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Available in a choice of blue, red, white, black and yellow, with my review sample being of the latter hue, the MP211 has a lozenge appearance with rounded ends adding a touch of style.  With dimensions of 15 x 6 x 3cm (W x H x D) and weighing 180g, the MP211 is eminently portable and it should slip into a pocket or bag without causing too much inconvenience when on your travels.  A wrist lanyard, 3.5mm audio lead and micro-to-standard USB leads are all included in the pocket with multi-language versions of the User Guide.

While a central wide band constructed of solid plastic runs around the speaker’s body, the front and rear faces of the unit have a perforated metal appearance as they act as speaker grills for the audio output.  A series of raised, rubber controls sit along the top of the unit.  These controls are shaped to indicate their use, so that they could be selected by touch along.  They cover the aspects of volume up and down, back, play/pause, forward and phone option.  Located on the rear of the MP211, and clearly labelled, are options for connecting the USB lead when charging the built in Li-ion battery pack, a power slider that also provides the means to switch between modes, a 3.5mm jack socket for attached an AUX device and a slot for inserting a micro SD card.

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The MP211 offers the user a choice of routes for delivering its audio output.  Both the AUX jack socket and Micro SD options can be used and connected at the same time.  However, only one source will be capable of delivering the audio to the MP211, via the selected mode option.  There is also the opportunity to use the built-in Bluetooth 4.0 technology and NFC (Near Field Communication) as a smartphone comes in contact wit the MP211 speaker.  With this latter option, I found that it took a number of attempts before I could locate a sweet spot that enabled a connection to be established.  Straightforward Bluetooth pairing was a far easier proposition.

A small light positioned on the front of the speaker will glow to indicate which mode is currently in use.  You can switch between these modes of Bluetooth, AUX or SD card by cycling through the various options using the power slider switch.  When Bluetooth is in charge the light will glow blue and change to green for AUX delivery.  There is a red light to indicate that the audio is coming from an SD card.  Incidentally when using an SD card, the content will need to be stored in the root direction otherwise it will not be located.

Built into the MP211 are twin 1.5-inch neodymium drivers and a passive bass radiator for handling the audio by whatever method is used for delivery the audio content.  It was noticeable that the volume level was definitely higher when the source was either an AUX or microSD card.  You also need to be aware that the back and forward controls do not work when attaching an MP3 player to the AUX connection.

When the MP211 is connected to a smartphone, it can act in speakerphone mode.  When an incoming call arrives, it can be accepted by a quick press of the phone button or rejected by holding down the same phone button.  A second press of the phone button ends the call.  Once a call has been accepted then you can transfer the call back to the smartphone by holding down the phone button.  Naturally during a phone call, music playback will be discontinued.

While not comparing with high end audio equipment or even some of Edifier’s more reasonably priced speaker systems, the MP211 audio quality is fine for casual listening.  The Edifier MP 211 is available from Tesco.com priced at £39.99.

http://www.edifier-international.com/products/edifier-image/mp211