- Compatible with any Bluetooth media player or phone - works great with apple iPhone 5 Siri, Android Devices and phones, Samsung S-Voice, Google Music, Pandora and all other audio APPs on your android or iPhone.
- 2 Key features where updated 1: The battery was upgraded. 2: The phone volume is now leveled with the music volume.
- Auto Pairing Feature: Pairs your device with the Hipe speaker automatically when it is in range of the speaker.
- Waterproof (Rated IPX6) Can withstand powerful water jets - Built in Echo cancellation and Noise suppression.
- Run time: up to 25 hours. (If the unit has not been used for more than 10 days, please charge it before using).
If you plan on using this outside of the shower as well, don't expect Bose quality sound. It's made for the shower and sounds excellent, loud, and clear with the "acoustics" of a bathroom and running water. This phenomenon is similar to the one in which people singing in the shower are convinced they can be the next Rihanna or John Legend (see first three weeks of American Idol auditions and/or Simon Cowell clips on Youtube).
Can't remove the handle which is not a big deal. Would be nice if it offered suction as an option/accessory so location of speaker isn't bound to either the shower head, soap holder, or towel rack region (FYI, handle is flexible material).
Googling, or however you spell it, "Hipe Bluetooth Speaker" does not yield an official Hipe Twitter, Facebook, or Website but the product packaging does say that HipeUSA.com is the Official Website for this product. The website though is quite barren at this point in time.
Pros:
Does EVERYTHING is says it does as advertised. From my experience, only 40% of products not sold by Apple can claim that. Currently, I don't see a viable competitive product as far as what this one has to offer.
For iPhone 4S users like myself, pressing the Call button activates Siri so essentially the speakers will port Siri commands to your iPhone and he/she will read back responses through the speaker. So yes, you can now listen to the last text message you got, send a response, and set a reminder to pick your friend up from the airport this weekend all while taking a shower and not touching your iPhone in the process. No, you cannot see Siri's response to directions to the airport on the Hipe speakers. The only issue I had is that Siri, via the speaker's microphone obviously, had a harder time understanding my perfect pitch and tone (thank you bathroom tile) so I had to speak slower, more clearly, and closer into the microphone to drown out (no pun intended) the sound of running water that probably confused him/her.
You can charge the speaker via the mini USB port on the back, and use the full size USB port to charge your phone or other device (I'll add pictures to user photos section so you can see). The product comes with a mini USB cord and wall adapter.
Side note:
Neither pro nor con, but the speakers have your traditional mesh covering so they're not fully enclosed and thus don't hinder sound. This, and fact that you have a removable cover for the power ports on the back, are probably why you can't dunk your speaker in a pool but you too can spray them with your ridiculously unnecessary Rainforest Shower Head and the Hipe will still live up to its name.
I have a Lifeproof case on my iPhone so I can take it with me into the shower and use it as normal. As a result, the only buttons I really need to use on the Hipe are the volume buttons and Power. Basically, I can't comment on how complicated it is to answer calls on it versus sending them to voicemail, rewinding or fast forwarding through a song or even if that's an option, shuffling, etc.
Also, the spelling in the user manual was atrocious. It appears whchever compny did the printig just skipped every several i's, r's, etc. like this, but you wold think Hipe cheked this before finalizig and packaging/shippng. A mistake like this doesn't typically affect the product though, or does it?
Summary:
For use in shower, not bubble bath Excellent; For use outside of shower "Medocre"I had just put in a new shower into my bathroom and while I had included sound into the exterior because of the sealed shower it wasn't easy to hear especially with the steam shower running.
I had been on the lookout for a work around. Found this item as pretty much the only reasonably priced waterproof bluetooth speaker.
I hemmed and hawed about purchasing it for about a month or so especially with the lackluster reviews over quality control.
Finally bit the bullet and bought it only to be delightfully surprised It was way louder then I had anticipated and even would kick off my android phones
voice actions programs (I have an S3 so it kicks off S-voice Samsung's siri competitor). Which allows me some control from inside the shower. The mike seems to work ok for this type of usage. Call quality on the other hand seems to be lacking only tried it maybe twice just to check it out but with my shower being particularly echo prone I would be surprised if any mic could handle the acoustics.
Other thoughts:
This thing is loud love that I can easily hear it with the loudness of my steam shower without it even cranked all the way up
Battery Life is nice and long.
Charging port for other devices seems silly. (Would be nice if I was going to use it for camping or somthing).
