It was in 2017 that the Saregama Carvaan was launched. Resembling an old-fashioned transistor, the portable digital audio player with in-built stereo speakers featured 5000 evergreen Hindi songs inside. It offered simplicity and ease of use and redefined the listening experience like never before. Flaunting a cool and retro look, it soon became one of the best gifts one can give to his parents or the elderlies in the family. Later, Saregama strengthened its line-up with the likes of the Carvaan Gold and the Carvaan Mini, offering an even better experience. Now, the company has added a new device to its hand-held portfolio. It is called the Carvaan Go, which looks like one of the handheld music players from the past.



Design

The Carvaan Go is a portable music player which fits into your palm easily. With rounded edges and matte finish, it boasts a premium look and feels sturdy in hand. At 88 grams, the device is unbelievably light. Boasting a retro aesthetic, the Carvaan Go looks like it came straight from the past. There's nothing at the back of the Saregama Carvaan Go except for a couple of logos while at the front it houses an LCD screen, a control panel with a jog dial and several other buttons. It features an understated yet functional digital display, which lets you select tracks, playback controls, artists, and audio source. For the pre-loaded tracks, three dedicated buttons --Artistes, Specials, and Playlists-- are placed above the screen. Jog dial for easy navigation and playback controls like play, pause, next and previous are positioned below the display. It also has a favourites button which adds your favourite songs to the playlists.

The volume and the Bluetooth buttons are on the right while the microSD card slot and AM/FM button is placed on the left side. The power button is at the top and the 3.5mm audio jack, micro-USB port, and speaker grill are down at the bottom. All the controls and buttons offer a decent response without any lag.



Performance

The Carvaan Go has a total of 3,000 pre-loaded songs ranging from 80+ stations designed for every mood such as happy, romantic and sad. It also has 50 curated playlists to match your daily routine and activities, like driving, morning walks or flight travel. I found the collection to be good. What's more, there is a MicroSD slot, so that you can load your favourite songs from your personal collection and listen to it on the Go. The Carvaan Go also lets you tune into FM/AM stations. That's not all. You can also connect the device via Bluetooth or Aux cable to the music system in your car.



It also lets you create your own playlist in the Carvaan app, available on both Android and iOS platforms, after connecting the device with a smartphone. The audio quality of the Carvaan Go's speaker is at par, if not great. It feels like you're listening to a track on a cheap walkman from the past. However, I found its audio quality to be pretty impressive with headphones. Same is the case when the device is paired with Bluetooth speakers. As far as the battery is concerned, the Carvaan Go takes about 2 hours to get fully charged and it lasts up to seven hours on a single charge, something which is admirable.

Verdict

To sum up, the Carvaan Go is a music player which offers simplicity with its retro look. It comes with 3,000 evergreen preloaded songs without the Internet or ad interruptions. At 3,900 it may seem a bit pricey, but overall it's a perfect gift for your loved ones, who like old songs.