A Different Kind of In-and-Out (USB Port Question)

[roaringfork]

This radio is advertised as having a USB out port (for charging smartphones and such). I think I may also have seen a youtube video wherein it was claimed that the radio itself could be charged through the USB. Can I safely assume that the radio would be able to play music files off a thumb drive, inserted into that same USB port?

http://www.amazon.com/Ivation-Water-...ct_top?ie=UTF8

[BLM69]

USB out is for charging, input would be for a iPod or a thumb drive. I'm sure it has a 3.5 headphone jack.

[oldbutstillgoing]

Yes, details say it can be charged via usb. Has Bluetooth for mp3 players, etc. Read the product details. Its all there

[Teddie369]

That's a pretty awesome radio. If I read that correctly, you can charge phones from the usb port and since it's solar powered or hand cranked, I'm thinking you can charge your phone that way as well.

[Luke Skywalker]

Ill have more to report next week. I bought one! 79 dollars for Bluetooth speakers cant be beat. Then the extras.... Phone charger, radio, can be recharged via cranking. I got sold. Thanks OP.

[dallasfan]

That would be tough to crank for 20 minutes straight for a direct charge to say 20%. Wonder if it has a battery to store the cranking energy.

I have a free flashlight/emergency fashlight/radio/etc that has a crank and the light and radio worked but you would have to continually crank because it didn't have a battery built in to store the cranking energy.

[Luke Skywalker]

Ithas a battery to store energy. Can be charged 3 ways . solar, cranking, or via usb. Once charged, you can use it as extra battery for your phone. You can use as a radio, or as a portable bluetoooh speaker for you phone. It also has a flashlight.

[roaringfork]

Originally Posted by Luke Skywalker

Ithas a battery to store energy. Can be charged 3 ways . solar, cranking, or via usb. Once charged, you can use it as extra battery for your phone. You can use as a radio, or as a portable bluetoooh speaker for you phone. It also has a flashlight.

So, have you tried playing mp3's off a device (e.g. thumb drive) connected via the USB? I can see a USB button on the front of the unit, which leads me to hope that you can use the USB port as the audio source. (A slot for an SD card would also serve my purpose.)

[Luke Skywalker]

I haven't received it yet. What i posted before was based on reviews i read. Ill try the thumdrive and report. I assume no, it wont play mp3s from a thumb drive, as this would require more capable software than I believe this device has. Your best bet is to play mp3s on your phone and have this device as the loudspeaker via Bluetooth

[Luke Skywalker]

OK, I received it and played with it.
-It can be recharged via USB, solar and cranking
-It can recharge phones
-It can be a bluetooth loudspeakers for phones
-It cannot be used to play mp3s. In my case I don't need it, I store them on my phone and play them via blue tooth.

What I like:
-The rechargeable battery is the same kind you find in home cordless phones, so when the battery stops taking charge it is easy to replace.
-Bluetooth speakers are good
-Radio is good.
-The cranking is useful in an extended power outage, because you can crank it while it is connected to your phone, so even both the radio and your cell are out of batteries, you can keep talking.

What I don't like:
-Flashlight not very useful (kind of dim)
-Batteries are small in my opinion. I don't know how long they last once fully-charged.
-Radio has analog tuning, so sometimes it is hard to tune stations too close to each other.
-Instructions are confusing, but I was able to figure most of it out.
-Orange is definitely not the new black.

[roaringfork]

Originally Posted by Luke Skywalker

-It cannot be used to play mp3s. In my case I don't need it, I store them on my phone and play them via blue tooth.

Thanks. As a Tracfone guy, I guess I'll just have to keep looking....

[Luke Skywalker]

Tracfonenow has a bring your own phone thing. Most att and tmobile phones will work. Get a 30$ used smarphone on ebay and move your sim card to it.