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In recent months I've reviewed several compact, portable Bluetooth speakers and the list of Jawbone Jambox competitors just keeps growing. One of the higher-profile entries in the field is the $199 Beats by Dr. Dre Pill, which, needless to say, looks like a pill -- the capsule kind, anyway.
While it wasn't without a few glitches, its striking design, strong sound for its size, and some extra features, such as tap-to-pair NFC (for smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S3 that support near-field communication), an audio output, and Apt-X technology, help set it apart.
Design
Overall, I found the 10.9-ounce Pill, which comes in three colors (black, red, white) to be one of the better-designed mini portable Bluetooth speakers out there. It's slightly bigger and heavier than the Jambox and I liked its cylindrical shape -- it fits nicely in hand. The product ships with a quality carrying case and the Pill stows away in your luggage or backpack easily enough. It's a little bulky for laptop bags, though it'll fit fine so long as you're not toting around too much stuff the way I typically do.
Available in black, red, or white, the speaker comes packaged like a pill.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)Not surprisingly, the bottom of the unit is rubberized to help keep it from moving around when you crank the volume and fire up a bass-heavy track. In my tests, it stayed in one place even at higher volumes.
Features
As noted, the Pill has a couple of extra features. Like the Jambox and the Jabra Solemate, it has a built-in speakerphone. If a call comes in while you're streaming music to the speaker, you can hit the "B" button on the front of the speaker to take the call and the music will pause.
The speaker has both an audio input and an output. Its built-in rechargeable battery charges via USB.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)The aforementioned tap-to-pair NFC feature, which I tried with a Samsung Galaxy S3, sounds better than it really is because it only saves you a few seconds of setup time, if that.
The speaker in its protective carrying case.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)As for the Apt-X technology, it's supposed to enhance audio fidelity, but I personally had trouble telling the difference in sound quality when I streamed from the Apt-X-enabled Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 4S, which doesn't have Apt-X.
