Modular accessories for smartphone is not something new, from Google’s now cancelled Project Ara, to Motorola and Essential. A few companies, including Vibesmodular are looking to make accessories modular for smartphones so that it can be better reused for your new gadgets when you upgrade. Today we have VibesModular accessories to take a look at, including their VibRox and VoltRox.

VibesModular offers 2 main modular accessories – The VibRox and the VoltRox.

The VibRox Sound Engine is a modular speaker accessory from VibesModular that allows you to attach the speaker to the casing for times where you need to impress your friends or just a impromptu call that you like to share with your friends. It works by connecting your phone to the speaker wirelessly via Bluetooth.

Out of the box, the VibRox speaker comes in 2 parts, the speaker module itself and a base plate for mounting it into a normal speaker. The base plate also acts like a charger for the speaker module, which means that you will need it to charge the speaker.

The base plate, once the module is mounted, allows you to use it like a normal speaker with a stand. On the back, the base plate allows you to plug in your microUSB cable to charge.

The speaker itself has a carbon fiber plate in front that is the speaker drivers itself. When playing your music, you can feel the plate moving and vibrating. There is one release button on the right of the speakers that allows you to release it from the mount or the phone dock casing when it is mounted. On the left, it is pretty clean, with the model – VibRox, etched onto it. On the bottom, its it also clean. Now, moving onto the top, it is where all the buttons are. First we have the Equalizer and power/pairing button (EQ), the volume controls (+ -) and last but not least, the play/pause button that also doubles up as the answer/hang up call button.

On the reverse side, there is four rubber feet for you to put it on the table, as well as two round connectors that connects you to the docking base.

Now onto the most important part – sound quality. The sound quality, from this pre-production unit was pretty loud and decent, and it worked best when placed in the phone casing adapter. Much louder and clearer than the BlackBerry KEYone, BlackBerry DTEK 60 as well as HTC U11 internal speakers, and not forgetting the old BlackBerry Mini Bluetooth Speaker (ACC-52983-001), this was definitely much better than that.

The speaker is rated to be waterproof, with an IPX7 rating, however, as a pre-production unit, we could not really test this as it did not have that feature yet.

In the box, it also came with a flat 5′ microUSB cable and a 2.1A USB Wall adapter for charging of the speaker set.

The VoltRox is essentially a powerbank for your smartphone, that can be simply attached to the phone casing whenever you need to go on a longer journey. Packed with 3,000mAh of juice, it could provide you with some additional much needed power when the time calls for it.

The VoltRox comes with the battery bank itself and a microUSB cable for charging it. The front of the powerbank has a silver button, together with the 4 holes which are where the indicator lights are situated. Next to it, the connector to your phone is in blue colour. One thing though, is that the connector is built in and cannot be changed. Which means that swapping up from an Apple device to a Android/BlackBerry Device or versa, as well as upgrading to a new phone that uses USB-C later on, will pose an issue – you will need to get a new powerbank.

Usage wise is simple: all you need to do, it to pull out the blue cable, and plug it into your device. As the cable is a little short, sometimes you may need to stretch it a little to get it connected. Nonetheless, the nifty device does its job well.

All in all, VibesModular (Previously Vibes Audio) is bringing something interesting to us and I can’t wait to see what other accessories could they build onto it. A portable high-power solar panel where it can charge our phones from mere room light? Or perhaps a second display?

Nonetheless, even with its minor flaws and oversight (of the cable connector), the interesting concept proposed by VibesModular is refreshing and convenient. This could indeed hopefully reduce waste and our over all expenditure on accessories.

If this is giving you the vibes already, check them out at www.vibesmodular.com

Posted by Terrence T for ©BerryReview |
VibesModular – Modular Smartphone Accessories