bluetooth speakers

Music always livens up a day at the beach, barbecues, picnics, and other events, and nowadays it's easy to do with Bluetooth speakers and your mobile device. However, the good tunes only last as long as your phone's battery life.

A company called Spar is looking to extend the party with a trio of Bluetooth portable speakers that can also charge your smartphone, MP3 player, or tablet via USB. The smallest one of the group, the Zephyr 300, is compact enough to fit into a pocket and promises 12 hours of music playback. The mid-range Zephyr 500 offers 18 hours of music playback and comes in black or white. Meanwhile, the Zephyr 550 boasts 28 hours of battery life and is encased in aircraft-grade anodized aluminum.

You can connect your mobile device to the speakers using Bluetooth, and you can even conduct speakerphone calls through it. If you find your gadget to be running low on battery life, you can then tap into the speaker's battery power using the USB port in the back. All three Zephyr models ship with a soft carrying case, cables, and an AC adapter. … Read more

In a nod to the success of the Jawbone Jambox mini Blueooth speaker, Logitech has just announced the Mini Boombox, a $99.99 portable Bluetooth speaker with a built-in rechargeable battery and speakerphone capabilities.

While the speaker is compact, it appears to be larger than the Jambox (we're still waiting for weight and dimensions). Battery life is rated at 10 hours, which seems decent enough, and Logitech is touting the touch controls on the top of the unit and a "specially designed acoustic chamber that delivers great sound with enhanced bass."

The speaker is obviously a good deal cheaper than the Jambox, which runs around $180, so we're curious to know how it sounds and just how compact it really is. … Read more

Bose, create a groundbreaking product? Sure, the company's got some really nice headphones and decent sound systems that are just a tad overpriced. But Bose? Since when does Bose make a game-changer?

Since it came out with its compact Bluetooth speaker, the SoundLink Wireless Mobile, that's when. No, it's not the iPhone or anything, but it may just be the iPhone of portable Bluetooth speakers. … Read more

Add one more portable Bluetooth speaker to the growing list as JBL has announced that its mini UFO speaker, the On Tour iBT, is now available for $199.99.

The On Tour iBT weighs slightly more than a pound, is battery-powered and comes with a tabletop stand to "display an iPad in portrait or landscape mode so it can serve as an impromptu home theater or the audio output to a video conference."

While JBL is certainly eyeing iPad owners as its target audience, the unit works just fine with Android tablets and smartphones, as well as any … Read more

In the early days of the iPhone, Bose was one of the first major companies to make a big push into the iPhone/iPod speaker dock market with its SoundDock. Now the company is hoping to reach an even larger, platform-agnostic audience with a new portable Bluetooth speaker, the SoundLink Wireless Mobile.

As with all of Bose's significant launches, the company takes great care in introducing its product to the media, with a carefully orchestrated presentation followed by hands-on demos using iOS and Android Bluetooth-enabled devices. The top of the Trump Soho was the stage for the SoundLink Wireless … Read more

Jawbone has pushed out a free software update for its Jambox portable Bluetooth speaker that enables a new audio-enhancement feature the company calls LiveAudio.

Two things strike me about this. First, how cool is it that your speaker can get a software upgrade? I can only hope that Jawbone is busy scripting a software update that will fix the speaker quality in my crappy car next. I won't hold my breath.

The best part of this news, though, is that the upgrade is genuinely worthwhile. Counting myself as a professional audio snob who has heard some dreadful audio spatialization … Read more

Bluetooth speakers are ideal accessories for outdoor activities where music is a must, but only the Soundmatters FoxLv2 wireless speaker features custom vehicle and bicycle mounts designed by ProClip.

The in-vehicle mount attaches easily to any vehicle model by clipping into the seams of the dashboard. The speaker can rotate freely in the mount to achieve the best angle for listening, and ProClip claims the average installation time is approximately 2 minutes no matter what kind of car you're driving. We imagine this bracket would come in handy for someone who already has a SoundMatters FoxL player and wants … Read more

Attention all connoisseurs of sound and refined design. SoundFreaq, the upstart that brought us 2010's fine Sound Platform speaker, is now offering a smaller spinoff called the Sound Step.

We gave this guy a test-drive back at CES 2011 and were impressed with the number of features that come included. Aside from a dock that supports the iPad, iPhone, and iPod, the Sound Step also offers an FM radio, composite video output, line input, UQ3 audio enhancement, an extra USB port, and wireless Bluetooth audio, all for just $139.

For an extra $20, you can purchase a model with … Read more

Let's start with the good stuff. Altec Lansing's InMotion Air IMW725, which retails for $199, is one of the better-looking compact wireless Bluetooth speakers out there. It's got a unique, modern design and comes with a built-in rechargeable battery, which allows you to take it outside without having to plug it in. We also liked the hideaway dock on the back of the unit for the small remote and the inclusion of a USB dongle. The dongle lets you stream audio from your Windows or Mac computer to the InMotion Air, using it as a computer speaker--whether … Read more