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Review of Blackberry Remote Stereo Gateway

In the box:

Blackberry Remote Stereo Gateway
3.5 – 3.5 mm cable
AV cable
User Guide

I would like to remind you that Blackberry stands not only for smartphones and the special approach to e-mail, but offers its accessories as well. The company understands that small gadgets bring profit too. The production cost of a silicone case is a penny, but you can sell it for a dollar if skillfully branded. The same applies to leather cases, headsets and other things. At the same time even their silicone cases are original. I tried a black one for BB 9700 and can say that it is high class with velvet feel and properly made holes in all the right places. The handset looks impressive inside. Cases are simple products, but today we will speak about something more elaborate.

Design and construction

A small and relatively heavy box has black shiny plastic at the top and a rubber rectangular pedestal at the bottom. At the back it features a 3.5 mm jack and a miniUSB for power supply. You can use an ordinary USB cable or a charger. In the box you get an audio cable (3.5 – 3.5 mm) and one to connect to more serious devices. I did not use either and I will explain the reasons later. At the front we see a light indicator showing red or blue. The User Guide gives a detailed account of different color combinations and blinking, so you'd better read it. The build is neat with the traditional style. You have no doubts that the gadget belongs to Blackberry Universe. The only control element is a sensor button functioning also as a logo. By pressing it you switch the gadget on and off.

Use

As its name suggests the gadget is used for wireless transfer of sound to stereo systems. It can be a stereo or acoustic system. You name it. I connected the gateway to a tabletop Harman/Kardon Sound Sticks II and everything was fine. This accessory had enough of power via the USB cable connected to MacBook Pro and I ended up with a truly multimedia hotspot. I started with an iPhone. It went well and took just seconds. You need to enter the code (0000) and then start listening. The same algorithm was used in Blackberry Torch – find a device, enter the code and listen.

I can give an A- for the sound quality: you get proper detail without artefacts. It is a wonderful way to transfer sound from a phone or player to an exterior system.

Conclusions

Sony Ericsson once had a similar gadget named MBR-100, which was used for same purposes.

Sony Ericsson MDC-60, MBR-100 – new music widgets

It did not enjoy outstanding sales, but you can still buy it for $10 or $13. In the review I mentioned that MBR-100 was a work of genius. Devoid of controls it still offered 12 hours of playback.

The accessory from Blackberry costs around $100-160. Nobody cares about its design, because it is only an addition to the main course. In the box you cannot find a connection cable or charger, which is a downside. The only advantage is a good sound quality. No complaints here.

If you are a true fan of Blackberry and collect everything associated with the brand I can recommend this accessory and you will be definitely satisfied. Under other circumstances we have a niche product on our hands.

The author is grateful to Blackberrys.ru for the test sample of Blackberry Remote Stereo Gateway.

Sergei Kuzmin (skuzmin@mobile-review.com)
Twitter Livejournal
Translated by Maxim Antonenko (maxantonenko@ukr.net)