bCODA CODA One Bluetooth Speaker Review – The Multifunctional Bluetooth Audio Solution

I love Bluetooth devices. They may be a pain in the butt sometimes to pair with your mobile devices but once they do, they are awesome. I love being able to connect my gadgets to each other without being tethered by a wire. Bluetooth speakers are among some of my favorites due to their small size, portability, and ability to listen to all my audio anywhere and at a much higher volume than what my built in speakers would be able to handle. There are tons of different Bluetooth speaker options available to choose from but there are only a few that are multifunction. That’s where the bCODA CODA One comes in. The CODA One is especially designed to be multifunctional and perfect for those with an active lifestyle.

Design and Usage

The Coda One is not a large speaker system like some of the others I’ve looked at in the past. In fact, the CODA One is one of the smaller units out there with a rather interesting design element. You see, the CODA One doesn’t look like your usual Bluetooth speaker. Instead, it kind of looks like an old school rotary phone handset but smaller and flattened. That was my initial thought when I first saw them but there is a good reason why The CODA One looks like that. You see, the Coda One can be used as a handset as well as a speakerphone.

I’ll get to more on that in a bit but first let’s take a look at the CODA One’s design. Again the CODA  One looks like a miniature, flattened handset. It is completely black and has a rubbery, soft touch coating. This gives the CODA One a soft, smooth, silky feel. It is very symmetrically shaped with two large speakers (large for a device this size) and a central activation button. Because this is shaped like a handset, you’d assume that one one of the circular grills is a speaker while the other is a mic, but this isn’t the case at all. The CODA One does indeed have stereo speaker. Also surprising that despite the main purpose of this device being that of a speakerphone, it actually does quite a good job at playing music as well.

When calls come into your device, you can pick them up in 1 of 2 ways. You can either pick up calls normally by tapping the large button in the center and it will activate the speakerphone. This is how most speakerphones function. The second way is what makes it unique. By tapping on the side button, you can pick up calls like you would on a telephone handset in which the audio only plays through 1 speaker, but no one else can hear it except for you if you place it up to your ear. In this method, it acts just like a normal phone receiver. This is great if you want to privately pick up a call and don’t want anyone to hear the conversation. You also have the option of ignoring calls too by holding down either of the buttons. One thing that I find rather unique is that it will announce who is calling you. If its someone in your contacts, it will announce there name. If it’s an unknown number, it will say the number out to you.

Another really neat feature that I wish more Bluetooth devices would incorporate is the ability to pair with multiple devices. With the CODA One, not only only pairs to your favorite mobile device, it can pair with up to 7 other handsets. That means it can pair with 8 devices at a time which is great if you are a multi-device user like I am. One of the worst things about most Bluetooth devices is that you have to constantly pair them if you are trying to use them on more than one device. This can be a big hassle sometimes so its great when a device has the ability to remember multi-devices. Just pair once with each device you want to use and you’re all set.

Since this is a speakerphone, the CODA One includes a magnetic clip that can be attached to your vehicles sun visor. Because it’s magnetic, you can easily attach and detach the CODA One when need be. The magnet used is quite strong and you do not need to worry about the device every detaching itself when you don’t want it to. Devices like this are great for vehicles that do not have Bluetooth built in or for those with Bluetooth enabled vehicles that don’t have a many features as the CODA One does.

I really like the way the CODA One looks and functions. It’s easy to setup and easy to use which is a huge plus when setting up Bluetooth devices.

Specs

Final Thoughts

The bCODA CODA One is a rather unique device when it comes to Bluetooth speakerphones systems. It’s not only a speakerphone but also an audio speaker for music and movies as well as a handset for private calls. Not many other speakers can boast having this much functionality in such a small package. With that said, the CODA One is probably the best speakerphone I have ever used up to this point based on its size, features, and looks. This is one device that you can take with you anywhere and definitely comes in handy when you want to go hands free and want a bit more volume than what your regular device can provide with it’s own built in speakers.

The bCoda CODA One is pretty affordable too at only $79.99 especially for all it can do. You can pick one up here.