Roberts Play 30 DAB+/FM Bluetooth Portable Radio

The Play 30 is a rubber-protected DAB+, DAB and FM RDS portable with Bluetooth 5.2, a colour TFT display and up to 25 hours from four AA cells.

At a Glance

• Digital and analogue: DAB+ / FM RDS
• Station presets: 40
• Battery life: Up to 25 hrs
• Display: Colour TFT

Built into a rubber-protected moulded case and weighing 726 g, the Play 30 is the radio you carry to the allotment, the beach or the building site. It tunes DAB, DAB+ and FM with RDS, and Bluetooth 5.2 lets a phone play through it. There is no WiFi and no internet radio, which keeps it simple.

Battery life is the headline: up to 25 hours from four AA cells, with a low-battery indicator so the end does not arrive unannounced. Rechargeable cells top up inside the radio. Forty presets, twenty for DAB and DAB+ and twenty for FM, sit behind a colour TFT display, and tuning can be automatic or manual.

Twenty-five hours, a colour screen and a rubber-protected case: the Play 30 is built for the days a radio spends outside the house.

Ideal For

• Working outdoors: A rubber-protected casing and 726 g in the hand suit a radio that lives in a van, a shed or a garden, and 25 hours means it rarely needs the adaptor.
• Long days: Up to 25 hours from four AA cells covers a full weekend of listening, and the battery low indicator gives warning before the cells run out.
• Second radio: Slim at 50.2 mm deep, it slots onto a shelf or a windowsill as the second set in the house, with dual alarms if it ends up in a spare room.

Key Features

• Up to 25 hours: Four AA cells give up to twenty-five hours of listening, and rechargeable cells can be charged inside the radio rather than in a separate charger.
• 40 station presets: Twenty presets for DAB and DAB+ and twenty for FM, which is plenty for the national multiplexes and the local stations you keep coming back to.
• Colour TFT display: A colour screen shows station information rather than a line of characters, which makes scrolling through a full DAB list quicker.
• Bluetooth 5.2: Pair a phone and play podcasts or your own music through the Play 30 when the broadcast schedule is not what you are after.
• 726 g and rubber-protected: A moulded case with rubber protection and a weight of 726 g make this a radio you can move around without treating it carefully.
• Dual alarms: Two alarms wake you to the radio or a buzzer, with snooze and a sleep timer, so the Play 30 works beside a bed as well as outdoors.

• A radio for outdoor days: Most portable radios are designed to be carried between rooms. The Play 30 is built for the garden, the workshop and the caravan: a moulded case with rubber protection, 726 g in weight and a telescopic aerial that can be pointed where the signal is. Up to twenty-five hours from four AA cells means a weekend away does not need a socket, and a low-battery indicator tells you when the cells are fading.
• Broadcast radio plus Bluetooth: The tuner covers DAB, DAB+ and FM with RDS, tuned automatically or by hand, with forty presets split evenly between digital and analogue. There is no WiFi and no internet radio on the Play 30, so nothing depends on a broadband connection or a signed-in account. When you want something other than what is on air, Bluetooth 5.2 brings across whatever is on your phone.
• Display, sound and everyday handling: A colour TFT display makes working through a long DAB station list far less tedious than a single line of text. EQ presets with separate bass and treble adjust the balance to suit a hard workbench or a quiet room. The body measures 224.5 x 134 x 50.2 mm, so it sits on a narrow sill without overhanging, and a 3.5 mm headphone socket covers quiet listening. Tuning is digital, automatic or manual, and the radio comes in one finish: white with a stone blue accent.

How It Compares

The Verdict

Strengths

• DAB, DAB+ and FM RDS with 40 presets
• Up to 25 hours from four AA cells
• Colour TFT display with digital and manual tuning
• Bluetooth 5.2 for music from a phone
• Rubber-protected moulded casing, 726 g
• Dual alarms with snooze and sleep timer
• In-radio charging for rechargeable AA cells

Considerations

• No WiFi and no internet radio: the Play 30 is a DAB, DAB+ and FM set with Bluetooth, not a smart radio.
• The box holds the radio and mains adaptor only, so the four AA cells need to be bought separately.
• One colourway only, white with a stone blue accent, so there is no darker finish if that suits your room better.

What's in the Box

• Play 30 radio x1
• Mains power adaptor x1