Inateck Portable Bluetooth Speaker review
The Inateck Portable Bluetooth Speaker is a lightweight portable wireless and wired speaker that produces very nice audio reproduction at a reasonable price.
The first thing I noticed is that the speaker is not exceptionally loud, however it sounds very clear. It also reminds me a bit of 1980s desk speakerphones sold by Radio Shack, but it sounds significantly better than those did.
The Inatech Portable Bluetooth Speaker is somewhat cube shaped with the rear being about a quarter inch higher than the front. It also has three grills for sound which are located on the right, left, and front. I’m not sure, but I think that only two of these do anything as it seems that the left (when facing,) is the higher end and the middle the lower end. The right I think was put there to balance things out visually.
As a speakerphone it’s so-so. The mic pickup is on one side of it and you can’t tell you’re on the wrong side, but the person you’re talking to sure can. The mic pickup appears to be on the left side when you’re facing the front. It works pretty well when it’s pointing at you, the pickup seems decent, but the Radio Shack feeling creeps in again.
Inateck Portable Bluetooth Speaker specs
- Bluetooth v2.1 and EDR
- 10 meter signal distance
- 3 Watts x1
- 90 Hz- 20kHz range
- SNR: 78 db or above
- 130 or 140 grams (mfg site says one thing, Amazon says another. Left my drug scale at Lenny’s)
- 2.95″ x 2.95″ x 2.46″
- Battery capacity is listed as > 500mAh/5-6 hours playtime
In use
I decided to test the 10 meter range as I have tested a bunch of speakers that don’t live up to that. It appears that the range in a commercial office building through a wall containing 80+ network cables, power, and finally though a wiring closet with a large transformer was more on the range of 13 meters.
Range will of course vary based on what you’re using to transmit. I was also walking around with a speaker playing Johnny Cash in an office building so I’m not entirely sure how clear the signal was as I had it turned down pretty low.
3 Watts isn’t much, but it was enough on my favorite Bluetooth speaker of all time (the HMDX Jam) to fill a large room with sound. With the Inateck Portable Bluetooth Speaker you’ve got a pretty decent sound, but it doesn’t deliver the same oomph. It’s also significantly smaller than the Jams and sounds a bit crisper, so there’s that.
What’s in the box?
- Inateck Portable Bluetooth Speaker
- 20+ inch USB charging cable
- 3.5mm audio cable
- Instruction manual
- Returns and exchange information
Overall
Pretty decent speaker that’s currently available for a very good price at the moment. The MSRP is $39.99, but the Amazon link on the manufacturer’s website has it for less than half of that.
If you’ve wanted a speaker to bring a bit of music to a room or a picnic this is a very good one for that. If you’re trying to drop some noise at a party, it’s a little underpowered. You also are probably not going to blow out your neighbor’s windows unless you’re throwing the thing.
The Inateck Portable Bluetooth Speaker is available from the manufacturer for $16.99 with black and white options. The price is low enough that you’d need to buy three of them (or something else,) to get free shipping.
