Event Coverage

Beats Pill Wireless Portable Bluetooth Speakers - Not a Bitter Pill to Swallow

By Hurrairah bin Sohail - 3 Jun 2013

Not a Bitter Pill to Swallow

Beats made it big with their headphones through a combination of street-savvy design and a monster celebrity endorsement from rapper and producer Dr. Dre. Their trendy and hip take on headphones sets the pace and tone for the market segment. Over the past year, they have expanded from the circumaural cans they made their name with to include supra-aural Mixr headphones, in conjunction with David Guetta, and even more sedate products such as the active noise-cancelling Beats Executive.

The Beats Pill is a capsule-shaped, wireless, portable Bluetooth speaker.

Now, Beats has grown its stable of audio products by another bound with the introduction of the Pill. The Beats Pill is a wireless, portable speaker which meets all the modern requirements expected from this type of product. Streaming is achieved with the help of Bluetooth technology and Apt-X is included to spruce up the audio quality of the lossy transmission a slight bit. Following the latest trends, the Pill is NFC-enabled to provide hassle free pairing between devices. In order to ensure the “portability” aspect, the Beats Pill comes with a built-in, rechargeable lithium-ion battery which is stated to provide seven hours of continuous playback.

The speakers are armed with four full-range drivers tasked with pumping out the sound.

Pressing the Beats logo on the front activates Bluetooth while the two buttons located on top are used to control the volume.

The Beats Pill has been equipped with four full-range drivers. At the same time, Beats Audio algorithms have been implemented for superior sound quality. We had a chance to test the speakers out in an open space at the launch event. The Pill delivers a surprisingly high number of decibels for its small stature. It should have no problems filling any indoor space. Audio however has an extremely strong central projection. Even though the speaker has a cylindrical design, it employs no 360-degree projection technologies and the back of the device has no vents. During our quick first impression testing, we found the trebles to be clear and good while bass performance was also acceptable. However, the mids lacked presence and were unable to shine through.

On the back, you will find the micro USB port for charging purposes as well as a 3.5mm audio-in port for wired playback. The 3.5mm audio-out port can be used to daisy chain multiple Pill speakers together.

At the bottom, the Beats Pill has a rubber foot which provides stability and prevents the speaker from toppling over.

Even though the Beats Pill is a wireless Bluetooth speaker, you can choose to play music corded via the 3.5mm port. A 3.5mm audio-out port is also provided for those who wish to daisy chain multiple Pill speakers together. The Beats Pill is already available in the market, comes in red, white and black color options, and has a retail price of S$310.

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