In middle school, I jammed my sleek purple iPod Nano onto my iHome and annoyed my parents with early Kanye and Avril Lavigne while the volume wheel clicked as I pushed the music louder. In high school, I squeezed my car’s sparkly pink auxiliary cord through my bulky waterproof phone case and annoyed my family when I drove up and they could feel the bass rattling the kitchen. These days, I turn on my Beats Pill by Dr. Dre, open Spotify with a swipe, and annoy my roommates as I immerse myself in a world of sound that I didn’t know existed before Christmas.
When I was given my Pill, named for its oblong, capsuled shape, I was honestly disappointed. I thought, ‘Mmm, this is cool but I doubt I’ll really use it… I mean how great can a speaker really be?’ I took it home, took it out of the simply modern, white rectangular box with the trademark ‘b’ on the front, charged it up, and went to bed. Maybe I would use it tomorrow…
Boy, did I use that thing. I was dreading having to sync it to my phone, but I turned on my Bluetooth, it connectedwithin seconds… and the best part? It stays synced with your phone and never has to be reconnected! Major plus in my opinion.
And let’s just talk about the actual sound for a second. The tiny, perfectly portable Pill supplies a depth of sound that I cannot say that I have ever experienced before, and an experience it is. Somehow, the bass subtly reverberates against the walls of my bedroom and creates what feels like a bubble. Sound bounces and surrounds you from every side, absorbing you just like the voice in the movie theatre that whispers, “alllll… aroundddd… youuuu.” It’s booming, but not overwhelming; loud, but tamed.
Then, there are the functional advantages of the Pill that comes in snowy white, sophisticated black, and fiery red, Dr. Dre’s signature color. When fully charged, it has an abundant battery life of 12 hours, perfect for a whole day of nonstop music. And if you don’t use your entire battery jamming to your favorite tunes, you can plug your phone in and use it as a backup power source. It’s also incredibly easy to navigate and operate. It has only three buttons- power, volume up, and volume down, perfect for even the most technologically challenged person.
There is even an app for the Beats Pill- and who doesn’t love a good app? The app allows you to add an additional Bluetooth source, giving both yourself and a friend DJ-ing capabilities. Not only this, but you can add a second Pill to a single Bluetooth source which allows music to stream simultaneously to both speakers via one source. Double the music, double the experience!
Dr. Dre’s Beats Pills run in the $200 range anywhere you look, but the quality of sound and the usability makes every cent worth it. The only downfall to the Beats Pill is that its not waterproof- a highly desirable quality for days when you want to jam to your Pill on the beach or bust tunes on a hot,summery pool day. Otherwise, the Beats Pill is a win and puts to shame other Bluetooth speakers.
Sarah McCullen 