and the speaker will spring up. To close push down and turn slightly clockwise. The turn is slight and it does not snap firmly into place. Generally you will want to use it open, and only be closing it for storage or travel. While it works in the closed mode, you will get the best sound when it’s open
Along the bottom of the unit is an on / off switch, an LED indicator light, a button for changing the color changing mode, and the mini usb port (to connect for charging or use)
When opened, in the middle it looks like an accordion pleated area. The whole unit is white with brushed silver accents. The top of the speaker is the silver color and has a mesh area on top to let the sound come out.
Color: The speaker comes in other Colors, Mine is White and has a W after the model number to indicate this. This also comes in other colors but the model number will be slightly different. I have seen it in pink, blue and black.
How easy is it to set up and use
I am not super techy and I was able to figure all of this out without reading the instructions. The only thing I consulted the instructions for was how to collapse and open up the speaker just to make sure I would not damage it.
How it attaches to my iPhone
To use the speaker, plug the cord with the mini usb connector into the speaker and then plug the headphone jack into your device that will be playing the music. Then you can switch the speaker on and play music from the controls on your device.
To activate the color changing feature there is a white button that changes the mode from off to color changing(alternates between blue, green, yellow and red), or you can stop it at one color if you like that. I frankly could care less about the color and just shut that part off. The lights might be nice if you were using at night and wanted a night light but other than that, it’s just a fun gimmick.
The cord is white and is over all 2.5 feet. One end has the mini usb plug and the other has both the head phone plug and the full size usb plug. These two are on a split piece so that you can use the speaker while it is charging. There is a clip to tuck all the cords in neatly.
Battery Charging
My iHome iHM61 GlowTunes Rechargeable Color Changing Mini Speaker came fully charged. When the speaker is charged and turned on the led indicator will be blue. When it runs out of charge it will turn red. The instructions say that if you notice that the speaker distorts at higher volumes to charge it regardless of the color of the LED. To charge the speaker, plug the mini usb into the speaker and the regular usb into your computer or other device that has a usb port. The device should be plugged in to charge properly.
The battery for this speaker is internal and a long lasting lithium ion battery. It only takes about a half hour to charge and I have had it on for a total of 8 hrs run time (not using the light feature) and it still has not run out of charge.
How it sounds
I am pleased with the sound I am getting from this speaker. I have tried others and some are too tinny sounding and some others had too much bass. For the small size of these it gets a nice blend of both. You would expect to get no bass with these speakers but with the speaker opened up the extra space inside gives the sound more fullness and better bass. There is no volume control on the speaker but that to me is not an issue because all devices have their own volume control so who needs two volume controls?
My husband who is a musician and works with all kinds of speakers and such was super impressed with the sound and wants to get one for himself too. I am really not all that picky but he has a lot of experience, so if he says it’s good, I take that as a good sign.
The volume max is not all that loud. You would not be using this for a party or if there was other loud things going on. It is a perfect little speaker for listening to the radio in the kitchen when I am preparing a meal. I would also take this out on the deck in good weather. It would be loud enough for me to hear it but not so loud that it would disturb the neighbors. I have noticed that when I am playing the radio compared to music I have downloaded that the radio seems a little louder. This speaker is also perfect for listening in the bathroom while getting ready. It might even be a great choice for bringing to the office.
Warranty
This item is hardly worth returning for the warranty. First of all it is only 90 days and I would just return it to the store in that time frame. If you want to send it back they want $7 if you have a receipt and $15 if you don’t. You could probably replace the item for $23 so to me the warranty is relatively worthless.