It has often been said that good things come in small packages and the Divoom Bluetune-Solo certainly lives up to that mantle. This compact Bluetooth speaker certainly punches above its weight and proves that appearances can be deceptive.

The speaker comes packaged in a 2-part box, the bottom half housing the user manual and a charging/auxiliary input cable, whilst the clear upper portion contains the Bluetune-Solo itself. The most striking and noticeable feature is the diminutive size of the speaker, standing at a meagre 73mm high and being only 60mm wide, it is smaller than half the size of a regular soda can. The speaker doesn’t really set the world on fire with its design, basically a short squat cylinder but it is available in a choice of 5 colors, with all featuring silver trimming. I have been reviewing the slate (black) design, but other colorways include red, white, blue and orange.

Pairing of the speaker to any Bluetooth device is extremely simple and effortless. I paired the Bluetune to my iPhone and it was as easy as switching the unit on at the discreet switch found underneath the base. With the Bluetooth already activated on my Smartphone the two found each other quickly and connected without the need for pass codes. The Bluetune-Solo indicates connection with a low beep and the Bluetooth switch on the top illuminates and shows power on with a subtle blue glow around the base of the speaker.

Included with the speaker is a USB charging lead that also doubles as an auxiliary input lead, meaning your Bluetune-Solo can be connected to any non Bluetooth enabled device. For me the best feature of the Bluetune is the ability to use the speaker as a “bridge” between your Bluetooth device and a wired set of speakers, simply plug your wired speakers straight into the Aux Out socket on the Bluetune and you are away, now able to play your favorite tunes on your phone wirelessly to your wired speakers. Charging of the unit is via any USB port from your PC or an AC adaptor, full charge takes a minimum of 2.5 hours and a complete charge will see you through 8 hours of listening enjoyment.

How about the sound quality? To be honest I wasn’t really expecting the Solo to offer up much sound due to the fact it’s so small, but I have been very impressed with the overall experience. I chose contrasting music to put the Solo through its paces and honestly must say that Pink Floyd, Johnny Cash and Cypress Hill all sounded great. Sure, its not 5.1 surround sound, but it was never going to be, however for a unit that is so small the sound cannot be faulted.

The speaker is balanced nicely between bass and mid-tone sounds and can actually push the chosen music out over a fair distance. The Bluetooth connection is said to be up to 10 metres (33ft) and I had no problems at all with the link, I left the unit positioned in one room whilst moving to another with my phone in my pocket and never once lost the connection. The sound produced carried nicely around the house.

The volume at the speaker is controlled via the main device, as there are no separate controls on the unit and to achieve optimum quality I found the phone volume had to be set at about 60 percent, any more and the sound quality became muffled and distorted.

There is also the option to use the Solo as a speakerphone, with just a simple push of the top button when an incoming call is received, the unit switches quickly and smoothly between music and calls. This feature is easy to use but I wonder how many people would actually use it, as most phones are more than capable of allowing a clear conversation on speakerphone already. One occasion that this feature may be beneficial would be in a vehicle that doesn’t have a Bluetooth hands free capability, but there would be an issue with the unit not being able to be secured anywhere safely in the vehicle, and possibly Divoom have missed a trick by not including a vehicle mount. I did trial the speaker out while driving and found it worked perfectly, even if this is not what it was originally intended for.

The Bluetune-Solo is available for around $50 and for the money you are getting a nice compact speaker with a good bass tone that’s ideal for taking with you in a backpack or handbag. This would be a great speaker to take travelling although charging may be an issue if there’s no access to a USB connection. All in all, a great sounding, solid and robust Bluetooth speaker, which offers superb value for money.

Bluetune-Solo Bluetooth speaker features:

• Daisy-chain capability
• 8-hour rechargeable battery
• Extra bass in a small package
• Built-in microphone for hands-free calls
• Wireless play from up to 10 meters away

You can see the full Divoom Bluetune-Solo specs on the product page via divoom.com.

There are a number of alternatives; one is this Solar Sound Bluetooth Stereo Speakers from Devotec. We have been using these speakers for the past few weeks and they have certainly come in handy, we know that they will not offer the same sound quality as the Bose, but we were never expecting that.

From the moment that we took the speakers from the box we thought that this was just a novelty gadget. The design is a little on the cheap side, glossy black plastic with rounded edges, speakers at either end and that all-important solar panel on top.

The device is designed to be mostly used over Bluetooth, but there is a line-in connection if your device does not come with this technology. I have an iPhone 3GS and syncing my smartphone to the Devotec Solar Sound Bluetooth Stereo Speakers was simple and took under a minute to do.

When you wish to play your device through the speakers, all you need to do is make certain that you are still paired and then press play on your device. A nice feature is the volume controls; these are touch and add a bit of quality to the product.

We thought that we would start the sound low first; we instantly noticed a slight tinny noise. When you turn the device up things start to sound much better. We found that when turning the speakers up to max there was a slight distortion, but not as much as we thought there would be.

We were under the impression that you could control playback from the speakers, but this features does not seem to work with the iPhone. This is not a problem, as it is much better controlling playback from the media device anyway.

The device comes installed with a 1500mAh battery, this allows for 8 hours of playback with a medium sound setting, but only four hours on a higher sound setting. However, you can then charge the device by using the Mini-USB port or the solar panel.

Devotec states that charging through the solar panels will take between 12-24 hours, depending on weather conditions. Included with the speakers are a USB cable for charging through the mains, a 3.5mm jack cable and a carry case.

Our conclusion is that the Solar Sound Bluetooth Stereo Speakers from Devotec is a versatile device, not the best sounding but the most practical.

For more information, visit www.devotecindustries.co.uk

Features and Specifications:

• 2x 2W speakers for proper stereo sound
• A2DP and AVRCP profiles
• Built in Mic for hands free communication
• Protective case, AC/DC plug and charging cable
• Small Dimensions: 16.5 x 5.5 x 5.5cm
• Solar panel for charging the built in Lithium-Ion 1500mAh battery
• Touch-screen panel
• Weight: 260g, about 0.5lbs.