Fenda Audio (F&D) W30 Bluetooth Speakers – The Unbiased Review

Bluetooth technology has come a long way, especially the most recent iteration the Bluetooth 4.0. (Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth 4.0 achieves its reduced power consumption by enabling devices to remain paired, or connected to each other, without requiring a continual stream of data to be transferred between the devices) And hence, BT 4.0 speakers are ideal for households that aren’t strictly Apple-centric, since they work with all nearly all smartphones and tablets, as well as all iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touch. The only real downside is that audio fidelity is often a step down.  Most of the Bluetooth speakers are designed with rechargeable batteries, so they can be moved from room to room with ease. Travel models are even smaller, and often include speakerphone functionality as well. And we reviewed one such portable speaker, which is also one of the best looking portable BT speakers at a very competitive price – The Fenda (F&D Audio) Blade W30 

Design

The Fenda Blade has the most unique look of all the speakers. It has a tower design that allows you put it on its side or standing on its end, also the astonishing 21mm slim design makes it  easy to carry it around in your denim pockets. It also has the smoothest look of all the speakers, with round edges and a matte black finish. The Fenda Blade comes in two colors, black-red and white-green. The top,bottom and sides have a nonslip rubber coating, and the middle is covered with a wraparound grille embossed with a geometric pattern and the Fenda Audio logo. The top and the right side of the speakers have all the controls and ports. And you dare miss out on the plush back with soft faux leather look. On the whole, it is a meticulously solid design, weighing only 0.22Kg. The total dimensions are W145xH72xD24mm. Know matter how much we try and tell you about the dimensions or how small the Fenda Blade is; we bet you’ll be in for a surprise when you actually see them.

At the very top you have six easy to spot buttons- two for changing the tracks (Back & Forward); source button that let’s you change from Bluetooth mode to NFC to Aux or to Memory Card; then there is a telephone button that answers and ends calls and it can also auto-dial when paired with your phone; lastly the Play/Pause button. On the right side, there’s a up-down position power button that triggers the pairing mode when you hold it up. Beneath that you have a 3.5mm aux input for use with non-Bluetooth audio devices, and a Micro-USB port for recharging the speaker or connecting to a computer and a micro-sd card reader for playing music directly from a memory card.

Features

To begin with we can assure you that you’ll have a difficult time finding a portable Bluetooth speaker with more features than the Fenda Blade W30. For example, connectivity options – Most advanced Bluetooth V4.0 technology, NFC, 3.5mm Aux input, direct access to Micro SD card; the system voice (used to announce caller ID, battery levels, pairing mode, voice dialing, etc); Conference phone system

The Bluetooth connection is multipoint, allowing you to connect two devices at the same time. Also included are a stereo aux cable for connecting non-Bluetooth devices and Micro-USB cable.

Performance

The Fenda Blade W30 come with 2.5Wx2 (RMS) power output accompanied with 1.5″x2 full range Neodymium drivers – powered by Cambridge Silicon Radio. During testing, we paired the Fenda Blade effortlessly with an iPad, iPhone 5s, and Macbook Air. Once paired, the bluetooth speakers emit a little tone to signal the established connection, and your portable boombox is ready to hit it’. We tested it for music, video playback and games and noticed no audio latency.

The Bluetooth range of the Blade W30 is an expected 30 to 40 feet, depending on obstructions in the room. Its sound is undeniably impressive for its size, but not great overall, and we were left gasping for more bass.When you turn it on, the system voice announces ‘Power On’; if no device is connected for 30 seconds, it then announces ‘Waiting for Pairing’.

Incoming call quality was very good using an iPhone 5s as the paired device. Outgoing voice quality using the integrated microphone was decent. Name recognition during voice calling mode also worked well.

A larger Bluetooth speaker, may easily outgun the Blade W30, but it would never match the capabilities and features–not to mention its more compact size.

We felt the sound quality was better when the speaker was on its side compared to when it was vertical. When it was on its side, the feet on the bottom of the speaker was able to absorb more of the bass. When it was vertical, the sound was not as full and lacked bass. However, I did find this speaker had the best speakerphone sound quality.

Battery Life

The battery life of the Fenda Blade W30 lasts between 4 to 5 hours, depending on volume levels and connectivity mode. But you will be surprised that the speakers stay on for more than 12hrs if only used for phone calls using BT 4.0. As far as charging is concerned, the speakers took roughly 3 hours for a full charge, the battery level indicator comes in very handy.

The Unbiased Verdict

We used the speakers in our conference calls @theunbiasedblog office; at a card party on the roof and of course whilst showering, oh did we tell you it has a water repelling design. All in all, the Fenda Blade W30 are small and compact, making them perfect for travelling or slipping into your backpack for a day trip. The speakers give consistently crisp sound, even at higher volumes, and their unique but understated style will fit into any room in your house or your pocket. So go ahead and order one for yourself at an unbelievable price of INR 2,499 from Flipkart by clicking on this link – fkrt.it/jG7hPNNN