INTRODUCTION

   With just hours before Christmas 2017 we are not only spending time with our families but we're also "using" this occasion to enjoy some of the products we finished testing a few days ago. Now originally we wanted our last reviews of the year to be all about gaming peripherals but that was impossible since one of the games we really wanted to test them with (Player Unknowns Battlegrounds) would not even launch (memory read errors) even after installing it in two of our systems (hopefully this bug will be resolved soon). So instead we decided to focus on many other devices including portable speakers including the recently released (and quite successful so far) M22 Outdoor Bluetooth Speaker by HAVIT.

   HAVIT, since 1998, is the global professional brand of PC and mobile terminal peripheral; it is the national A custom enterprise, the enterprise with independent international brand that is key cultivated and developed by Guangzhou government. Its business covers brand operation, import and export trade, cross-border E-commerce and supply chain service. The sales network evolves more than 80 countries and regions. Except that, it establishes branch office for marketing in Miami, America. It becomes specialized manufacture of many international brands and supplier of chain groups. In recent years, HAVIT has fully entered into new channel and industrial field such as cross-border E-commerce, mobile terminal, Borlee 3D printing. Under the promotion of remarkable achievements, the influence of its brand has become bigger and bigger, in future; HAVIT will continue to strive for more excellent achievements. Enjoy what I have!

  Under the hood of the M22 Outdoor Bluetooth Speaker HAVIT has placed two 52mm dynamic stereo drivers (10W PMPO each with a frequency response of 70Hz-20KHz and 4Ohm impedance) complete with a rear bass port, microphone and a 5000mAh rechargeable battery pack which can not only power the M22 for up to a total of 16 hours but can also be used to recharge other portable devices. The M22 also features an silicone/rugged IPX5 certified water resistant (water jets from any direction - can't be submerged into water) and shockproof enclosure, Bluetooth v4.2 connectivity (10 meter range), detachable rope handle and a microSD card slot which can be used to playback MP3 files. So is the M22 Outdoor Bluetooth Speaker by HAVIT the ideal Holiday present?

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The M22 arrived inside a white box that has a large product picture at the front and the product specifications and features at the rear printed in two languages.

HAVIT has also placed the main product features at the base of the box.

Removing the exterior cover reveals the main cardboard box with the company logo on it.

As you can see the entire bundle is placed inside a carrying case.

Aside the carrying case and the M22 speaker you will also get a 3.5mm cable, USB to microUSB charging cable, owner’s manual and two feedback cards.

THE M22

The 911g heavy body of the M22 is made out of silicone, metal and hard plastic and measures 229mm in length, 114.5mm in width and 65.4mm in height.

To see just how large the M22 is we placed it right next to what might be HAVITs largest Bluetooth speaker to date the HV-SK159BT.

On both the front and rear HAVIT has placed two metal plates and two metal mesh pieces past them.

The volume up/down/next track/previous track, power on/off and play/pause buttons are placed at the top of the enclosure.

HAVIT has made it so that you can remove the rope handle if you want (more on that later).

A small compartment is placed on the right side of the device and in here we find the microSD card slot, 3.5mm aux input, micro USB charging port and a USB charging port (for external devices).

By removing the rope handle you can change the orientation of the unit as seen above (the feet feature removable taps).

As you will see later on from the next page we were surprised with the audio quality and volume levels of the M22 and although interior build quality is not stellar we've seen worse.

CONCLUSION

   Before we move to our conclusion you may have noticed some discrepancies between the features printed on the box and the features found on the two official HAVIT pages and so we feel that we need to point out that our review is based on what's said on the box. With that out of the way the very first thing we noticed once we charged the M22 was it's very good volume levels which surpassed our expectations. Sure you can't throw a multi-room party with the M22 but for a couple of rooms and/or at the beach it should be more than enough. Mids and highs may not be excellent but still they are very crisp and detailed and also thanks to plenty of bass the M22 surpassed our expectations in that area as well. The enclosure is of good quality too and although the IPX5 certification is far from what we'd call waterproof we don't know of anyone who'd submerge a Bluetooth speaker into water (at least not willingly) so we don't really think that's a game breaker. Being able to hold the M22 either horizontally or vertically may be a nice touch but certainly not something impressive and nowhere near as useful as the microSD card slot. As for battery life HAVIT reports anything from 10-16-20 hours but during our tests we were unable to surpass 11 hours at full volume so do keep that in mind if battery life is important to you (not that over 10 hours is not a good number).

   With a current price of USD59.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 73Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) the M22 Outdoor Bluetooth Speaker may not be as affordable as some other speakers by HAVIT but we feel that it's priced quite fairly. This is not only because of its IPX5 certified enclosure (let's face it, there are far too many rugged Bluetooth speakers in the market today) but also because of its volume levels, audio quality, battery life and microSD card slot. Unfortunately it doesn't feature any lighting effects and that may disappoint some people (that's what i like about the HV-SK159BT) but people looking for a rugged Bluetooth speaker that scores extremely well across the board the M22 is up to the task and that's also why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Overall Build Quality
- Rugged Design
- Water Resistant & Shock Proof Housing
- Bluetooth v4.2 & 3.5mm AUX Input
- Good Audio Quality & Bass Levels
- Very Good Volume Levels (For Its Size)
- MicroSD Card Slot (MP3 Support)
- Powerbank Feature (5000mAh)
- Good Battery Life (Up To 16 Hours)
- Vertical & Horizontal Placing

CONS

- Not Waterproof
- Features List Discrepancies