Kodak TV Speaker 68M Review: Built to appeal tech-savvy generation

Design

Kodak claims that the TV speaker has been designed to suit your active and mobile lifestyle. So, how well does it carry itself? Well, the body of the speaker has been constructed of durable materials with a mix of plastic and rubbery texture at the sides that adds proper grip.

The speaker has rounded edges at the top and bottom sides and has a compact shape that fits easily into your bag or backpack. You might not feel the weight as much because it only weighs about 1.5 pounds, thus making this speaker easy to carry.

Further, the speaker comes with functions keys like the play and pause, as well as, the volume buttons at the top. The indication lights are placed between the function buttons. Talking about the functionality, these buttons helped us in conducting various functions like answering phone calls, skipping tracks, switching between connected devices and more. While it is standard in Bluetooth speakers we could also control all the functions from our Bluetooth-enabled device.

At the rear, the speaker features two Auxiliary inputs that enable you to connect to other audio sources, like a tablet, smartphones or MP3 player. If you don't have a Bluetooth-enabled device then you can use a 3.5mm audio jack to connect the speaker to the device. Kodak does ship a cable with the speaker. It is also worth noting that with the AUX feature, you can link two or more speaker units and get them to work in tandem.

The power button is placed between the Auxiliary input and there is also a micro USB port for charging. In order to give the speaker a sleek look, Kodak has included a cover that sits atop all these buttons and ports. The speaker also has plastic frame or grille at the rear and a metal one at the front that makes it sturdy.

Keeping portability in mind, Kodak has also designed the speaker with two strap holders and to make things easier the company does provide a strap in the box.

Besides this, the speaker that we got for review is a black color variant and it does look appealing. All in all, the design looks neat, compact and the speaker feels solid. Kodak TV Speaker is a good mix of functionality and aesthetics.

Setup

The Kodak TV Speaker pairs with any smartphone, tablet or other Bluetooth devices and comes with 4.0 + EDR Bluetooth version. The speaker goes to Bluetooth mode automatically once it is turned on.

The LED light will flash and indicate that the connection is active. Once we turned on the Bluetooth in our device and after searching for connection the speaker appeared with a name "S68." On pairing with it there was a single beep for confirmation.

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Further, voice prompts also helped us through Bluetooth pairing, making it more simple. What's good about this speaker is that pairing devices with it is very easy and it does not take much time.

Performance

Coming to the main aspect, the performance. The Kodak TV Speaker is equipped with a powerful 10W sound output. During our trial, we used the speaker with a smartphone, laptop and TV and the speaker performed "okay" in reproducing the sound.

The mid-range output was good with a decent level of bass and without any distortions. Further, while listening to music through a smartphone the speaker did a decent job of separating sounds and all the instruments were clearly audible. However, the speaker disappoints when it comes to genres that rely on bass solely. The speaker fails to create that deep thumping bass sound.

When used with laptop and TV, the Kodak TV Speaker with its good mid-range response ensured that the dialogue in movies was clearly audible. To sum it up, the hearing experience was pleasant.

Interestingly, the speaker can get really loud for its size. However, one drawback is that it does tend to make a jarring sound at higher volumes. But again, this aspect is quite common in most budget-friendly speakers. Due to the portability feature, the speakers mostly lose out powerful audio performance.

Talking about the battery life, Koday TV Speaker comes with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and the company had claimed that the speaker would deliver 5 hours of battery life, the device did perform as expected. We got approx. 5 hours of playtime on a single charge. Notably, the speaker should suffice for most practical purposes.

On the other hand, it would have been great if the company offered more playtime for its users.Some cheaper and smaller Bluetooth speakers also provide the same.

As for the range, the speaker remained connected at a distance of 32 feet from the source. We could play music without issues when our smartphone was in the same room or a few rooms away.

Verdict

Well, Kodak TV Speaker 68M makes a good companion for a television, as well as other devices like PCs, smartphones, tablets and MP3 players. It enhances the sound of your television or any other device quite decently and the portability factor helps to play music wherever you are, no matter what you're doing. Further, the unique thing about this speaker is its two AUX out options that helps you double the sound by connecting multiple speakers at the same time. The speaker misses out on waterproof and dust-proof features though.

KodaK TV Speaker 68M is originally retailing at Rs. 3,990. However, the device is currently available for Rs. 2,999 on Flipkart and Rs. 3,499 on Amazon.

It is a good buy if you're looking for a decent Bluetooth speaker that you can carry around anywhere without issues. But again, if you are one of those who want more options in the same price range JBL Clip 2 or Sony SRS-XB10 speakers should be considered.