INTRODUCTION
April is almost over and so the time has finally come for most of us to start making preparations and plans for our summer vacations (although personally I’ll be happy if i can manage to leave for just a week). This might be also why many friends and even some of you out there have asked from us to increase our reviews regarding mobile audio devices like Bluetooth headsets and speakers something which as you can easily see we've been doing already. However to satisfy that request we are working around the clock to acquire and test such devices from all the leading manufacturers in the field. One such manufacturer is Tech-Life (yet quite new) and today we will be taking a look at their BeatBlock Premium Bluetooth Wireless Speaker which according to them is the most advanced of its kind currently in the market.
Tech-Life was founded in Newport Beach, CA by two lifelong friends with a passion for technology and a common goal of producing high quality life-enhancing products with cutting edge design and robust technology. We have become a leading technology company by maintaining our commitment to four pillars of success; Innovation, Quality, Design, and Life! Every new product is created by unconventional innovation and with expanding technology in mind. Innovation is synonymous with technology, and it is no accident that "Tech" is our first name: it is our first thought. The founders of Tech-Life come from extensive and complementary backgrounds in engineering, logistics, audio/video technology, and product development. These diverse skill sets deliver a perfect harmony of Quality construction and purposeful Design, ultimately responsible for creating products that will enhance your life! Again, it is no accident that "Life" is our last name: it is our most important value. That is the Tech-Life way!
The BeatBlock falls right between the a.m.p sp1 by Antec and the SoleMate by Jabra both in terms of size, design and build quality so from the get go you know that you are not getting a weak and fragile portable speaker. This is something that actually caught us a bit of guard since we are talking about a brand new product (that also happens to be their very first) from a brand new player in the field like Tech-Life. Still it is what it is and so thanks to its black rubber coating (Tech-Life refers to it as Rubber-Tech Bombproof), the honeycomb design, metal interior frame, dual (stereo) 40mm drivers (3W each), noise-cancelling microphone and the 1500mAh lithium ion battery the BeatBlock really seems to have everything going for it. Of course as with pretty much everything there might be a large gap from the specifications to real world performance and as usual that's what we're here to find out.
SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS
Just like every other portable Bluetooth headset the BeatBlock arrived inside a rather small box with its name at the top.
The 4 main features are listed on the left side.
Tech-Life ensures the safety of the BeatBlock inside the box with the use of two foam spacers.
Inside the box you will find a thank you card, warning paper, pairing instructions paper, carrying cloth pouch, micro-USB cable and a 3.5mm to 3.5mm mini jack cable.
THE BEATBLOCK
Although the interior frame of the BeatBlock is made out of metal the exterior has a very nice (and quite thick) black rubber coating that makes it extremely durable.
The speaker measures 165mm in length, 63mm in height and 49mm in width with a weight of 359g. As you can see those measurements put it above most portable speakers but that's not a bad thing when you want power and large battery life.
At the front the device features a nice honeycomb design (5 of the boxes are covered so my guess is that the noise-cancelling mic is behind one of those).
The product name along with the power activity LED (red for standby, blue for when paired) are placed on the lower right end of the fascia.
Over at the right side we see the aux 3.5mm connector, on/off button (doubles as a green charging LED) and the micro-USB charging port.
The Bluetooth pairing button can also be used to answer/end calls and is placed at the top along with the volume up/down buttons.
You can check some of the units details on a small sticker placed at the rear.
The BeatBlock sits on 4 silicone feet (a passive bass radiator is present facing downwards).
CONCLUSION
The very first time we heard about Tech-Life was roughly over a month ago so naturally we didn't really have high hopes for their BeatBlock portable Bluetooth speaker but as stated in the past time and again judging a manufacturer shouldn't be solely done based on his time in the market. So let’s start by talking about the pros of the BeatBlock shall we? First of all it's got a rugged/durable exterior which is always a nice thing to have (just in case) so thumbs up for that to Tech-Life. Second and perhaps even more importantly it's just as powerful as the Jabra SoleMate (perhaps slightly more) with equally clear mids/highs and good/deep bass so again congrats to Tech-Life for that as well. Third the noise-cancelling microphone although not perfect it actually worked better than we had hoped (at least better than most portable speakers we've used to date). Fourth although the battery never lasted over 9 hours even after 4 full charges in its defense we used it almost at maximum volume at all times so it actually did pretty well (Tech-Life much like every manufacturer out there probably didn't test it at the same volume levels thus the 10 hours in the specs). Still not all is perfect so although the BeatBlock features an answer/end call button and two volume buttons it lacks the previous/next media buttons present in other solutions. Granted this may not be extremely important but i can't figure out why Tech-Life didn't do their best to make a complete portable Bluetooth headset (perhaps they will in the future who knows). Finally another thing we didn't like much is the sound the volume buttons make when pressed (audio sound) which tends to become somewhat annoying especially if you need to adjust the volume often.
With a current price tag set at USD99.99 inside the USA (Purchase Directly from Amazon.com) the BeatBlock by Tech-Life costs considerably less than other similar solutions like the Jabra SoleMate or the Jawbone JamBox and that's without doubt one of its strong points. Unfortunately currently Tech-Life doesn't seem to have a strong presence inside the EU (if at all) and so i was unable to track it down on any of the known online stores something which i hope they will resolve in the future. Long story short if you are looking to buy a portable Bluetooth speaker and your primary concern is volume levels, audio quality, design, durability and battery life then you really can't go wrong with the BeatBlock Premium Bluetooth Wireless Speaker by Tech-Life and that's why it walks away with our Golden Award.
PROS
- Excellent Build Quality (Metal Frame/Rubber Exterior)
- Design
- Audio Quality
- Plenty Of Bass
- Volume Levels
- 3.5mm Output
- Speakerphone
- Battery Life (Almost 9 Hours At Maximum Volume)
- Price (For Some)
CONS
- Volume Up/Down Sounds
- Lacks Next/Previous Media Button
- EU Availability