iClever Himbox HB01 Bluetooth Car Kit Review

iClever Himbox HB01 Bluetooth car equipment

MSRP $69.99

“The iClever Himbox HB01 system might be the most functional way to add bluetooth audio streaming and hands-free calling to your car.”

Avg

Simple controls and operation
Helpful voice and tone instructions
Phone, media and Siri capabilities

Against

Call sound quality may be low

The average car on the road today is generally about 10 years old. The rusty dinosaurs of the 70s, 80s and even 90s are dying out, but modern vehicles will fly past the 100,000 mile mark without slowing down. While the performance and reliability of your trusty vehicle are enough to keep you from buying a new one, there are some modern technologies you can’t live without. With the Himbox HB01 Bluetooth Kit, you can add hands-free calling and Bluetooth audio streaming to your AUX-equipped machine. Could this be the $40 solution to keep the love between you and your older car?

Power on

Out of the box, the system comes with a 12-volt car charging plug that features two USB ports – a 1-amp and a 2-amp plug for charging your devices while the system is plugged in. One of the ports is where you’ll need to plug in the USB cable for the Himbox Bluetooth controller disk and the 3.5mm AUX connector. Measuring just over a foot, the cable should be long enough to extend from the 12-volt charger in most cars to the area where the driver can mount the control dial.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Mounting the disc where the driver can access the controls is easy with the magnetic mounting disc included with the Himbox HB01. The disc sticks to any part of your vehicle using 3M adhesive and allows you to magnetically attach the controller and remove it as needed.

Connect your device

With the car on and the system on, the Himbox ring will flash a blue light while it waits for your device to pair. You can search for “HB01” on your phone or Bluetooth device and try to connect. The system connected to my iPhone 6 and Moto X (2014) without any issues and gives you a voice message over the car stereo to let you know the device is connected. Generally, a device in this price range will only give you LED rows to let you know it’s connected, and the vocal sounds help give the Himbox HB01 a premium feel.

You can even pair multiple devices if you or anyone else you share your car with want to use the device uninterrupted.

The controls on the device itself are quite easy to understand and navigate on the control dial. The disc has a large round center button that can be pressed to play or pause the current track on your device. A long press on this button for 1-2 seconds will launch Siri voice search on iPhone without any problems, Cortana on Windows Phone and also launch Google Voice Dialer on Android. The device would only open a full Google Now search if the screen on my phone was already on after pressing the button. This is common on many Bluetooth devices that connect to Android. The center button also answers a call when the device is ringing and can redial the last call by double-pressing the device. The only other buttons are for skipping tracks forward and forward with a single press and volume up and down with a long press.

Driving with Himbox

Everyday use is pretty easy once the device is plugged in and your phone is paired. You can even pair multiple devices if you or anyone else you share your car with want to use the device uninterrupted. When your car stereo is in “AUX” or auxiliary mode, you will hear a voice prompt that your Bluetooth paired device is connected and ready to stream media. You can then press the big play/pause button in the playback center once the connection is established and the music on your device will start playing.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Using the HB01 to answer a call is easy as you simply press the big round answer button after the phone rings. Voice quality is good when coming from an incoming call, but audio quality can be poor on the other end, depending on where you place the control dial that contains the microphone. In the 2005 Honda Element we used for the test, we originally placed it closer to the passenger side and moved it closer to the drivetrain to improve call quality. Overall, sound quality was as good as many newer in-car systems when the mic is in the ideal position.

Conclusion

The iClever Himbox HB01 system might be the most functional way to add both Bluetooth audio streaming and hands-free calling to your older car. The AUX and 12-volt charging port on the Honda Element we tested the system in isn’t ideal for hiding cables and can feel cluttered. But for many, with the AUX port hidden in the glove box or center console, the Himbox HB01 will be a great hidden solution for connecting your car to your phone. Feel free to ditch any aftermarket Bluetooth hands-free systems and ditch the Bluetooth audio dongles because the Himbox is the best combination of both worlds.

Tall

Simple controls and operation
Helpful voice and tone instructions
Phone, media and Siri capabilities

Falls

Call sound quality may be low

Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn