The lovely giffgaff team asked if they could send me an early tech based Christmas present as part of a guide they’re putting together. You’ve probably guessed that I said yes and when it arrived a few weeks ago I wasted no time in unwrapping it. What was my geeky Christmas gift? Well, it was an Original Berlin Boombox.
I’d seen these old school inspired ghettoblasters knocking about for a while but never taken much time to stop and see what they were all about. They’re actually a very cool idea and would make for a fun Christmas gift for both adults and kids. You’re first set with with the challenge of putting the boombox together before being able to dance around to your tunes in celebration. They work with all smartphones and you simply nest your phone into the retro tape slot.
The boombox comes as a flatpack which you then have the joy of putting together. It doesn’t take too long to assemble and comes with easy to follow instructions. P and I took turns to read the instructions, fold the recycled cardboard (which is strong and sturdy) and take photos. It was a very satisfying feeling when we’d finished putting together the monochrome boombox.
That face though.
The speakers are great for ambient listening, podcasts and the radio but don’t expect brilliant music quality as they haven’t got great bass response. However, for the fun putting it together yourself and having an interesting piece of kit to carry from room to room I’ve really enjoyed using it and found it very useful. I’ve mostly been using it in the kitchen so I can listen to music or podcasts straight from my phone but because it’s portable I can carry it into my room on a Thursday evening for a Serial session. I listen to a lot of podcasts in bed and it’s made a big difference playing them through the Berlin Boombox as opposed to straight from my phone. There’s no option to plug it into the wall, but rechargeable batteries are the way to go.
Overall I’m having a lot of fun with this and really enjoyed putting it together. I might even colour it in over Christmas, I think I could have some fun with the glitter pens. They seem to retail between £50-£60 which I think is a little much but if you can find them at the lower end of that price bracket, they’re a fun and unique gift.
What do you think of the Berlin Boombox?