If you like music streaming platforms like Deezer or Spotify, you might be interested in Prizm. This intelligent audio player learns your tastes in order to offer you the songs most likely to please you.
(embed) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjcMBjZp1t8 (/ embed)
Mark : Prizm
Category: smart health connected audio player
Connection: Bluetooth and WiFi
Compatibility: iOS and Android
Price: 149 €
Availability: Available
Tested with: Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime
Buy the Prizm:
What you will learn
Unboxing from Prizm
The Prizm is delivered in a box which uses the colors of the product: white and black. The design is minimalist and very licked. There is no product information on the packaging, only the nickname given by the brand to its device: the music brain.
When we open the box, we find directly the reader itself, placed in a foam support to protect it. You might think it stops there, but a double bottom gives access to the rest of what is in the box.
This includes a manual, a warranty document, and various cables used to connect the Prizm to the mains and to an enclosure. The manual is fairly limited, but enough to start using the product without problems.
Generally, the packaging is very functional and offers a convincing look that matches the product. We can regret a very (too?) Succinct manual that will not take you further than switching on the product.
Prizm Design and Ergonomics
The Prizm is a beautiful product. Minimalist, modern, and design; it will fit perfectly in any interior that is not too dated. It is in the form of a small black and white pyramid decorated with two signs: a cross and a heart.
These signs represent the two main functions of the device: liking a proposed song, or on the contraryr. Depending on how we interact with them, these buttons can perform different actions which will be detailed later in the Review.
We can also find a last button at the base of the product, it does not offer a particular design, it is simply a question ofa small square used to cut or restart music which is being broadcast.
In terms of ergonomics, the Prizm is very easy to transport and handle. It is light, and its angles allow it to be well taken in hand. It will be very easy to take him to friends for a party; which is, as we will see, the interest of the product.
Prizm application
The Prizm application is very beautiful and very functional. Again, its look and color scheme is very reminiscent of the product itself. As usual, it offers above all to create an account and configure the device.
During this stage, the Prizm will ask you to suggest pieces that will serve as the basis for the product to define your tastes. Once these choices are made, the device will start to stream music related to the ones you have entered, one after the other, like a music radio.
The application allows you to like or skip a song you like or dislike, and access the list of your likes. It also exists a settings section to manage audio output, reconfigure your Prizm or even transform the Prizm into a Bluetooth receiver and play the songs of your choice.
Using the Prizm
Prizm works like the embodiment of its application. As mentioned above, two main buttons are available: on one side, the heart allows you to like a song with a short press or to explore the different songs available from the artist in question. On the other hand, the cross passes a title with a short press and the ban with a long press.
Using the app and the buttons on the product itself, Prizm turns into a real smart health connected radio station that will take you from piece to piece. Indeed, it is not a speaker: you will have to connect the Prizm to a sound output via bluetooth, jack or optics to take advantage of it.
The main potential defect of the product is its inability to receive a specific request. You just can't choose a song, except the ones you liked. Even the search function only serves to better orient the Prizm to your tastes. If you want to listen to a particular song, you will have to configure it according to the Bluetooth receiver function, pair it with your phone, and finally choose the song; a bit like a Bluetooth speaker. With this feature, the Prizm no longer streams music, it simply receives the one you send with your phone, computer or tablet.
One can legitimately wonder why these two services were separated. It would have been much easier to allow searches directly on the commodity. Especially if you use a smart health connected speaker, you will not be able to pair your smartphone and your speaker with the Prizm in Bluetooth, which implies connections that could have been avoided.
The brand justification is that of bias. It is indeed a voluntary decision of Prizm to place itself on the niche of the discovery of new pieces rather than listening to songs we already know. It remains to be seen whether this decision will benefit the product.
Prizm has a very social side: anyone with the application can connect to the same Prizm and thus add their tastes to the playlist In progress. For each person who is added to or removed from the group using the same device, the device’s algorithm creates a new audience. Loved or past music will therefore be taken into account for this specific audience and will not influence the regular Prizm user. When there are several of you, Prizm algorithm will try to understand the mood of the room in order to offer music accordingly.
The Prizm facing the competition
Prizm is a one of a kind product. Rather than comparing it to other smart health connected objects, it makes more sense to compare it to other music streaming platforms like Spotify, Deezer or Soundcloud.
All these well-known platforms offer a subscription at € 9.99 per month, where the subscription to Prizm costs € 39.90 per year.. This is possible precisely by not offering the music on demand function. Even adding the 149 € the base price of the device, the cost remains very advantageous. It is all the more so than the first year of subscription is offered.
However, don't forget that you won't be able to choose your songs. If you want full access to a library of songs, a classic service will always be more in line with your desires. However Prizm tries to offer something new by pushing the user to discover new titles.
The product is ambitious in its approach to create its own database rather than going through these same streaming services, but the fact of not being able to choose its song greatly limits the attractiveness of the product, which then becomes a simple Bluetooth receiver smart health connected to a speaker. At the start of the Project, the Prizm was supposed to work with these platforms, but the brand preferred to change direction.
Music streaming platforms also offer music recommendation services based on your tastes. Like Deezer who announces the releases of artists who suit you, or Apple Music with its radios made by real DJs. Difficult then to justify the purchase of a Prizm.
Conclusion
Good points
- A very beautiful and very ergonomic product
- Original in its approach
- Works very well and very easily
Negative points
- Unable to choose the song of your choice
- Currently unable to replace conventional music streaming services
Design and Ergonomics – 8
Application – 7
Features – 4
Ease of use – 7
Value for money – 5
6.2
Design and Ergonomics : Prizm is a beautiful product that knows how to stand out without imposing itself.
Application : The application works well and turns out to be very beautiful, like the Prizm itself.
Features : It sorely lacks the ability to choose a song yourself other than by transforming the device into a Bluetooth receiver.
Ease of use : The device is very simple to configure and use. On the other hand, he does most of the work alone.
Quality / Price ratio : Prizm is a very interesting and ambitious product. However, it lacks features that will really allow it to meet your musical desires.
AB SMART HEALTH REVIEW
