Hands-Free Phone Calls And Crystal Clear Music At A Price That's Music To Your Ears

The iClever HIMBOX offers hands-free voice-activated calling as well as aptX audio streaming.

A lot of my time is spent reviewing some of the latest and most expensive technology. It’s a fun job but at times it’s hard to make a connection with these products. But once in a while there comes a little gadget that makes my heart sing because not only is it excellent, well-designed and a joy to use… but it’s affordable. Affordability when linked to a product that works really well gives me a great buzz. It’s the sort of technology we need more of; affordable shouldn’t be a byword for second best.

The latest gizmo to tickle my fancy is the HIMBOX from iClever. Last year I reviewed atrio of products from iClever that I really liked. Now they’ve done it again with the HIMBOX, a Bluetooth hands-free kit which also streams music from your iPhone, Windows or Android device. It’s well designed and works like a charm.

So who would need a HIMBOX? Well, anyone with a car that doesn’t have Bluetooth built in but who has a sound system with a 3.5mm auxiliary input for an MP3 player. The HIMBOX is supplied with a three-port USB adapter that fits in a cigarette lighter socket. One port is for powering the HIMBOX and the other two can be used to charge your phone or tablet. The HIMBOX also has a 3.5mm jack plug that connects to your car’s sound system. The cables are connected to a small round remote control unit for the HIMBOX which can be stuck anywhere on your car’s dash via a supplied metallic clip. The control unit has a microphone for making phone calls as well as a button for pausing the music as well as two buttons for skipping tracks forward or backward or adjusting the volume.

Connecting up to the HIMBOX is very simple. As soon as you power it up the control unit pulsates a blue light. Just search for the HIMBOX on your phone’s Bluetooth selector and you’re in business. There’s no pairing with numbers and, pleasingly, the HIMBOX pairs automatically with your phone every time you restart your engine. There’s even a polite voice that announces via your car stereo that your HIMBOX is connected.

Streaming music from your phone is simple as once you’re connected any audio output from the phone is played via your car’s audio system. The HIMBOX uses the latest aptX Bluetooth codec which delivers stunning sound quality. If you’ve tried Bluetooth streamers in the past and were frustrated by stuttering and weedy sound, the HIMBOX will really please you. It’s great CD-quality sound and all without wires.

The HIMBOX also works as a hands-free phone device. If someone calls while you’re listening to music the phone ring cuts in automatically. Just press the main button on the HIMBOX control unit and you’re call is connected. Sound quality is good and providing you place the microphone close enough to you, the speech quality is superb. It all just works thanks to a noise and echo-cancelling microphone . What’s more, you can connect two phones to the HIMBOX so both you and a passenger can use the system and both of you can stream music, although only one at a time, obviously.

Another great feature is that the iClever HIMBOX is compatible with SIRI, Cortana and Google’s voice commands. Just press the central button for a second and then tell HIMBOX who you want to call. Your phone then dials that person and off you go.

I was genuinely impressed with iClever’s HIMBOX. It works really well and once you’ve set it up you can forget about it. I no longer have to take a USB stick of music to my car and I can safely answer and make calls without breaking the law. I never use my phone while driving unless there’s hands-free available so this means I can take calls where in the past I couldn’t. I’d definitely recommend getting a few of these if you have kids who drive as it is such fun to use they won’t be tempted to hold their phones while driving and they can enjoy all the music stored on their phone.