BeoPlay A3 "review"

30 replies

"review" because at this stage I can't report important technical data ... like "how long do the A3 batteries last", "how long does it take to recharge", "what happens when power runs out" et cetera

 

except when I came home Sue did say that she noticed the iPad was down to 70% so she figured she needed to connected it to the power point ... and no, she did not notice the red/orange/green light on the side !  The positive side was that she obviously had used it a lot πŸ™‚

 

So first, some initial sound impressions, it seemed "boomy" and had a reverberations -- so I turned the volume down and "learnt" how to not set the volume too high.  At this stage I have not done any A/B tests on the effect of the tone speaker settings - this might have to wait until the weekend !

 

So the best way to "review" the A3 is to show its utility ...

 

AccuRadio for Sunday breakfast ...

 

but Monday breakfast was a less relaxed working breakfast - here we are at 6:45am waiting for the news ...

 

but back to Sunday, time for some gardening duties ... to music !

 

setting the A3 to be an alarm clock πŸ™ ... appropriately the BeoPlayer App !

 

and finally ... as a remote 😁 ... using LinkPlayer (version 1 sadly, I don't have the version 2 App)

 

eagle eyed observers might notice the Jensen elephant standing in front of a BeoWorld postcard πŸ™‚

 

I did try the A3 in our wet room (shower) however it was gentle suggested that it might be too wet, and that Beoworlders might not find my ablutions that too interesting πŸ˜‚

 

 

For this Tuesday morning I got EyeTV working so we could catch the Sunrise program's news at ~7:30am ... found that reception is very sensitive to the strength of the WiFi signal - you can carry the A3 around listening to music (or "radio" news) but for video it needs to be placed in a "good" spot 

 

 

The other downside of TV is of course the adverts πŸ™‚

Great review Γ‰lΓ©phant !

I have one question : Is the iPad+a3 not too big when you use it to read or surf on internet?

shinobi52 wrote:
Great review Γ‰lΓ©phant !

I have one question : Is the iPad+a3 not too big when you use it to read or surf on internet?

Thanks πŸ™‚

So, not really - you can read & surf either by using it in different ways:

  • nestle the A3 in your lap in landscape mode - good for reading
  • lay it down on the table in landscape or portrait mode - good for reading or surfing
  • stand it up on the table in portrait or landscape mode - good for reading
it weighs more of course, so it is quite difficult to hold with one hand - but it is not inconvenient to cradle it in your lap

elephant wrote:

shinobi52 wrote:
Great review Γ‰lΓ©phant !

I have one question : Is the iPad+a3 not too big when you use it to read or surf on internet?

Thanks πŸ™‚

So, not really - you can read & surf either by using it in different ways:

 

  • nestle the A3 in your lap in landscape mode - good for reading
  • lay it down on the table in landscape or portrait mode - good for reading or surfing
  • stand it up on the table in portrait or landscape mode - good for reading

it weighs more of course, so it is quite difficult to hold with one hand - but it is not inconvenient to cradle it in your lap

 

I should add that one disappointment that was not evident in the dealer's was how easy it is to tilt the A3 when using the touchscreen or home button.

I will take pictures at the weekend - but this is especially a problem in portrait mode, which is how we use it in the kitchen for recipes ....

elephant wrote:

I should add that one disappointment that was not evident in the dealer's was how easy it is to tilt the A3 when using the touchscreen or home button.

I was testing the A3, with iPad, at my dealer's last week. When I placed the A3 in portrait mode, I found it to be quite unstable. In fact, I knocked the top of the A3 and went went over, with a bit of a crash. The other people in the store looked over and I did worry that I might have damaged the iPad! I did make a remark to the dealer that it was very easy to knock over when standing upright.

moxxey wrote:

elephant wrote:

I should add that one disappointment that was not evident in the dealer's was how easy it is to tilt the A3 when using the touchscreen or home button.

I was testing the A3, with iPad, at my dealer's last week. When I placed the A3 in portrait mode, I found it to be quite unstable. In fact, I knocked the top of the A3 and went went over, with a bit of a crash. The other people in the store looked over and I did worry that I might have damaged the iPad! I did make a remark to the dealer that it was very easy to knock over when standing upright.

exactly our worry - but not enough to send it back

what still puzzles me is why I did not think to try your simple test although the store has an iPad 2 and we have an iPad 1 and that weight and thickness may be enough to change some of the dynamics

elephant wrote:

what still puzzles me is why I did not think to try your simple test although the store has an iPad 2 and we have an iPad 1 and that weight and thickness may be enough to change some of the dynamics

Me knocking it over was an accident. I gently brushed the top of the A3, in portrait mode, and it went over quickly, easily and with a crash on to the wooden desk. Made quite a bang - everyone turned around. Luckily the iPad wasn't damaged (was more worried about that than the A3 ;), but I was concerned how easily it went over. I barely even touched the top. It was a slight brush and it went straight over!

Reviving this thread for several reasons; one is I really feel for Chris and his problems with the BeoLit 12 - we almost got the BeoLit (and I some times get mini-lectures on that but this time I have $s as my defence πŸ™‚) and now I am pleased we didn't ... all the troubles I had with our BeoLink Wireless seem to be plaguing Chris.

The big advantage (and I understand Moxxey's point that Chris' problem being the network not the device) an A3 seems to have over the BeoLit is that I am "only" reliant on the iPad for its networking capabilities - this gives me some level of assurance that my system is basically from one supplier end-to-end for both video and audio.  I am using B&O for what it is good for: speakers.

The other piece of information I wanted to provide as an update is that after basically a month of use, the initial high activity because of novelty has died down, but the combination of the A3 and its iPad recieves daily use from both of us.

I have an impression that the battery system is losing its efficacy -- so I performing a battery test today by playing AccuRadio -- currently at the 3 hour mark, and the A3 has gone from no light (fully charged or dead - weird symbology that), to green (reasonably charged), and now to orange (moderately charged). 

I have not been doing a good job of keeping the A3 busy πŸ™, but we did watch S1E1 of Newsroom (airplayed to the BV8-40) with pauses and two minor replays - a duration of say 90 minutes.

A3 indicator is now red, and I thought that its batteries were quiesced or empty as the iPad is now showing 96% i.e. the A3 can no longer keep the iPad charged ready for any undocking.  But the A3 speakers are still playing so the power management behaviour is not as I had understood it πŸ˜‰

Well after 2 hours of music the A3's light has gone from red to no existent, and the iPad's internal speaker(s) are now the one(s) playing - and so I expect the iPad's battery will start dropping from 96%

It took 40 minutes to recharge the iPad to 100% (from 93%) and turn the A3's light back on as red.

Haha, funny review:)

I've got BeoPlay A3 from secondhand shop

The sound is ok with booming.

I like playing the music by A3 in vertical and certainly watching the net TV in horizontal :)
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