[rwp-review id=”0″]
When it comes to wireless Bluetooth speakers the Philips BT3500B has a nice set of features, decent design and great sound quality for the reasonable price tag of around 300 Dirhams.
Design
Aesthetically, the BT3500B doesn’t stop you dead in your tracks but that’s not to say it isn’t pleasing to the eye. Compared to most small wireless speakers, the BT3500B isn’t cylindrical in shape but rather rectangular, letting you easily slip it into your laptop bag next to your other gadgets instead of having to worry about it causing an unseemly bulge. The grill on the front of it is akin to most speakers with the only downside being that you’d need a can of pressurized air to clean it out. Despite its small dimensions (it measures 201 by 101 by 35 mm) it plays louder than its size would indicate, letting you raise or lower the volume with a rather retro looking analog volume knob on the top right corner of the speaker system. You can try standing the BT3500B up on its base as I did but the result would it be falling over once your cat nudges against it or even looks at it. As a result I was forced to prop it up on its integrated flip-out stand, which doesn’t so much as stand it up but merely prevents it from laying flat on its back. While the materials used in making the BT3500B might not dazzle you, it still weighs around 18 ounces to deter away any feeling of cheapness.
Performance
The two tiny 10W speakers do have their limitations but that’s to be expected considering the reasonable price tag. I found that while overall clarity was pretty great, there wasn’t any distortion and it didn’t sound harsh, the BT3500B is clearly meant for casual listening for those jazz filled Saturday nights. While I played multiple tracks over a veritable plethora of genres, careful listening will cue you into the fact that it performs better at moderate volume levels and for songs that are not overly complicated. The fewer instruments and volume spikes in a song, the better. I can attest that it also works great as a speaker for a computer or laptop.
Features
The BT3500B is Bluetooth enabled, specifically Bluetooth 3.0, letting you set it up in high to reach places and subsequently watch your cat drive itself mad trying to locate the source of chirping sounds. Pairing the speaker to your smartphone is quite easy as I found out; you can either activate your Bluetooth on your smartphone and then select the BT3500B or you can instead enable your NFC chip on your smartphone and tap the appropriate spot on the speaker to instantly pair both devices up. The effective range of the speakers when using the Bluetooth mode are about 10 metres, naturally trees and walls located between your speaker and transmitting device cut down this figure. Furthermore, if you’re still stuck in the past and are wondering what manner of spells Bluetooth and NFC are, there’s an auxiliary port for you to insert an auxiliary cable into which is handy when you don’t want your Bluetooth to eat up the battery life of your phone. As a result, “Audio in” is the second of two modes available on the BT3500B (the first being the Bluetooth mode).
The BT3500B is also equipped to take calls, with a small microphone and a button at the top of the speaker to answer calls. While the speaker let me discern what people were calling me about from over 10 feet away, the microphone unfortunately can only be utilised from a much closer distance. Battery wise, I found the BT3500B lasted for around 4 and half hours, belting out a mixture of tunes during that time. That’s not bad considering it’s listed as having 5 hours worth of juice, though a few extra hours would be great. The BT3500B can recharged via a micro USB cable that comes with it.
Conclusion
The Philips BT3500B is a great wireless Bluetooth speaker with a decent set of features for its price. The two speakers gives sound a little more punch and makes it sound smoother overall making it a great option when pressed for money.
