The Craig Bluetooth Radio Box

The Craig CR4189BT is a portable hybrid radio/bluetooth speaker that is primarily distributed through bargain stores such as Walmart or Biglots. It is difficult to peer into the design process for a cheaply made mass-manufactured good like this radio but I will try. I first found it in a open-box at a Biglots, lacking a USB charger. Recognizing that this was a standard port size I took the risk and purchased it. Now it is unlikely that this device is being sold primarily as a radio, but that is almost exclusively what I use it for. As a radio this out-performs even the car radio built into my car. As someone who helps run a low-power FM station this device is actually able to pick up my radio station indoors without a crazy an tenna. This is probably because of the telescoping antenna built into this device and the digital tuner. The fact that it can pick 98.3 with minimal static is enough to make me fall in love with this radio. This allowed me to overlook the various flaws, quirks and otherwise absurd traits that make this device a complicated subject to say the least.

Physical Traits

While the trend with electronics these days is miniaturization this device bucks the trend and is literally the size of a shoe box measuring approximately 10″ x 5″ x”5. The only design justification would have to be the placement of the two speakers on top of each other in the front of the device. It is basically like carrying around a speaker the size of a toaster. For the size it is remarkably light weight as it is likely hollow inside. There is also a carrying handle on the top. The radio antenna is the type standard in most 80s electronics made of steel and receding or extending via a telescoping action. The box itself is made of some sort of particle board wood. The top edges of the box are rounded to ever so slightly employ the contour bias affect, or perhaps the designers just had the forethought to realize that sharp edges would likely injure people.  The overall design aesthetic is a sort of retro-futuristic black plastic feel. What really makes the device pop is the inclusion of flashing RGB Led lights that encircle the speaker. It is unknown what the intended affect of these lights are but they are the primary selling point for most buyers.

Usability

There are two user interfaces for this device, the small panel on top of the box and the provided remote. The top mounted interface is  small with 5 buttons and a red LED display common to alarm clocks from the 80s. It also includes two ports a USB and SD card slot where you can evidently insert media full of mp3s to playback. The buttons are confusingly mapped to multiple functions where the backward and forward buttons have vol- and vol+ listed above them. This requires the user to long press the buttons to enact the volume function. The right most button is the Mode button, which simply switches the device between radio or bluetooth speaker function. The EQ button doesn’t appear to do anything, unless perhaps you are playing media off of your USB device. The alternative means of input is the remote which consists of 21 buttons. This remote uses the same standard icons and a number keypad to provide quick switching of radio stations. There is a power button and a mute button. Basically, the device is far more functional in terms of the interface if you use the provided remote as the minimalist interface provided by the top is cludgy at best.

In terms of effectiveness this product does what it should in terms of producing audio. The sound quality isn’t anything special but it can be loud. Due to the ubiquitousness of cheap speakers, ear buds, low-quality streaming audio it seems that sound quality is less easily quantifiable. It does sound better than the speakers on my laptop and can be heard across the room. For someone seeking a home-stereo hi-fi experience of old this device will likely not meet such high standards.

In terms of efficiency this product works well as a radio because of the extendable antenna often missing in many cheaply made radios. The interface requires a couple of additional steps compared to say a radio of old. You must turn it on and then hit the mode button and usually I need to immediately reduce the volume as the default is rather high. It is fairly easy to use as a bluetooth speaker, and if for some reason you want to use a cable they provide additional input in the back of the device for audio input. The one major complaint is in terms of the lack of indication that the battery is about to fail, the device will simply stop producing audio and display a red dot on the top of the screen. An annoying aspect is that the LED lights will continue blinking even as your radio indicated it no longer has enough juice to perform its primary function.

The utility of this device is sort of a swiss-army knife of speakers, being able to plug in directly, listen to radio, mp3 files from portable media or streambluetooth. It is likely that people will seek it out because it is advertised to perform all of these things. The bluetooth is a nice addition although not what I typically use the device for. Testing it right now streaming music from Amazon it gets a signal from my computer in the other room and is playing audio without skipping.

Modular Design

One thing I noticed about this device when I first purchased it was that it had a removal battery and this battery I recognized was identical to the type used in my old Nokia clamshell. As one of the components most likely to fail in the lifetime of a product is the battery the ability to find a replacement for 2.13 cents with free shipping direct from China means that this component could be fixed. Upon reading reviews of this device on Amazon though it appears that many people had the USB charging port on the back collapse into the device. Evidently it was simply glued in place and this glue failed for a lot of people. This failure didn’t occur with my device but it is a sign of the relatively cheap build quality and usage of off-the-shelf components to build this. Obviously when the designers of this device were looking to put it together making it as cheaply as possible likely trumped many other concerns.

Recommendation

I’m overall happy with this device because I actually use the radio and found it for an extremely cheap price and was pleasantly surprised by the utility in contrast to the cheap build quality. I like the quirky radio and it is probably one of my most frequently used devices. Other than my headphones it is my preferred means of ingesting audio. Are there other devices out there that perform the functions of a blue-tooth speaker with slicker interfaces ? This is most likely the case, but the radio component is often after-thought with internal antennas. As someone who listens to low-power FM stations I find this device performed quite well for this purpose. And for that reason I’d recommend it in a second. If listening to FM radio isn’t the primary reason for purchasing this device I would say that one might want to investigate other higher quality speakers. If you just want something cheap, portable and relatively functional than this device performs well all factors combined.

Just don’t use the speaker outside at night or you might inadvertently signal to passing aliens that you want to be abducted.