What is Blackberry Music Gateway?
Previously, we had to connect our devices to a speaker through a cord to hear the music. This, many times, prevented us from being able to charge said device, go in the other room to answer an email with it, or do other things with the device being used. Cords were a way that tied down that device, forcing you to interrupt the music session when needed. While this may be just fine for someone blasting music to their own delight at home, for individuals at parties, this just isn’t acceptable. Blackberry Music Gateway solves this problem by allowing individuals to have a device connected to their speakers, sort of as a connection portal (or Gateway) that connects the device holding the music, with the gadget playing the music. The good thing about this device is that you don’t need to own a Blackberry to connect to it. As long as your mobile devices support bluetooth or NFC, you can easily pair it with the Gateway and blast your music wirelessly. And yes, when I say “mobile devices”, it includes your laptop as well.
How Do I Set it Up?
First off, you need to ensure that you have your device connected before connecting to the speakers. To do this, ensure that your Gateway is in some sort of power source. This can be a laptop if you are on the go (through the USB port), your car headphone jack, or even an outlet if you’re stationary. From there, you should see a light on.
You should expect to see either a blue, red, or green at any time through the life of your Blackberry Music Gateway. Green always means that it’s powered on. A red light always means you don’t have a connection. If it’s flashing quickly, this should be an alert to you that you lost your connection. If blinking slowly, this simply means you haven’t attempted a connection just yet. The next color is blue, if this is blinking fast, then good news, you’re connected. If not, then it’s still good news, this means your Gateway is playing a song/sound. If mixed with red, this means it’s currently attempting to connect.
After the Gateway is plugged to a power source, press the top of the Gateway device, you’ll then have to go on to your Blackberry (or any other mobile device) and activate Bluetooth. Once Bluetooth is activated, you should be able to see the name “BlackBerry Music Gateway” in the list. At this point, once it is selected and paired, the light should be Blue. To pair with NFC, Near-Field Communication, power the Gateway on, press the top of the Gateway, and activate NFC on your BlackBerry. From there, tap the Blackberry on top of the Music Gateway to activate.
My Experience with Music Gateway
During my week with the Blackberry Music Gateway, I found it to be a device fitting for a get-together or even while on the road. When testing it out on multiple platforms (in the car, through a television, and traditional speakers), I found it to be quite useful. iPhone and Mac games were able to have a more amplified sound when being hooked up to the speakers, increasing the gaming experience. When testing it on the Blackberry, that’s where I truly was able to appreciate the freedom of not being tied down by cords when listening to music and doing other tasks.
Conclusion
Do you need a Blackberry to get the best experience? No, not at all. RIM found a great way to make this platform-blind. Consumers will still not have the device on mind though due to the Blackberry name. Many will say, “I don’t have a Blackberry, so why would I need the Blackberry Music Gateway”. This wasn’t necessarily done on purpose or by accident by RIM, the device is made for Blackberry devices. The ability to work on other devices is just coincidence. That being said, paying $50 to not be tied down to cords while using your Bluetooth device is still something I see as not a bad purchase. Let’s just say, once Apple introduces a NFC iPhone, you’ll probably appreciate the purchase even more! The Blackberry Music Gateway is sold on the RIM website for $49.95.