About 2-3 months after I purchased it I went to plug in the charging cord. And sadly the charging port came loose and fell into the cavity of the speaker. At this point it was unusable after it ran out of battery. This was disappointing as it is a main gripe mentioned in other reviews.
I was worried with the support based on how sparse the website is. But after emailing support I was promptly responded to and had an replacement shipped over with a return package label within a day or so.
So while the product is above and beyond in specs it does seem to still have its flaws, But support was excellent.
This product has wowed me while it works I haven't seen anything else comparable feature wise and they are all at least twice as expensive.
It does seem that they need to either take a closer look at quality control or figure out what causes this charge port issue.
The new model I received has still been working well since I received it.
TLDR;
Above and Beyond product. Some quality issues. Good support. Would buy again.Updated Review:
The company, Hipe, promptly sent me a replacement unit. Now that I know from experience I need to securely mount the unit in a place from where it won't easily fall down, I'm again a satisfied, happy and almost daily user of this speaker system again. To see what I like about this unit, see my initial review below.
I recommend this product with the warning that you don't just hang it on your shower or shower curtain rod, but that you mount it securely so that it does not fall down.
Initial Review:
Title: Fell down due to poor design & construction and stopped working. I had to throw it in the trash today.
After my first few weeks of using this product, I was going to give it a 4 or 5 star rating, because:
1. It does what it is advertised to do: It is water resistant, rechargeable and can be safely used in the shower area.
2. It is more than a set of speakers. It works well as a bluetooth based handsfree speakerphone. The controls are easy to use.
3. It has good sound quality. It worked well for both my audiobooks (spoken words) and music.
Sadly, the green part on top of it that is meant to be used to hang it on the shower or shower curtain rod is poorly designed: a) It does not lock around the bar where it is meant to be hung and, b) to make matters worse, it is flexible. As a result, it is highly prone to falling down.
Mine fell down multiple times, despite my attempts to hang it in different places. (shower head, shower curtain rod, etc..)
This major design & construction flaw can be easily fixed by making the top part more secure. For example, a strap with a buckle or a clicking release would secure it in a variety of places in the bathroom.
After the last fall, its USB connectors came loose and I was unable to plug the charging cable back in to charge it. Since I could not find a way to open it to reattach the connectors inside, I threw mine in the trash today.
It was good while it lasted. I wish it had lasted more than a few months.
My wife is always listening to her music and audio books while she puts on her makeup and gets ready in the morning. This speaker system is ideal for her. Don't let the shower option fool you into thinking that this is just for indoors use. It makes a great travel speaker for the outdoor deck, going to the beach or at a pool party. Just remember that it is waterproof to IPx6 or sprayed water and it is not submergible.
The speaker has great sound and is very loud. You can adjust the volume on your device and on the speaker itself. The front control panel allows you to adjust the volume, skip songs, pause music, answer the phone and link the Bluetooth communication to your device. You can even control your phone to forward the call to your smart phone or answer it right from the speaker. You can pause the phone call and go back to it when you are ready. The speaker will even redial the last number who called you or you can use voice commands if you have that feature on your phone. There is even an LED that will flash when the battery is getting low to warn you that it is time to charge it back up.
The speaker features a Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery that is rated to last 25 hours on a full charge. It is a nice looking speaker and it comes with a charging cable and an AC adapter. The instruction manual was easy to use and the setup and operation is very quickly done. I have included the instructions in my video so I hope they are useful to you.
The back of the speaker has a water tight seal that covers the charging port and main power switch. Make sure that you properly seal it before you put it in the shower. My video shows the speaker playing the Star Spangled Banner by the US Navy Band as it is a non-copyrighted song. That song was recorded by my iPhone off of the computer via audio pickup and converted to a MP3 song. It sounded great. The actual digital MP3 songs that I own sound even better as you can imagine but unfortunately I cannot use them in the video.
I had no problem with the Bluetooth connection and the speaker worked perfectly. When you turn off the speaker using the front button it will disconnect the Bluetooth function. By simply turning on the speaker again it will automatically link to your smart phone as long as your phone is still Bluetooth active and linked to the speaker. I show this in my video.
Overall I am impressed with the speaker and I rated it 5 stars. It worked as it was specified, it was easy to set up and the sound quality was excellent. This makes a great gift for someone or even for you and it will enhance your enjoyment of your music, audio books and pod casts.
Please note that I received a sample of the product for evaluation and I promised to provide a fair and honest review.
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