I recently reviewed another product from Lumsing, the PBJ-6200 Power Bank. And, though there is a sea of similar-function, portable charging devices available, the Lumsing version actually stood out for its rugged construction. So, when approached to test and review another Lumsing product, I was definitely interested.
The Lumsing Prophet Bluetooth Speaker is a multi-function device that allows connection to your smartphones and tablets using both NFC and Bluetooth for sound and speaker phone capability. Like the Power Bank I reviewed, there's a lot of similar options in the market. The Prophet provides the same features and functions you would expect from this type of gadget, but does excel and is unique in a couple areas. So, in this review, I won't comment on the pieces you expect from a device like this, but instead focus on those areas that makes the Prophet a worthy addition to your gadget farm – or where I found features (or lack of) that were moderately annoying.
In the Box
The Lumsing Prophet comes with what you see in the following image: the device, a USB Power Cable, the User Manual, and a 3.5mm Audio Cable (for connecting to devices without Bluetooth or NFC capability).
Included on the back of the Prophet is the power button, the DC charging port, a port to hard-connect a device to the speaker, and the volume dial.
It's a pretty solid unit, construction-wise. It's a little heavier than you might first expect. So, the weight, along with the non-slip rubber feet on the bottom, means it won't slide easily off a desk.
Incidentally, the User manual also comes with a very apparent misspelling right on the cover for the English language version of the documentation. I initially thought that I might have gotten the actual name wrong, but, a quick check of the company's web site shows that the name is indeed intended to be "Prophet" not "Propeht." To Lumsing's credit, the exact same spelling is used throughout the manual, so whoever created the manual was dedicated to inventing a new product name, I guess.
Sound and Hands Free Speaker Phone
I was surprised by the clarity and quality of the Prophet's sound quality. It's really very good, and this is probably the best feature. Sound is provided through two speakers hidden beneath the mesh top. This is also where the microphone is hidden – and surprisingly, the speakerphone does a great job picking up voices on either end of the call. Lumsing touts the Prophet as having up to 15 hours of playtime on a single charge, and that's a great feature. I wasn't able to test it that for that long, but it still hasn't run out of juice since I've had it.
Using the Pause/Call-pickup button in the middle of the Prophet, you can pause music and sound, or choose to answer and hang up phone calls.
So, the sound works well, and the microphone does a good job, but there is one minor annoyance in this area that I have to mention. The Prophet is a round device and to accommodate a tablet or smartphone, there's a rotating tab at the front that swivels to provide a tray to prop up your connected device.
This is a neat design, but when a tablet or smartphone is sitting in the tray, the Pause/Call-pickup button is tough to reach without knocking your device from its perch. It's not a big deal, but can get annoying. Of course, you can just sit your smartphone or tablet to the side.
The tray also is void of any rubberized device protection or stabilization, meaning that the tray is constructed of slick plastic and your device could easily be knocked from its perch.
Connecting with Bluetooth and NFC
The Bluetooth connection worked great for every device I tested. It was immediate and paired automatically. And the communication between the device and the Prophet was solid. Sometimes, with devices like these, you'll hear pops, breaks, and lags for voice and sound, but the Prophet provides a firm connection stream.
While the Bluetooth connection was great, I could not get an NFC connection working no matter what device I tried to use. This included Windows Phone, a Windows tablet, and a couple Android tablets. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I don’t have iOS devices to test with at the moment. NFC pairing would be a great feature, but like I said, Bluetooth works flawlessly.
Bottom Line: Despite a couple annoyances and not being able to get NFC to work with the devices I had handy to test with, the Prophet sound quality is exceptional. It's not a BOSE, by any stretch, but it does provide a good sound experience. The speakerphone works great and seems to pick up voices on both ends extremely well. For a traveler sitting a hotel room desk, or a makeshift desk in another office, this would make for a good device for conducting con-calls.
The Lumsing Prophet is available from Amazon.com for around $22.00:
Lumsing Prophet Bluetooth Speaker 10w Portable Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Speaker
