Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Special note: I tested over 8 different models of bluetooth speakers with FM radio capability to find the best one to give to my wife for Mothers day in 2017. This one was my favorite and was the winner when I let my wife have her pick from the top four of the eight that I tested. I have not been compensated for this review. I wrote this entirely out of my own desire to recommend a great product. [Review updated 5/20/2018, roughly one year after purchase. Update: The speaker has performed admirably over the past year. It's been used primarily as an FM radio both indoors and outdoors. my residence is a suburb of Tucson so we are not far from local radio towers. We have never needed to plug anything into the speaker to get improved radio reception. All local stations come in crystal clear. I'm updating this review because recently the included battery died and I realized it's been a little over a year since I purchased this speaker. I took a look at Avantree's support website today to inquire about a warranty claim for the battery since a 2 year warranty is advertised and I was impressed. Their site really demonstrates that Avantree takes product support seriously. I feel it's worth mentioning this because I'm an IT guy by trade and I buy a lot of "cheap electronics from overseas" online and it's uncommon to see a decent support site behind a lesser-known brand. I was able to submit an online warranty claim but I didn't see where I could order additional replacement batteries directly from them. Nevertheless, based on what I have seen so far, I don't expect any issues with the warranty claim.] Pros: + volume knob is also the power switch. No chance of starting the radio up to a loud sound. + radio can be turned down quiet enough to be appropriate for workplace listening and be turned up loud enough for a warehouse. + headphone and AUX jacks are clearly marked + high quality build, fit and finish. Rubberized texture feels nice. + product is well supported via the company website - https://support.avantree.com + clear, easy to read digital display. The nicest display of all the radios this size that I tested. + the preset buttons on the top let you type in a radio station or punch in a preset, best in class. + pairing the bluetooth speaker is easy since it identifies itself as "Avantree SP850" as opposed to "BT speaker" like so many cheaper speakers do. + the FM radio is a joy to use, very clear reception with no antenna needed + carrying strap reaches over the volume knob - nice attention to detail + uses a common, removable rechargable li-ion battery (BL-5C) which can be found lots of places, although not currently offered for sale by Avantree from what I can tell. + does not lose memory or presets when battery is removed/swapped. + playing back MP3 from a microSD card you can see the file name of the song in the display. I didn't notice if ID3 tags were supported. Cons: - The sound is not stereo but still very good. - receiving calls while phone is paired to this speaker can be a little confusing so practice with that before you get an unexpected call while paired.