Roberts Unologic Radio Review

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The Roberts Unologic is designed to have a low environmental impact. However, it doesn’t do anything special in this regard except for offering the option of using rechargeable AA batteries rather than mains power. The Unologic doesn’t have a solar panel or other renewable charging method that would decrease its environmental impact more.

Let’s look at this radio’s features, pros and cons in more detail.

Features

FM RDS and DAB wavebands
Built-in battery charger
Takes 4 AA batteries
USB for software upgrades
Headphone jack and aux-in
Available in either black or white
Telescopic aerial that extends 73 cm
Comes with a user guide (also available online here)

Dimensions: 20.2 cm wide x 14 cm high x 7 cm deep
Weight: 576 g

Pros

Takes AA batteries, which are cheaper and easier to get hold of than most other types of battery
Good reception on both DAB and FM
Good sound quality with enough bass
Built-in battery charger is very convenient if you want to use it as a portable radio
Looks and feels high quality

Cons

No alarms, so you can’t use it as an alarm clock
Only has one ‘favourite’ station button rather than multiple presets
The location of the power switch makes it easy to accidentally switch off
No bass or treble controls
Some buyers have said their radio became unreliable after a few years of use

Performance and use

The Roberts Unologic picks up DAB stations well, with good reception. The radio has a mono speaker, which offers very good sound quality and doesn’t sound distorted even when you turn the volume up loud. It sounds good on both speech and music stations, and has a decent amount of bass for a radio of its size.

A ‘Favourite’ button on the front lets you save your favourite station for quick access. This is convenient if you mainly listen to just one station, but most other DAB radios let you set 10 or more preset stations. In general, this radio doesn’t have as many features as many other DAB radios, but this might appeal to you if you prefer something straightforward and simple.

Verdict

The Roberts Unologic is a straightforward FM/DAB radio with the useful feature of recharging AA batteries. The Unologic is a relatively old DAB radio model now—it was first released in 2009. This probably explains why it doesn’t have as many features as newer DAB radios.

Alternative radios

Newer Roberts DAB radios with built-in battery chargers include the Roberts Play Digital Radio, which has a single speaker, and the more expensive Roberts ‘Play Duo’, which has two speakers.